Like many people who use their old school retired computers for their home Media Center I started to get frustrated with the “keyboard” situation. The situation being that the keyboard is connected to the computer via a piece of cable.
Being a life time member of the couch potatoes club I’m used to perusing the Television via the remote control - and that never had a wire connecting it to the Television. At least not during my day! Using a computer for a home media center without a wireless keyboard was like going back in time to an era where you had no choice but to sit right in front of the Television to make changing between channels 1 & 2 as effortless as possible.
So to bring my perusing experiance back into the 21st century I bought myself a wireless keyboard, the EFO Wireless USB Keyboard with Trackpad which incidently I now really really like. It does have its quirks though. It doesnt have any gesture controls, the rubber keys are a little naff and every known and again the keys would get stuck which meant that you would have to detach the USB dongle from the back of your computer and plug it back in (which would reset it somehow). But this I tell you is a far cry better then having to reboot your computer - which is what I was doing before I figured out the above trick. Most importantly though the size is just right. It fits fine in the hand, it has a great range (my sofa is at least 2.5 meters away from the TV) and the battery seems to last for ever.
The next keyboard that I tried was the USB 2.4Ghz RF Wireless Tiny Keyboard With Trackball which I gave up on after just one night. Partly because I didnt like how the mouse ball was on the Right Hand side of the keyboard and the buttons on the Left Hand side. It was just a little too long to be a remote replacement. To use the mouse I would have to hold the keyboard with both hands - then whenever I wanted to type something I would have to put the keyboard down. So you were constantly picking up and putting it down - not cool. If this keyboard was an inch smaller it would probably have worked - that way you could have typed with your thumbs (they way you do with an iPhone or with the above keyboard). It would have solved the putting up and putting down problem. That was my Day 1 first experiance. Day 2 never happened because the batteries that came with it were naff.
The third keyboard I tried was the Brando Wireless Keyboard Comes with MultiTouch TrackPad. Before I continue on has anybody else noticed the distinct lack of brand names & model numbers. This is a good time to mention that they are all from Hong Kong.
So the third keyboard. This is a normal sized keyboard. It is not as nice and shiney as the picture depicts (it is an ugly matte black) and I don’t care that it supports gestures on the PC. The problem with this keyboard is the size - when did you ever loose a keyboard behind the sofa? You didnt. And theres my point, I was looking for keyboards that are designed to replace the remote control and the first two do.
I think that the EFO Wireless USB Keyboard with Trackpad has a future. Once they improve the rubber buttons and add geture suppor this will be the killer mouse for your HES (home entertainment system - and I dont think its a coincidence that it abbreviates to he’s or at a stretch his).
Finally for the spohisticated Mac users out there I’d like to mention the Mobile Air Mouse designed for the Mac. I’ve tested this on my laptop and for the most part it works a charm. It supports gestures, tells you what app your’re currently on, and you can even use it to control your iTunes. For a full feature breakdown head over to the product overview page on their site. Apart from the Air Mouse occasionaly triggering expose & spaces settings.
