Tech Edge takes a look at today’s top technology for salespeople. This time around, we check out the Zagg Pocket Keyboard.

What Is It?
The Zagg Pocket Keyboard makes smartphone typing easier. Users simply link an Apple or Android device to the keyboard, and then type away texts, emails or work on other documents as they would on a laptop or desktop.

Features
A wireless product, the pocket keyboard offers about 85% of the typing space of a desktop keyboard, allowing users to type more naturally on their mobile devices. A built-in stand secures smartphones and phablets at an easy-to-view angle, while a powerful lithium polymer battery delivers up to two years of regular use between charges. The pocket keyboard folds into a compact 9” X 2.5” X .5” rectangle that slides into purses and some pockets. Strong magnets ensure the device stays folded when not in use, and help maintain battery life.

Price Tag
The current price on Amazon.com is $51.50. Best Buy and Zagg typically sell the keyboard for $69.99.

Why You’ll Like It
For busy, always-on-the-move salespeople, the pocket keyboard can be a real asset. Since it empowers you to type quicker and more accurately, you can respond faster and minimize those typos that prove so embarrassing in professional correspondence.

On the train, waiting for takeoff, at the kids’ games, eating a fast solo lunch – all of these are instances in which you can use the keyboard to reply to customers, submit purchase orders to suppliers and much more. You can even set the keyboard up during client meetings and use it to type out notes, helping to ensure you capture all the important information you’ll need to create an impactful promotion. Certainly, it’s less clunky than lugging around a laptop. Consider, too, that feedback from users has been generally positive. The pocket keyboard earns 4.1 stars out of 5 on Amazon and 4.5 stars out of 5 on Best Buy’s website, where 92% of reviewers said they would recommend it.

Why You Won’t
While the typing experience is worlds better than finger-tapping on your smartphone screen, it’s still more cramped than what you’d get on a laptop or desktop. Some reviewers also complain that the keyboard lacks backlighting and dedicated keys for mobile devices.

Our Advice
If your smartphone is a vital business tool for you, then the pocket keyboard is a worthwhile investment. The relatively inexpensive price, combined with the practical advantages it offers, makes it an intelligent purchase. Of course, if you’re content with the keying performance you get from your on-screen keyboard, or if you simply don’t see yourself carrying around the Zagg device, then it’s probably wise to pass on the purchase.