How to add a keyboard and mouse to your tablet

When Apple announced its first tablet, it was skeptical whether the device would be liked by people, but as we saw in the past year, tablet computers have grown popular amongst people with varied needs and of all age groups.

With their ultra portable size and advanced computing capabilities tablets have redefined the term mobile computing. Multi touch interfaces and the ability to understand gesture based inputs have enabled navigational wizardry like swipe and flick, which have become part of common language among tablet users.

Even though touchscreens do justice to many of the functions of a traditional computer with a keyboard and mouse, users still feel awkward using them due to the old habit of using these peripheral devices.

So, the solution is to simply connect a mouse or keyboard to your tablet and use it like a normal computer. Well, even though you can connect any USB based keyboard and mouse to a tablet, peripherals that connect using Bluetooth are always a better deal because they keep the whole operation wire free; and don't drain your device's battery as much as wired peripherals do, so your device runs longer.

Here's how to connect a keyboard or mouse to your tablet

First, you need a Bluetooth enabled keyboard or mouse. We used Logitech Dinivo Mini for this.

Using a single and smaller device than your tablet is recommended because it keeps you mobile.

To begin with, charge the keyboard or mouse, or install batteries in the device and then switch on the pairing mode. Pairing mode can be accessed by keeping the power button pressed for 10 seconds or as mentioned in the manual.

After that, switch on the Bluetooth on your tablet and search for the Bluetooth keyboard or mouse that is also on. On locating the device, pair it with the tablet and type the code '0000' at the prompt. The most commonly used code by Bluetooth devices is '0000', so it should work.

Once the device is tethered to the tablet PC you can use it, but will have to connect the device every time you want to use it. To connect a keyboard or mouse again after having tethered it to a tablet once, simply switch on the device and the Bluetooth connection on your tablet, right click on the Bluetooth icon and select "connect"