Back to Mobile View

Skip to Content

Henge Docks Clique: A new way to merge your Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad

by Steven Sande Dec 5th 2011 at 5:00PM

Many Mac users use a combination of an Apple Wireless Keyboard and a Magic Trackpad for their typing and pointing pleasure. Twelve South came up with a lovely way to merge the two devices into a single unit with the MagicWand (US$29.99). Now Henge Docks has developed a less expensive and more functional device called the Clique ($24.99) that should be a fierce competitor to the MagicWand.

Design and Functionality

Three minor issues with the MagicWand have been addressed with the Clique. First, I felt that $29.99 was a bit expensive for what is essentially two pieces of plastic and a tiny piece of silicone. Second, if I want to use the keyboard and trackpad in my lap, I'm out of luck with the MagicWand as there's no physical support for those peripherals. Finally, if I'm going to be away from my iMac for a while and wish to turn off the keyboard, I have to take it out of the MagicWand to have access to the power button on the right side.

The Clique is actually a thin, bright white plastic rigid tray into which your Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad "click," hence the clever name. When the peripherals are snapped into the Clique, they form a rigid unit that can easily be used in a lap. I found this to be wonderful -- when I'm using the MagicWand, I have to place it onto my desktop and sit closer to the screen of my iMac. Now I'm able to place the keyboard and trackpad on my legs and move back a bit into a much more comfortable position in my chair.

Henge Docks Clique Keyboard / Trackpad Mount

Turning off the keyboard or trackpad is also easy. Henge Docks designed a small spring-loaded button into the right side of the Clique that can be depressed to power the trackpad on and off. In addition, there's a small slider underneath the keyboard that is used to turn the keyboard on and off without taking the keyboard out of the Clique.

I was a bit concerned that the Clique would be uncomfortable for typing, as it adds a bit of thickness to the keyboard that doesn't exist with the Magic Wand. That concern went away as soon as I started using the Clique -- if you hold your hands in a proper position for typing, that extra 1/16th of an inch doesn't cause any problem.

Conclusion

I type a lot (I've written well over one million words for TUAW during my three-plus years here), and anything that makes typing and pointing more comfortable gets a thumbs-up from me. The Clique works very well and moves my keyboard and trackpad to a much more comfortable typing position. Now that turning off the keyboard is going to be easier, I'll probably get better life from my batteries.

With the help of Henge Docks and the Clique, I think I'll be able to crank out another couple million words without too much damage to my arms and hands. The Clique would also make a wonderful holiday gift for anyone who wants a rigid keyboard/trackpad combo that they can use to make their daily Mac user more comfortable.



View Tags

Related Stories

Categories

Accessories Mac

Henge Docks has developed a less expensive and more functional device called the Clique that should be a fierce competitor to the MagicWand
 

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum Comment Moderation Enabled. Your comment will appear after it is cleared by an editor.

20 Comments

Filter by:
Tyler Chislett

you need to make the keyboard and trackpad dock available on amazon.com and I will buy

February 11 2012 at 5:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Graham J

I was excited to buy this for my home theater but they want $26 to ship it to Ottawa via USPS, more than the price of this plastic unit. No thanks.

Some other options for combining the keyboard and trackpad:

http://magicconnector.com/buy-now/
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/housing-your-items-neatly-in-a-127303
http://www.bullettrain.com/express.html

January 25 2012 at 2:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
gus.hoover

Is a button really needed to turn off your keyboard? The Apple keyboard already has an intelligent power management system that powers it down automatically. I like the idea of being able to use these two devices together on your lap or from the couch, but not a huge fan of this product's chunky "meal tray" design or its cheap appearance. My neighbor just bought a similar product called the Bluefin which also supports the trackpad click function and looks way cooler. If you're dropping $140 for Apple's Magic Trackpad and Wireless Keyboard and going to have to look at them everyday you're at your computer, is sacrificing your sense of good taste for the sake of saving a few bucks really that important? If so, maybe you should switch back to Windows.

December 15 2011 at 8:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike Schinkel

This is so very cool, except sadly it's not for me.

What I really want is one that puts the trackpad in front of the keyboard, just like my MacBook Pro's keyboard. Henge Docks if you make one of those I'll buy it in a heartbeat at double the price.

December 10 2011 at 9:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Mike Schinkel's comment
isaacrdz@mac.com

Mike, there is a company that does something like that:

http://www.bullettrain.com/index.html

January 02 2012 at 9:54 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
VJAkif

So do you *really* think Apple hasn't thought of that? Surely you don't believe they'd release a product that distorted the image. This is the same company that won't do 4G because they don't want their phone to be any thicker than it is..

http://entertainment-lobby.blogspot.com

December 08 2011 at 6:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Daniel Hertlein

http://www.twelvesouth.com/products/magicwand/gallery/#Videos

December 06 2011 at 2:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Daniel Hertlein

"Second, if I want to use the keyboard and trackpad in my lap, I'm out of luck with the MagicWand as there's no physical support for those peripherals."

I'm not sure what you by physical support but the video on the Magic Wand website clearly shows it being picked up and moved from one lap to another during a video game after which it tossed onto the sofa and then picked up and moved back to the desk. Seems like a fair amount of physical support to me. Maybe they changed the design since your initial review?

If looks count, Magic Want wins.

December 06 2011 at 2:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David V.

I'd prefer it if they had used a bit more space — and inch or so — between the keyboard and the trackpad. When I first had the keyboard and trackpad combination, I placed them next to each other, but I found myself frequently touching the pad's edge very lightly, and that caused the cursor to end up anywhere (which I wouldn't notice until I had already typed a bit of additional text into a random location). After a couple of days, I switched to spacing the keyboard and the pad an inch apart, and that had worked just fine.

December 06 2011 at 1:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
JBaby

No left-hand version is a complete fail.

December 06 2011 at 1:12 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to JBaby's comment
Henge Docks

We hear you loud and clear, lefty version is in the pipeline : http://hengedocks.com/preorder_HDA02CLI-QUE.html

December 06 2011 at 5:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael C Pearson

Actually the lefty nation is better off with it the way that it is. Only left handed people can write with their left hand AND continue to use the trackpad/mouse with their right. -ijs

December 06 2011 at 12:41 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Buy an ad here

Tweets

© 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.