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Provides: Keyboard protection

Developer: GadgetWrap, Inc.

Minimum Requirements: MacBook, MacBook Pro, Apple Keyboard (wire or wireless)

Retail Price: $24.99 to $29.99

Availability: Out now

I'm not much a fan of keyboard covers. I mean, I get their importance; I learned that on my first freelance gig for a guy who happened to be a heavy smoker. Although his walls, curtains, computer and desktop had all turned various shades of a sickly yellow color, his keyboard was sparkly clean because it was under a protective silicone cover. Almost made me wish I had one for my lungs.

But I've never really liked the feel of them, aside from on laptops. The covers made the keys feel squishy, like trying to type through a balloon. And although they generally fit fairly well, there would inevitably one or two keys the cover had to stretch to fit, causing it to sit too high on the neighboring keys. Except for in the most extreme of work environments, keyboard covers just were never worth the effort.

GadgetWrap's KeySkins have put an end to that, making it the first keyboard protector I will continue to use once the review period is over.

I should point out, however, that this is not entirely due to GadgetWrap's design. A lot of the credit goes to Apple's new wired and wireless keyboards. The flat, low profile keys provide a better fit without all the squishy, and because there are no valleys between the keys, the cover doesn't need to be pressed out of shape in order to type.

But Apple's design alone isn't what makes this work. The KeySkin is a nearly perfect fit, almost snapping into place when you put it on. It doesn't slip off, or move at all, really. Although there are slight bubbles over some of the keys, they're not so large that you feel them when typing. If you don't look down at the keyboard, you wouldn't know they are there.

The only problem I had with the fit is that the lip over the bottom right of the spacebar and the left of the right command key does lift up a bit. This is also happening over top of the F9 and F11 keys. Again, though, this is purely a visual problem. I can't feel any of this when typing, and it doesn't affect the keyboard's performance.

One thing that may, though, is the KeySkin's silicone composition. The rubber doesn't allow for sliding, and I'm apparently used to brushing my fingers across the keys as they move to the proper one. The KeySkin prevents this, as the rubber almost catches my fingers as they move across th keys. I therefore am now lifting my fingers entirely off the keyboard, which took some getting used to with this keyboard. In the end, though, it hasn't seemed to hurt my speed or accuracy. In fact, it may have improved accuracy as I'm less likely to inadvertently brush a key I didn't want.

The KeySkins come in four colors: transparent ice, transparent blue, opaque white and opaque black. The transparent colors allow the key characters of your keyboard to show through, while the opaque models contain their own characters, including the Apple function key icons (such as the F4 Dashboard and F10-F12 volume icons). The only troubling decision was to put a dot over the green caps lock indicator light. This indicator is small enough as it is on the Apple keyboard, so why GadgetWrap chose to cover it up is beyond me. The light barely shines through on the opaque KeySkins, so there's little to indicate when you've got caps lock on. There is no dot on the ice and blue models, so it's not an issue with them.

Of course, the disturbing thing about keyboard covers is that they really make it obvious how much dust, dirt and grime gets on your keyboard. Thankfully, the KeySkin is washable by just running it under the sink with some mild detergent. You'll find yourself doing this more than you'd think, but that's all for the greater good, as it also helps prevent the spreading of germs.

I would like to see more color options for the KeySkin, but those offered should work for most users. The black version looks especially good with my 24" iMac, causing the keyboard to perfectly complement the iMac's black and aluminum color scheme.

Those minor quips aside, there are few Mac users who couldn't benefit from a KeySkin. If you tend to eat at your desk, if you've got multiple people accessing your keyboard, or even if you just want a sharper looking keyboard, the KeySkin from GadgetWrap has you covered.