About Sharon

What's Sharon?

Sharon is a trademark of LEICKE and mainly offers input devices, such as keyboards, for smartphones and tablets. Among our Sharon flagship products are tablet cases with integrated silicone keyboards, e.g. for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, that come in handy when you are on the go and provide fantastic protection against impacts, dust or splash water at the same time. Another popular Sharon line includes our Aluminium Bluetooth Keyboard Covers for various tablet models. Snap them on your tablet and you will get a sleek, stylish display protection. We offer custom-made keyboard covers for almost all tablets of the major manufacturers such as Apple or Samsung. There are some Sharon Keyboard Covers for models that share the same display size like the iPad 2, iPad 3 and iPad 4. Additionally, we offer universal keyboards that can be used with various devices.

Our products are characterised by innovation and durability. We have got our finger on the pulse of the time and continuously come up with new ideas and solutions. We use high-quality, quiet keyboards and intelligent charging circuits for the built-in batteries of our Bluetooth models. A great example for all this is our I-RKS Keyboard Cover for the iPad mini.

Can I use my device with a Sharon keyboard?

You will defintely be able to use the Sharon keyboard if your device is mentioned in the product description.

If your device is not mentioned in the description, it is worthwhile to take a look at the hardware specifications of the manufacturer. Our keyboards use - unless otherwise mentioned - the wireless standard Bluetooth HID, which is supported by many devices. This applies to both tablets and mobile phones running Android operating system as well as Apple devices (iOS 4.0.1 and later required). Even computers and notebooks running Windows, OSX and Linux nowadays often support Bluetooth. For more information, please refer to the manufacturer's information.

Setting up bluetooth connection - Pairing

Setting up our keyboards is very simple and follows the same scheme for most operating systems and tablets. Go into the settings of your device and tap the Bluetooth setting. If Bluetooth is not switched on, switch it on now as it is necessary for pairing. Now turn on the keyboard and press the connect button (either labelled as such or with antenna icon) until the LED on the Bluetooth icon flashes on your keyboard. Now you can start a search for Bluetooth devices on your tablet. The keyboard is, if it is not yet known to the tablet, usually marked by a set of numbers / letters seperated by double dots. Later the exact name of your keyboard will show in your tablet settings. The keyboard should now appear in the list of found devices. Select it. You will then be shown a number code, which must be entered with the numeric keys on the Sharon keyboard. Press the Return key (Enter key) to confirm the code. You now should have successfully paired the Sharon keyboard with your device.

Should there be any problem such as that the keyboard cannot be found or your device does not accept the keyboard, repeat the procedure from the beginning. It is very important that you press the connect button again, because this is the only way a new pairing can be initiated. If the error occurs again, please get in touch with our support. We will try to help you and find a solution.

Special Keys

Many tablets have special keys that provide shortcuts to useful functions, such as Volume, Play and Next Track. It must be noted that each manufacturer uses slightly different combinations. For our keyboards, we have combined the essential functions of an operating system type and integrated them on the keyboard. Most special functions are directly accessible by pressing the appropriate key. Additional functions are available in connection with the FN key. The latter applies especially to our iPad mini keyboards as we had to dispense with several special keys because of the keyboard's compact size. Here, to use the enhanced functions, first press and hold the FN key; second, press the F-key you want to use.

Depending on the operating system, some functions are not directly accessible, certain special functions require additional software, or are not available in all devices. The manufacturer usually provides information on this.

Layout

We offer tablet keyboards for several languages. The most common are English, German and French. When setting up the keyboard, you should make sure that the input settings of your tablet or smartphone match the layout of the keyboard. The layout language can be adjusted independently of the device language. It may happen that the character recognized by the tablet does not match with the imprint on the keyboard (e.g. device shows "Y" while pressing "Z"; here a QWERTY instead of a a QWERTZ layout has been selected, which is common in England and the USA).

How to change the language settings differs according to the type of operating system and menu. Even one and the same device can be subject to changes in the language setting' menu after an operating system update. The usual approach for Android devices is to look for the settings of the device's own keyboard and to edit them. These are accessible at Settings / Language & keyboard. Android then offers you to select the layout you want to use later (this especially comes in handy when you want to switch between different layouts). Then you will have to choose which default layout you want to use. Newer devices even offer a symbol to change the keyboard language during writing.

If you have an Apple device with iOS, you can change the language of the keyboard in Settings -> General -> select keyboards. Here you can add a layout. The important subitem is "Hardware Keyboard Layout", which is where you can change the layout of your Bluetooth keyboard. The menu item "software keyboard" can be used to change the layout of the screen keyboard if you want two separate layouts.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4509?viewlocale=en_US

-> Tip: If you have multiple keyboards with different layouts, you can switch between the layouts by pressing XXX+XXX.

What does I-RKS mean?

I-RKS is short for Intelligent Reduced Keyset and is mainly found with our compact chiclet keyboards for small tablets like the iPad mini. In order to be able to design an ergonomic layout, we have analysed the use of keys according to frequency and combined little-used keys in one key. This allows us to market keyboards with sufficient space between the individual keys, despite smaller overall dimensions. Little-used characters can be entered through pressing the FN key and the desired key. The I-RKS keyboards a perfect tablet accessories for users that prefer convenient key sizes and clearly perceptible space between the keys. With Sharon, typing comfort and compact size are not mutually exclusive.

Power Consumption / Standby

Once the keyboard has been successfully paired to a device, the connection will be saved internally. This means all data is saved even when the keyboard is switched off. The keyboard pairs again automatically after switching on your device.

If you need the keyboard more often, you can leave it turned on without a problem. The internal energy control automatically puts the keyboard into standby mode after 15 minutes of inactivity. To use it again, simply press any key. For the battery running time of the keyboard in standby mode, please refer to the operating instructions supplied with the keyboard.

If the battery of the keyboard runs low, the charging indicator starts flashing. You should charge the keyboard as soon as possible.

Charging the keyboard

Charging the keyboard is quite simple. Just take the supplied USB cable and connect it to the keyboard. Plug the USB end of the cable into a free USB port on your PC or laptop. If you have a USB mains adapter, you can even plug the cable into a normal socket. The charging process is indicated by the illumination of the battery light. Once the battery is fully charged, the charge indicator light goes out.

Service life

Our Sharon keyboards are equipped with high-quality technology and mechanics that guarantees a lifetime of about 4 million keystrokes under normal use. To ensure a long service life, the keyboards should be stored in dry and dust-free place. Keyboards can become dirty after periods of extended use. If a keyboard becomes dirty enough, its performance can be affected. If you want to get rid of dust and dirt, gently turn the keyboard over and shake to remove loose dust and particles. For example, use compressed air to blow between keys and dislodge dirt trapped underneath. You can also use a small soft-bristled dusting brush. Some of our keyboard cases have a keyboard made ​​of silicone, which is waterproof on the writing surface. You can wipe them with a damp cloth. Please make sure no water gets near the openings of the charging connector.

The battery is designed to last about two years under normal use. It cannot be replaced. If the battery is not behaving normally (e.g. the keyboard bulges), please remove the charging cable immediately. Such problems are usually caused by operating errors or overvoltage. Do under no circumstances continue to use a keyboard with a faulty battery!

The keyboard contains electronics requiring disposal and thus may not be disposed of with normal household waste. For more information, get in touch with your local waste disposal company.