iPazzPort 2.4GHz Mini Wireless Keyboard Remote Control with Multi-Touch Touchpad for PC
One 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 iPazzPort keyboard is connect the little RF dongle to the Android PC and I was set. The only issue that I had with that device is that the Enter key did not work properly under certain settings. 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 trackpad on the right side of the keyboard is big and effective enough to use with just your thumb. Obviously, this keyboard is not very lefty-friendly, but even so it’s not hard to get used to this mode of navigation with either thumb.
The biggest issue with this keyboard is the relative location of the trackpad compared to the rest of the keyboard. I found that it’s almost impossible to “thumb type” with my right hand. I would definitely not want to use this keyboard to type in any extended amount of text, but for quick textual entry it works more or less fine.
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. ****
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