| Cheap, cheerful and works like a charm on my Mac |
| I inserted the batteries in the keyboard, plugged in the USB dongle, pressed the ID buttons on both units and the keyboard was talking to my Mac Powerbook from across the room within 3 minutes of unboxing it. Voila! No control panel, no tweaky drivers.
The ergonomics of this compact and very lightweight keyboard are ideally suited for sitting on your lap on the couch in front of your HDTV. As you grasp the upper corners in both hands there is a trackball under your right thumb and a left mouse-button-equivalent under your right index finger. There's a scroll wheel under your left index finger and additional left and right mouse-button-equivalents under your left thumb. The plastic trackball feels a bit grainy but actually operates quite smoothly and I have no problem placing the cursor with near-pixel accuracy on a 1920x1080 screen from across the room. You do have to shift your hands entirely if you want to move them into typing position - in that mode the mouse buttons are not very conveniently placed.
Now for sixty bucks, don't expect the highest quality key action, or completely glitch-free operation. The scroll wheel action seems to slow way down when scrolling slowly and speed way up when moving fast - but I have to say that it does scroll any Mac OS X window that displays a scroll bar. Occasionally the trackball loses its connection to the cursor, but typing any keys on the keyboard syncs it again. The reliable range seems to be about 20 feet - beyond that it can be hit-or-miss. However, you have to give Adesso some credit for decent buid quality; while one look tells you it's clearly a budget keyboard, it does not feel cheezy or flimsy at all.
There are a number of special-purpose multimedia and application launch keys across the top of the keyboard; unfortunately, because there is no Mac-specific driver for this keyboard (it's a USB plug-and-play device) the only ones that work on the Mac OS are the speaker volume up, down and mute - which are still quite handy.
As others have noted, it's difficult to put down after sleeping your computer without inadvertently waking it up again; something inside the keyboard (probably the trackball) is VERY sensitive to jarring and you'll have to learn to place this keyboard down very carefully if you want your machine to stay asleep.
I have only about a week's experience with this unit, but so far, so good.
| | almost perfect for home theater PCs |
| I searched high and low for a keyboard with an integrated mouse, as this is for a home theater PC and a separate mouse just isn't feasible. This seemed to fit the bill. And it does.
The trackball and mouse buttons are all fairly intuitive and comfortably placed. I am running Windows Vista and the keyboard installed in a snap (you have to give up a USB port). Even the play/rew/ffw/pause buttons work on several of my PCs media players--I had expected those would require manual configuration/programming like universal remotes do, but these seem to work regardless of the three software media players I have installed. Beware, however, that connecting ANY wireless mouse/keyboard accessor will render the screensaver inoperable thanks to a glitch in VISTA.
The only thing that would have made this a 5-star rating would be an integrated universal TV/VCR/Cable/Satellite/Reciever remote. Also, I haven't been able to figure out if I can clean the trackball rollers; not sure if that will become a problem or not (UPDATE: 1 year later, and still no need to clean the trackball/rollers!).
Other than that, it's not gigantic, it's fairly comfortable to use, and surfing the internet from my couch is now possible. Just keep the instructions handy, as every now and then the keyboard forgets how to communicate with the USB receiver, and may need to be reprogrammed.
| | This is the keyboard to get - forget about the rebranded version from Interlink |
| This keyboard can be purchased in three different forms that I am aware of. Interlink offers it as just the keyboard or a combo package that includes the keyboard along with their RemotePoint RF presentation wireless mouse/pointer. You can also get this keyboard under the Adesso brand, whom I believe is the manufacturer since they seem to specialize in wireless keyboards whereas Interlink appears to be a company for presentation products (perhaps they make the pointer and package it with a rebranded Adesso). I purchased the Interlink combo and then returned it and purchased the Adesso instead. My evaluation of these products was under Windows Vista Ultimate Edition (32 bit).
Adesso vs. Interlink versions....
First, the mouse. The Adesso uses an optical trackball, which is much easier to use. The Interlink has a thumb pad type of joystick which is okay to use and takes some getting used to. The thumb pad mouse seems like it may have been included to match the one on the pointer/mouse. The one on the Interlink pointer works very well, much better than the one on the Interlink keyboard.
The index finger buttons on the front of the keyboard are a little different as well. On the interlink you get mouse buttons and on the Adesso, the right button is the left mouse click and the left is not a button but rather a scroll wheel. The wheel scrolls only, there is no push button function.
Adesso has an extra row of buttons above the F keys rather than the logo and trim stickers found on the Interlink. You get an ID button, forward/back buttons, IE, email and My Computer buttons on the left side plus transport and volume buttons on the right side.
