Aerb Multifunction 2.4 G Mini Wireless Keyboard & Infrared Remote Control

Screen Shot 2014-09-11 at 2.15.26 PMOne of the main obstacles to the wider adoption of “smart” TVs and entertainment center PCs is the lack of convenient and accessible user interface. The traditional remote controls are very limited in their capacity, the touch-screen input is obviously out of question, smartphone apps tend to be buggy and slow, and we are still some time away from a truly effective voice input. There are several good wireless keyboards on the market right now, but most of them tend to be too big and bulky for the intimate space of one’s living room. This mini wireless keyboard seems to be as close to the ideal solution as they come. Indeed, it has a lot going for it, but it’s not entirely without its problems.

I’ve managed to pair up this keyboard with four different computers or computing devices: Mac Mini, Dell Windows 7 desktop, Android PC-on-a-stick, and LG Google TV. The keyboard paired up well with all of them. I was particularly pleasantly surprised with how well the keyboard worked with my little Android PC-on-a-stick. I’ve tried using several different Bluetooth keyboards with that little device, and they have all been a disaster. All I had to do with this keyboard is connect the little RF dongle to the Android PC and I was set. The same holds for my LG Google TV – there was no installation process required, and the keyboard worked as soon as it was plugged in. The situation with Mac Mini was a bit different. My Mac was not able to recognize the keyboard immediately and assigned to it a “generic” North American profile. Unfortunately this keyboard doesn’t have a “command” key or its equivalent, which makes it less than suitable for use with Macs. The pairing with the Windows PC was easy and without any hitches.

The keyboard’s layout follows more or less the standard QWERTY configuration. The keyboard feels a bit cluttered, but it still more or less works as advertised.

The cursor keys work well under many situations. The same cannot be said about the “air mouse” feature unfortunately. It is very awkward to use, and I don’t find it very helpful. It’s the same problem that I have with my Google TV remote, except more so.

The keyboard feels well built. It looks elegant enough and it’s also very lightweight. It will definitely feel at place in any living or entertainment room. It might fit all too well though – you may have to worry about yet another “remote” getting lost or misplaced all the time now.

Cool little accessory/gadget that, despite its shortcomings, has an important role to play in the modern hyper-connected home.

**** Product provided for review purposes. ****

 

Bojan Tunguz

Bojan Tunguz was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he and his family fled during the civil war for the neighboring Croatia. Over the past two decades he has studied, lived and worked in the United States. He is a theoretical physicist with degrees from Stanford and University of Illinois. Tunguz has taught physics at several prominent liberal arts colleges and has been writing about physics, science and technology for more than a decade. He also has a wide spectrum of interests, and reads and writes about current events, society, culture, religion and politics. Over the years he has reviewed many of the books that he has read, and posted his reviews on various online outlets. In 2011 he had become a top 10 reviewer on Amazon.com, where he continues to be very active. Aside from reading and writing, Tunguz enjoys traveling, digital photography, hiking, and fitness. He resides with his wife in Indiana. You can follow my review updates on the following pages as well: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tunguzreview Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tunguzreviews Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104312842297641697463/posts

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