| I use this as the keyboard for my living room entertainment center. Although I have the USB RF receiver in the front USB port, I am able to type and mouse as if it were a wired keyboard/mouse even from my kitchen 25 feet away. This is the best purchase I've made for my entertainment center. I love the trackball on the right and the scrollwheel under the left trigger spot. My only complaint is that the RF times out after a short while (5m perhaps), but it comes on with any keystroke (and it still registers that keystroke). When I need to use the mouse, I just hit the shift key and it functions again. This is probably a good feature because it should be saving battery life. I've been using the same batteries for three months and have not had to re-register the keyboard to the USB receiver.
| | Great design. Wish the build quality was a bit better. |
| I LOVE!!!!! the design of this keyboard. The rounded corners, built in track wheel and (not seen in pc) scroll wheel at your left middle finger, the second right mouse button for your right middle finger... by far the most functional placmement of any trackball keyboard I have seen. There's even slight indents on the under side so it sits right over your upper thighs while in a lounge chair. A++++ on form factor!
For those considering this keyboard, it is not just for a media center as my primary use is the office. No more sore shoulder on my mouse side and I now sit comfortably with my shoulders square to the monitor so it encourages much better posture than a mouse. This has probably even saved me from carpel tunnel syndrome!
Although I haven't tested the range to it's maximum, I have had no issue in small to medium sized conference rooms while straying 20-30 feet from the receiver and many people have commented how cool it was I could move around the room and face the projection screen, instead of with my head buried in my laptop. Much more interactive. The receiver too is a very friendly USB stick about the size of a flash thumb drive.
The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is the build quality. Although I have gotten used to it, it would probably feel a bit cramped for some who like a full size keyboard and the size dictates the number keys are less important. But this is no differnet really than a lap top keyboard and it is not a big nuisance for me personally. It is more the 'cheap' keystroke feel that disappoints and it is a bit louder than a really high quality keyboard. But keep in mind when I say 'high' quality, I am talking about the likes of a Logitech DiNovo which is twice the price.
Also, there are two rubber feet on the underside which peel off fairly easily and once one gets lost (and one eventually will in the portable settings for which it is intended), you have to pull off the other as it will not site right on a desk. Luckily, it's heavy enough that it doesn't slide around a desk without them.
Still, for the price, and for the form factor, these nits are easily overlooked. This is such a handy keyboard I am even considering a second one, just in case they decide to stop making it. I have not seen any other form factor that makes deskless mousing and scrolling so effortless. I'd have a hard time living without it now.
| | Better than average design, but very poor construction (haywire after 2 months) |
| For the 2 months that it worked, it was better than other mini keyboard/trackball combos that I've tried (but that is not saying much at all, since they are almost all terrible). One thing I liked most about this over others was that it rarely needed to be resynched. The trackball worked pretty well for being so tiny, and the mouse buttons/scroll wheel were nice.
But today, after using the keyboard for probably only 5-15 minutes per week over the last couple of months, it has gone haywire. Pressing most keys on the keyboard now results in the keyboard sending multiple keystrokes to the computer. For example, the "g" key sends "gv". I'm past the Amazon 30-day guarantee, so I'll have to try to deal with the manufacturer Adesso.
| | Better than expected for the price! |
| Like other reviewers, I purchased this keyboard for use with a home theater system. Surprised that Sony doesn't offer a Bluetooth keyboard to go with the PlayStation3 (yet), I did some research and settled on this RF unit as the best stopgap solution.
Unlike the other reviewers, though, I have had no problem with the RF signal fading in and out. Admittedly, I don't use the keyboard all that much, but whenever I do I am always impressed by how well it functions. It reliably wakes from sleep and functions as advertised with only occasional missed keystrokes. The integrated trackball is a big plus -- no separate mouse to clutter up your living room coffeetable just for scrolling/navigating.
Your mileage may vary, but at 12-15 feet away from the PS3/TV my unit works like a champ.
While its design is nowhere near as nice as that of the new ultra-thin aluminum Apple keyboard -- and its appearance is not very impressive (hey, its a keyboard!) -- at least it is ergonomic and comfortable to use. The rounded corners are nice, and the keys have a decent tactile quality.
All in all, I'm surprised to be this pleased with it, given the knocks it has taken from other reviewers. Not a bad deal.
| | Perfect form factor for our living room media centre PC |
| I am giving this product 4 out of 5 stars.
Positive Aspects:
* Product is wireless, with the ability to use multiple frequencies within the 2.4GHz range. If you encounter issues with conflicts between your wireless phones or networking, you can change the ID that the keyboard uses. I have found that compared to a bluetooth wireless keyboard I also have, this one has better performance and better "distance" from the system.
* Plug and play. All I had to do was plug in the wireless USB adapter, put the batteries in the keyboard, sync'd the devices and it was up and running in less than 20 seconds.
* Integrated trackball mouse with multiple left-click options. You can either use the left/right mouse buttons on the upper left of the keyboard, or for one hand mousing there is a "trigger" style left click button on the upper right near the track ball. This is very handy and a nice feature.
* Integrated scroll wheel. Just like normal mice, this keyboard also has the scroll wheel available, and it's located in the "trigger" spot on the upper left near the mouse buttons.
* Soft-click keyboard is not too loud, and the keys feel good when using them. Since it's a mostly full size keyboard, you also don't feel like you're having to smoosh your fingers together to use it.
Where it looses points for me:
* No visual indicators for numlock, scroll lock, caps lock. The only light on the keyboard is the low battery light. This means that if you have accidentally engaged one of the "lock" keys, you won't know it until things stop working. I accidentally had the numlock on and half my keys became numbers vs. letters. I would love to have a more visual indicator, even a low powered led would have been nice.
* Moving the trackball doesn't "wake up" the keyboard. If you haven't used your keyboard in a bit, it seems to go to sleep. You can wake it up by hitting a key or clicking a mouse button, but not by moving the trackball. I'm not sure how negative this is, but it doesn't function like a normal mouse would to wakeup your screen-saver/etc.
* Not rechargeable. Yes you can use rechargeable batteries (two double A), but in this day and age it would be much more convenient to make this thing rechargeable by plugging it in - even to a USB port on the computer. In this fashion you could alternatively have it plugged in and charging or unplugged and wireless.
Overall for our media centre PC, which requires the ability to be anywhere in the room and control it, this keyboard is a great form factor to sit on the coffee table and be out of the way when not in use.
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