The RF receivers I had were also different. The Adesso one is small, like a USB memory stick. The Interlink was a larger unit (it was round and about the diameter of a hockey puck and half as thick) with a USB cable hard wired to it and a little (~3") antenna. This may have been a special receiver since I purchased the combo package with the keyboard and air mouse / pointer.
Range is great with both keyboards and neither requires drivers to be loaded. You only need to load software for the air mouse /pointer if you use that and even then you only need it if you want to reprogram the buttons to do specific actions.
Finally there is the subject of the quantity of monetary units that are required to obtain one of these keyboards. Both keyboards are available here on Amazon with the free supersaver shipping. The Interlink will require twice as many monetary units to acquire it, however.
Go to the "interlinkelectronics" web site or the "adesso" web site to see for yourself. The Adesso is model number: WKB 3000UB.
Conclusion. For HTPC or couch potatoe, do not waste time with the Interlink. Go directly to Adesso.
| | This IS the keyboard/mouse combo to get if you have a HTPC - HANDS DOWN...
I was using a Microsoft Bluetooth Elite setup for my HTPC and got sick and tired of the keyboard loosing the connection. Sure bluetooth is 100ft radius, but it was getting rediculous. Plus the mouse was giving me wrist pain using it on a sofa. Then I decided after reading reviews on this product here to get it. Let me tell you I cannot be happier.
I would personally llike to thank the person(s) who designed this keyboard. They must have done the research on ergonomics because every button is placed well, keyboard shape/curves are optimal and trackball setup feels great. Many designers for input equipment just don't take the time to plan like this I suppose.
Well, I will keep it short although I could write a short story about how great this unit is...
PROs:
- NEVER loses connection. Huge plus! You have to wake the keyboard up after a few minutes of inactivity by pressing a button (not moving the trackball). The key press does not register on the computer (just wakes the unit up). This wakeup feature is awsome in 2 respects. First, it really saves battery life and second, it keeps from something bumping the trackball and moving the cursor.
- Every button is optimally placed. Left/right click take some getting used to. Trackwheel is awsome. Keys are not small, yet fit on such a small keyboard. Key press feels like a normal keyboard. Has essential browser and media buttons :)
- Keyboard itself is sturdy, made of good plastic, lightweight and perfect sized for HTPC environment.
- Trackball is sweet! If you get this product and find that the trackball misses a bit, don't be discouraged. My unit came with the trackball coated with a semi-slick protectant which will wear off in a day or so of movement. The mouse pointer can move as fast or slow as your thumb wants it to without missing skipping. Another HUGE plus!
- Battery life for me is 1+ month strong already. Great sign.
- Setup is quick and fully XP/Vista compatible. Plug in dongle, push ID button on keyboard, use keyboard. Done.
- RF range is about 50ft for me even through multiple walls! If you stray too far and it looses signal, as soon as you come back in range it works. NO RECONNECTING!!!
CONs:
- Wish it had a sleep button.
- No software available to track battery life.
- USB dongle is about 3in long. A bit large for dongles nowadays. Might be a problem for a laptop.
I will be buying one more of these soon for the bedroom.
Worth every penny IMO!!!
| | I bought this keyboard and Before you buy I want to write pros and cons
CONS:
1. This is typical china made keyboard [...], I ordered ADESSO brand, but the packaging was completely different. The actual brand printed was X Gene. Big surprise to me.
2. It does not come with any Manual and there is hardly any info available on net.
3. My scroll mouse button stopped working in a month. ( I was thinking I will manage with arrow keys)
4. My shift keys stopped working after while.
5. One day I realized that inside of keyboard was making noise (it was fallen of internal screw that was moving inside keyboard as u shake the keyboard. When I opened this keyboard realized all the plastic used is cheap quality and screw fell of when the plastic that holds the screw cracked after using this keyboard. Lot of time u have to press hard on some keys because they don't work and end result is plastic cracking inside and screws falling off.
6. You may see some missing keystrokes if your PC /laptop is busy doing something else.
7. Keyboard is not water proof, tea spill off on this keyboard and that was end of it.
PROS:
1. if you think keys dont work at all, then press the ID button continously until the LED on USB stick lights. this actually matches RF channel on keyboard with USB receiver.
2. Use this keyboard gently if you want good life
3. Keyboards works in general, it takes 1-2 weeks to get used to it so dont give up, u actually will love it once u got used to its trackball mouse and side buttons.
4. Battery life is good and battery indicator is useful to remind you when its going to be low. it saves battery when keyboard not in use.
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