The Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 is Microsoft’s thinnest keyboard ever, as it’s just slightly thicker than the width of a AAA battery.

The fact that it’s a bit thinner than most keyboards, doesn’t make it exactly portable though as its other dimensions are fairly standard. Rather, it’s the fact that it operates wirelessly via Bluetooth that is noteworthy. According Microsoft more than 55% of notebooks will ship with Bluetooth by the end of 2010. The great thing about a Bluetooth keyboard is that it doesn’t require an irritating dongle that hogs a precious USB port.

The 6000’s design is based on Microsoft’s Comfort Curve layout, which supposedly encourages natural wrist posture. "The design tenets of compact, clean and refined really set the stage for the success of the keyboard," said Chris Kujawski, industrial designer for Microsoft Hardware. "There is nothing extraneous about the design. We removed everything that didn\'t fit with those ideas and ended up with something we\'re really proud of - a compact, sophisticated keyboard that pairs perfectly with Bluetooth computers."

The Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 will be locally available from the beginning of November at a recommended retail price of R1299.