Keyboard with Touchpad: Looking at the Rosewill Super Slim 2.4GHz Wireless Touchpad Keyboard
Introduction
The Rosewill Super Slim 2.4GHz Wireless Touchpad Keyboard is one of the modern types of keyboards, which features the standard keyboard keys as well as a touchpad. This keyboard is designed for use with your home theater computer or any computer where you would like to be wireless. This keyboard with touchpad can be used at a range of up to 20 meters, and includes 88 standard keys and media-specific keys as well. The keyboard is very well designed, easy to use, and the perfect fit for a Home Theater PC (HTPC).
Design and User Interface
When the keyboard was unboxed, it was found to be very lightweight and thin. Its dimensions are 12.25 by 8.5 inches, and it weighs
around 1 lb 3.5 oz (with batteries). The keyboard contains standard keys, arranged in an 88-key form factor, and provides quite a few shortcut keys. The shortcut keys include 10 keys around the touchpad, which provide functionality for audio control, media control, and Web surfing. The Media Center key opens the Windows Media Center on Vista and Windows 7, the media player key opens up the default music player, the Flip 3D shortcut allows you to move through flip 3D, and the audio controls allow you to go back, go forward, and change the volume, etc.
The rest of the shortcut keys are accessed via the function (Fn) modifier key, which gives control of other functions with a single press of a key. There is no separate numerical keypad. But there is the option of pressing ‘Num Lock’ and accessing numbers via the blue labeled keys. The back of the keyboard contains the battery compartment (four AAA batteries are included). Also at the back, there is a pair of flip up props that can elevate your keyboard to the angle you want. Another feature on the back of the keyboard is a small reset button, which resides at the bottom left corner.
The wireless receiver (or USB dongle) that facilitates the wireless connection between your PC and the keyboard is included. It is a simple plug-and-play device that works right out of the box. No special installations are needed to get it started.
Features
The keyboard is pretty slim with a thickness of only 14mm. It provides laptop-style keys and a built-in touchpad. The touch operations support multi-point finger gestures. The wireless keyboard works at a range of up to 20 meters from the PC. The battery works for about 3 months on this keyboard, and there is also the auto sleep feature that puts the keyboard to sleep when idle. The USB dongle is a very convenient way to connect the keyboard to the PC without any extra additional installations or driver support. There is also a small reset button on the dongle that you can use to reset the link between the dongle and the keyboard.
Performance
The keys provide tactile feedback and are very easy to use. The touch pad is pretty accurate and the wireless range works up to 20 meters, which is sufficient for many people’s needs. The media shortcuts proved to be a nice touch as it was pretty convenient to control the media at a distance.
Verdict
The Rosewill keyboard functioned very well and its media keys are a pretty nice touch to the overall user experience. It takes a little time getting used to, but all in all, it is a very comfortable wireless keyboard with touchpad, for anyone to use.
