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 keyboard seems to be as close to the ideal solution as they come.

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 Rii keyboard is connect the little RF dongle to the Android PC and I was set.

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 key action feels pretty good, but again you don’t want to use this keyboard primarily for typing of long documents. For interaction with smart TVs and similar devices the keyboard is more than adequate.

Having the trackpad positioned above the keyboard is one of this gadget’s best features. This allows for all of the keys to be easily accessible for thumb typing. The use of the trackpad is a bit more awkward than with some other keyboards, but in my opinion this is a small price to pay for a fully accessible typing.

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 has an important role to play in the modern hyper-connected home.

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