- Easy to hold and instantly familiar in the hand.
- Typing is as easy as text messaging.
- Accurate and quick navigation with the shoulder buttons providing left and right mouse buttons.
- RF wireless works up to 33 feet away and doesn?t require line-of-sight.
- Includes a USB dongle which requires no drivers.
I have been remodeling the main bedroom of the house and have a Samsung LN46A650 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color waiting to go in. I also am using the entire South wall to house music home studio gear I have been compiling for quite some time. Pro Tools 9 Software which is a Digital Audio Workstation utilizes a split screen function so you can place your mixer full screen on one screen, and the recording console on the other. I run Windows Media Center PC in the other room which is my main entertainment experience, but since I am running the free over the air waves antennae on roof, getting the highest resolution possible due to Cisco-Linksys Media Center Extender with DVD with its up scaling built right in, I don't get a lot of movies, or should I say none at all. So rather than subscribe to Net Flix or whatever I decided to join Amazon Prime so I get 1000's of free movies to download and watch on the set plus unlimited free 2 day shipping.
What does this have to do with the Wireless Ultra-Mini? In a word, everything. When I am sitting at the console, or getting ready to record a track, I can use the Wireless Ultra-Mini (WUM) to key in a track. I don't have to race across the room and pick up my instrument. If I want to stop and do a retake, just hit the mini for complete control. I can create new tracks, redo old ones, everything a full blown keyboard can do and from across the room. The WUM is small enough to sit on the side of a music stand. Since I am viewing the recording controls on a 46 inch big screen as my PC monitor, across the room computing is a sweet option.
Also when I am in bed and want to watch a movie, I have the WUM sitting on a night stand not taking up much space. It's a Windows Media Center controller. I can conveniently surf the web on the big screen also is to pick up the TV remote and choose the PC input. I have HDMI output on the PC, and then from the bed the WUM acts like a full blown keyboard and Windows Media Center controller. If I am importing recorded TV into the bedroom Media Center PC right from the living room WMCPC I can control that from the WUM as well. So all of the options are open.
Ok so that is a few of many options that are opened up and made convenient from the WUM. Now about the function. It sits very comfortably in your hands. It has replaceable batteries and an on-off button on the back so you can preserve battery life when you are not using it. I have another unit like this that only has a built in rechargeable in it that you cannot access and that requires you to constantly recharge it which takes an overnight charging; so you could be stuck without a remote when you need it most. The WUM is only a quick battery change away.
I find the built in touch screen mouse pad to be ergonomically positioned properly and has a very nice feel to it with the mouse behaving just the way you would hope it would. I am not a fan of laptop mouse pads with their touch sensitivity but this one does the job so well you wouldn't mind using it.
Some of the features built in will take some getting used to, but I find the form and function to be very intuitive. Of course, just like anything else there is a tiny learning curve to working any keyboard with lots of remote functions. So the WUM is just the right size for kicking around on top of the covers, and it has a range of 30 feet so that will suit all but the largest rooms in range. I love it and for the price I am thinking about getting one for the living room as well. Highly reccommended.
Buy SMK-Link Wireless Ultra-mini Touchpad Keyboard (VP6364) Now
I've been using media center PC's since 1999 when I got my first HDTV. I've gone through a lot of keyboards and systems since then, from the larger IR based Microsoft media center keyboard to the bluetooth Mac keyboard and trackpad (which I still have and my currently most used one, the Logitech Dinivo Mini.
The first Dinovo mini I had also had "The Green Button" we media center users love, but when that one died under warranty, the replacement did not have that anymore, instead boasts of a non-programmable button that calls up windows media player instead. And the letter "a" on my Dinovo Mini is not working as reliably anymore either, so I have been looking around at possible replacements. When this came up as a Vine offer, I jumped at it.
Size wise, it's a little taller than the Dinovo, but not quite as wide from side to side. It has a good feel, with a shaped bottom that almost makes it feel like a game controller for how your fingers wrap around the curved surface underneath. Button presses are great, nice and positive feeling. No mushiness making you wonder if you hit it. Plugged in the USB receiver, and it was instantly functioning. No problems at all, 64 bit Windows 7.
The layout of the controls on top are well done as well, the D-pad for directional on the top left, and the transport buttons on the top right. The only downside is there's no "middle" click on either one for an "enter", so as you're navigating the Media Center as I do, if you need to hit enter, you're going down to the lower half of the keyboard on the right side to hit the actual enter button, since the mouse click will click where the mouse pointer was, whether you're using it or not, as opposed to where the focus is.
The trackpad works about as well as any trackpad on a smaller device like this does, but it's odd using the thumb to do so, especially for someone like me who uses a laptop almost exclusively, so uses a touchpad all day and night. But once you get used to the oddity, it works fine. The buttons on top are pretty easy to get accustomed to as well. You can scroll up and down with the two thumbs simultaneously as well.
