Laptops have had backlit keys for a long time allowing you to work in near dark situations like on an aeroplane or at night on the sofa in front of the TV.

But with more and more of us turning to tablets to work on the go we've lost the backlit keys so many of us take for granted.

In steps the Kensington KeyCover Plus Backlit Keyboard Case for iPad Air with Screen Protector.

Hard case

Getting past the incredibly long name for a moment, the case is a hard metal cover to protect your screen when not in use. The iPad Air clicks into place creating a tight seal that does take a bit of fiddling to get out.

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The hard case does mean that you can just about balance it on your lap if you are typing on the move. When it is to be used in typing mode the iPad Air slots into a magnetic ridge which is at a good angle for typing. Like the keyboards from Logitech, it isn't adjustable however. It is one angle fits all. 

Tap, tap, tap

With an almost full-sized chiclet keyboard you can get plenty of typing done quickly and all the keys are pretty much where you would expect them to be.

Above the standard set of keys are a range of shortcut buttons including volume, search, lock and dictate. And beyond these keys you can also press a function key and instigate a number of other commands as well. They include copy keys like selecting the left word to where your cursor is or special characters.

Light up my world

The main reason for getting this keyboard case over any number of others is that it comes with backlighting. It is something that doesn't disappoint either. You get no less than seven colours to choose from, with colours ranging from red, to green, to blue, to suit your mood and they are quickly changeable if you have a change of heart mid way through typing. You can also reduce the brightness when you are working in lower light conditions.

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The overall effect is very cool, especially the red and the green lights, and make typing in the dark much easier. We've yet to use this on an aeroplane, but we can already see that the addition of the extra light would help, especially on a night flight.

First impressions

We've been using the Kensington KeyCover Plus Backlit Keyboard Case for iPad Air for a couple of weeks now and have to say we are impressed with the keyboard and the backlit element of the device.

Our only real qualm is getting it in and out of the case every time, which has proved a bit of a faff, but it does mean that when you aren't using the keyboard you don't have to worry about it dangling around. It almost means that it won't slide off in your bag.

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The ridge around the sides of the case might also make you feel a bit hemmed in, but in practice it isn't an issue.

At £99 it is not the cheapest option around, but if you need to light up your keys when you type, this is certainly worth checking out, especially if you want those keys to be yellow, purple, or even turquoise.