[Galaxy Tab S Accessories] KEYofR:
I love the official keyboard for all the usual obvious awesome reasons. But I really miss a trackpad while in laptop mode.

I found the Amazon Fire Keyboard right in the same BestBuy where I got the official keyboard. It's smaller than the Samsung in every dimension, height, width, thinner, lighter, WITH a trackpad, and yet the keys are actually larger. Has almost identical features and keys. Like all 12 F-keys, and a back button that works as Esc key at least in a couple terminal/ssh apps which I need. Ctrl, Alt, etc. And to top it all off, I paid $150 for the Samsung and the Fire was only $79 open box but clean. Only $89 unopened.

It's a wonderfully slick little keyboard. Perfectly flat, thin, light, simple, clean.

However all in all, I haven't yet made up my mind which is the better overall kit. There are some pros & cons about each.

Since I want a pointing device, I'm comparing not just two keyboards but two complete kits.

Using the Samsung keyboard means I have to carry a mouse or trackpad or some kind of pointing device other than touching the screen, and I DON'T have to use any kind of case. (I don't like cases.)

Using the Fire keyboard means I don't have to carry any extra pointing device, but I DO have to put the book cover on the tablet to provide a kickstand since the Fire keyboard doesn't. It also means I'm carrying two loose items instead of two items snapped together into one item.

I found a pretty slick little (expensive, and not as small as I'd really like) bluetooth mouse that goes well. HP Bluetooth Mouse Z8000. It looks like there are no buttons, or like the entire mouse is one big mouse button, but in fact if you press on the top-left or top-right, it has distinct left and right mouse buttons. It has a capacitive touch sensitive top surface that provides a virtual scroll-wheel. Just swipe your finger on the spot where a scroll wheel would normally be, and it works. It takes 2 AAA batteries, no usb recharging port.

So I have two possible configurations I'm comparing:

1) Official keyboard + mouse.

PROS: Mouse is actually pretty optional. If I leave it behind in the car, I can still touch the screen directly. So when max convenience matters, just grabbing the tablet & keyboard snapped together is better than grabbing the tablet and Fire keyboard as two loose items. This mouse works a lot better than the trackpad in the Fire keyboard. Mouse has normal left & right buttons and scroll. No need for book cover or other case. Keyboard provides all that is necessary, neat and clean. Looks better, peices all match well. Samsung keyboard has slightly better keys and compatibility: Samsung has PgUp/PgDn/Home/End, Fire does not. Samsung layout is closer to standard pc, particularly the {[ }] |\ ;: ~` keys, the very existence of PgUp/PgDn Home/End keys, and the fact that they are doubled up with the arrow keys in the obvious way, where the Fire keyboard puts display brightness on Up/Dn, and nothing on Left/Right. The primary functions of all of the F-keys are standard universal Android or hardware functions, not Samsung special. Only Samsung special key is S-finder, and that's a secondary Fn function and is off to the side not on a central F-key. Keyboard provides kickstand. It's much more convenient to grab the naked tablet when you want to. The book cover snaps in place very strongly and is hard to pry off, and to snap back on. While it's effortless to combine or separate the tablet and keyboard cover.

CONS: Lumpy extra loose object carrying the mouse. Ugh! Samsung keyboard + mouse is a more expensive total kit than Fire keyboard + book cover, though not by a lot. 3 total battery powered objects to recharge or replace: Tablet, keyboard, mouse.

2) Fire keyboard + book cover.

PROS: Smaller, thinner, lighter. Cheaper. Built-in pointing device. Only 2 total battery powered objects to carry and keep charged instead of 3: Tablet and keyboard. Both objects rechargeable by micro usb, no batteries to buy, or leak. Kit, tablet + keyboard, is flat, no mouse lump. Kit is a little cheaper. Keyboard is more useful with other devices than the tablet. It isn't shaped specifically to fit exactly one specific tablet. You can use it for home theater pc, PS3, phone/phablet, anything. Book cover provides two tilt angles vs the Samsung keyboard only provides one.

CONS: Keys are less standard. F3 is a shopping cart, Amazon remember. Android "home" is a dedicated button where F1 should be. `~ {[ }] += :; are all in odd places. PgUp/PgDn/Home/End don't exist at all. Trackpad doesn't work as smoothly, accurately, or effortlessly as the mouse. There IS one mouse button, in the form of the whole track pad clicks. That provides only a left-click function, and click-dragging (dragging while holding down the button) is very awkward and mostly doesn't work well, as you are trying to slide across a surface that you are pressing down quite hard on. No right-click. No scroll-wheel. Requires some other way to prop the tablet up, IE: book cover. Keyboard says "Amazon" on the back, and I hate Amazon (WalMart of the Internet).

A few things that are notably pretty good, or bad, but the same for both kits, at least for me:

* Both have all 12 F-keys. (good)

* Both have all 12 F-keys as secondary Fn+F# keys, not primary functions. (inconvenient)

* Both have android back button that functions as Esc key in at least a few terminal/ssh apps. (good)

* Both have Ctrl & Alt (good)

* Both have 4 arrows, and in a reasonable spot. (good)

* Both have capslock with light (who cares?)

* Both have Android Back, Home, and Menu buttons. (good, menu is particularly handy now that it's removed from the device itself and the overflow button doesn't always appear on screen)

* Both have Delete (good)

* Both lack Insert (bad)

* Both lack Scroll-Lock/Num-Lock, Print-Scr/SysRq, Break (bad)

* Both charge by micro usb and claim to last for months. (good)

This pic shows Left: Samsung keyboard + HP mouse. Right: Fire keyboard + Samsung book cover. In-use and packed for travel.