It's better than the Dinovo as far as the actual keys you have, because it's more of a miniaturized "full" keyboard. Control and Alt keys are there where you would expect on both sides of the space bar. And it has a LOT of other function keys, both for media center users (music, pictures, videos, etc) as well as normal PC users including a single button alt+tab option, and a single button for the flip 3D task changing feature. Easy volume up, down, and mute right under the top right transport controls.
And the buttons are actually arranged like a real keyboard, slanted, whereas the Dinovo's are set up in a slightly awkward vertical and horizontal grid, not like a normal keyboard.
And, of course, it has the green button to launch media center.
What it lacks, though, and where the Dinovo steps up, is programmable buttons for a few things you want to customize, and even more importantly, a lit keyboard.
When you're using something like this, odds are you're doing media functions. You may do a few other things, installing an app or something, but media use is the likely target for potential purchasers. And to lack the light up function of the Logitech is a serious drawback.
But if you don't need to use this in the dark, this is a much better price than the Dinovo, with more useful buttons for media center usage.
Edit 11/20/11
Had to drop it from my initial 4 stars to 1 star. It simply fails to work after time. Totally non responsive and inop until I pull the receiver out and reinsert again. There is no other keyboard with a USB fob that I've ever had to do this for, and since this is in my media center PC under the TV at the bottom of the cabinet, it's not something feasible to have to do every time I pick it up after a day of non use. Leaving it on, powering it off between uses, the button, nothing makes it wake up again, not even pulling batteries. Only pulling the receiver out of the PC and putting it back in again. So started out a good option for the price, ended up being a paperweight for me...
Read Best Reviews of SMK-Link Wireless Ultra-mini Touchpad Keyboard (VP6364) Here
First we had a full sized bluetooth keyboard and mouse combo for our HTPC, but that was just too unwieldy and bulky (this is in our closet now). Then we had a "gyro" mouse controller similar to this, but returned that since the mouse was really awkward to use and inconsistent. We got this instead and have stuck with it for almost a year, so that's why I doubled the stars given.
I can't recommend it to anyone. We don't sit that far away from the HTPC; maybe 12-14 feet. Even if I stand up and walk close to the receiver I might have to press buttons repeatedly to get them to work. Maybe 20% of the times we try to use it the connection will be stable and it'll work like a dream. The rest of the time you have to press 1 button, check to see if it registered which could take up to a second, then repeat the press, or press the next key. We mostly resort to using our XBox (as a media extender) instead and try to avoid typing things into this PC.
This market is still wide open as far as I'm concerned. Maybe that Lenovo thing will be the next try, but I'm very hesitant to drop another $60 on this HTPC controller experiment.
For reference, I'm using it with a Windows 7 machine that has a 1st gen core I5 and 8GB of RAM. The machine runs like a dream except for our wireless keyboards so far.
Want SMK-Link Wireless Ultra-mini Touchpad Keyboard (VP6364) Discount?
If you are looking for a small keyboard / mouse to run your HTPC then this device should work for you. If you need something to not only run your HTPC but use for general web browsing activities this probably is the wrong product.
Pros Small, works out of the box with Windows 7, mouse pad is very functional and if you play console video games it will feel very comfortable in your hand.
Cons Limited range and easily blocked by objecs such as your computer case, your leg or your small child. I have the nMediapc HTPC 8000 case (very nice, looks like an old radio) so I had hoped to have the usb receiver in the back of the case. Unfortunately that is not possible as the signal gets completely blocked.
If you plan on surfing the web for long periods of time or general computer usage then this device is not ideal. Due to it's size your hands will start to cramp (say after 35-45 minutes of use). It's also important to note that it is not back lit so if you keep your room dark while watching movies it may be hard to navigate.
Save 14% Off
The SMK-Link Wireless Ultra-mini Touchpad Keyboard (VP6364) is a perfect way to control your home theater/media center (with projector/big screen tv), or work (for presentations). It has a lot of useful dedicated important function buttons such as volume up/down buttons and play/pause/fwd/rwd buttons. This mini keyboard is also very easy to use and require no separate driver to install, just plug in the USB dongle and use the keyboard. Typing is similar to typing on your mobile phone or blackberry, with QWERTY format. It includes a touchpad and multiple ways of using the touchpad (including double fingers for scrolling) The wireless connection doesn't require line-of-sight which is convenient. While typing is easy and convenient on this keyboard, in my opinion, this keyboard is geared towards lighter use of the keyboard and more for navigating around and completing other simple tasks. i.e. Normal web browsing, typing web address, or typing short email is fine, but for writing papers/many pages, I'd recommend you to use regular size keyboard. Another important thing to notice is that this keyboard requires PC/Mac to work (you can't just plug the usb dongle directly to a TV). Additionally, the on off switch is so small that I recommend people to just leave it at on position at all times as it will go to sleep mode when not in use for some time, and when you press the green button (with window logo) or touch other button or touchpad, it will resume back on from the sleep mode.
Sidarta Tanu
