Today for review I've got a product
that I've come to like very much, it's become a permanent part of my
PC setup actually. The product doesn't have any special name it's
called the Wireless Handheld Keyboard and Touch Pad and it's from a
company called EFO. This product is exactly as the name sounds, it's
a keyboard and touchpad in one small device, about the size of a PDA,
that will allow you lots of freedom when accessing your PC or HTPC.
So read on to check it out....
The new EFO Wireless Handheld
Keyboard and Touch Pad gives you complete control of your media! You
can even use the EFO Keyboard connect to your PC for downloading
movies and watch them on big screen. Plus, compatible with
PLAYSTATION 3 gaming system for playing games. This portable size EFO
Keyboard is so good to fit your hand, and its backlighting allows you
to type and read text easily – even in dim light. In fact, the EFO
Keyboard offers you many indication light for easy understand what is
the status of the EFO Keyboard. The EFO Keyboard also features Hand
Writing Touch Pad that you can use as point and click. 2.4G DSSS
technology allows you to enjoy wireless control from up to 33 feet
away! Rechargeable Li-ion batteries last longer – up to 2 days
between charges. Take control of your PC entertainment with EFO
Keyboard – the only portable Wireless Handheld keyboard/Touchpad
optimized for the way you get your entertainment.
Features:
* RF Wireless Keyboard, mouse
and touchpad 3-in-1 in handheld size. It can be used for Media Centre
remote control - HTPC remote control, CarPC remote control, IPTV
remote control, etc
* Up to 10M wireless operation
of your PC
* Handheld device of size :
83mm x 126 mm x 9mm
* Weight : 60g
* Plug & play
* Support Window (2000, XP &
Vista) and Linux (Debian-3.1, Redhat-9.0, Ubuntu-8.10, Fedora-7.0),
Mac OS (with USB port). It can also be used on the Xbox 360,
Playstation 3 and Wii games consoles etc.
* Applicable for the lecturer,
meeting presenter, classroom teacher, sales manager or anyone using a
projected image because it can :
-Change slides
-Select screen options
-Write on the project image
-Emphasize words and objects
with dynamically inserted lines
-Draw on the projected image
dynamically
-For people who want to watch
internet TV on their PC, compatible TV via broadband and a PC, like
NBC, ABC, FOX and IPTV, you can sit in your easy chair and select
your viewing pleasure without walking to your computer to change
channels or scroll through options
A
Better Look at Things:
The EFO Wireless keyboard comes
packed in a plastic package with specs and features listed.
(Please note the packaging has a printing mistake on it, it says Unisen Corp, but it is actually made by EFO. This was a sample for review, and they sent one of these with the mistake for review)
Included with the keyboard is a
wireless dongle and USB charging cable.
The EFO keyboard itself is fairly
large, a little bigger than a BlackBerry, but much thinner. The full
keyboard is located beneath the large touchpad.
The keyboard isn't a full
keyboard, it's missing things like Print Screen etc, it's just a
basic keyboard really. It's much like many cellphone keyboards today
tough, to access the numbers you need to press the red SF key first.
Beneath the touch pad are the left
and right mouse buttons.
On the bottom is where you'll find
the On/Off switch and the USB charging port.
Above the touch pad are LED
indicators.
The back is just plain, nothing
special here.
Installation,
Testing and Comparison:
To use the EFO keyboard, just plug
in the receiver to your computer and then turn it on, I'm using
Windows 7 and the OS had no problems finding and automatically
installing the drivers, in about a minute it was up and running.
One great feature is the back
light of the keyboard, but the length it stays on could be longer in
my opinion.
I have to say that I love this
thing, I've used it almost everyday for the last two weeks and found
it to be a great little keyboard and navigation device.
I only charged it once so far, the
first time I opened it and it still works fine.
I've used it as my primary input
and navigation device and found that, for the most part it works
great, but obviously if you're going to type a lot you don't want to
be using this keyboard. It's just a bit too small for a lot of
typing, but if you're accustomed to using a cellphone keyboard you
shouldn't have any problem being able to use this keyboard adeptly.
The buttons on the keyboard for
typing work fine, but I found the mouse buttons aren't fully
sensitive. What I mean is that for the left click I can push in the
middle of the button, I've got to push on the far left side. It's not
a big deal once you figure it out, but it would be nice to be able to
push anywhere on the button and have it react.
The computer I'm using this with
is hooked up to my 46” HDTV, it doubles as my gaming system and my
HTPC, so it did get a bit of use at night. The back light is nice and
bright and does make using it in the dark much easier.
For gaming you're not going to use
this of course, but for most anything else you'll be fine.
The touch pad acts just like one
on a laptop, you can tap and slide your finger across it. It works
very well and it's very sensitive.
The build quality is a bit
sub-par, it feels a bit on the cheap side, it's very light weight and
made of plastic. I wouldn't want to leave it around and step on it,
I'm pretty sure it would break easily.
Summary
and Comments:
I have to say that I really like
this product honestly. My office is setup in my living actually, it
just makes things easier that way, but my HDTV is here of course and
I don't have to get up from my desk to access the other computer
that's hooked up to the TV.
I was working and in process of
installing Windows 7, along with all of my apps and games, for most
all of it I used the EFO Wireless Keyboard, it allowed me lots of
freedom of movement and good range.
Despite the fact that the build
quality isn't the best, I do like this product quite a bit and I can
recommend it to someone looking for a good little wireless keyboard
and navigation device.
DragonSteelMods gives the EFO
Wireless Handheld Keyboard and Touch Pad a 4.5 out of 5 score and our
Recommended Award as well.
Comment by Adrian on 2009-11-25 09:12:24 I've had one (in the UK) for about 3 weeks now. Works on my WIndows 7 64 bit media PC hooked up to my TV. I've tried other wireless keyboard/combos and this is the best in my not so humble opinion !!!
Comment by Ryan on 2009-12-31 10:48:14 I\'m currently researching component to create an HTPC and found this remote...to Adrian or Kristofer: can this be used to perform such functions as volume up/down, channel up/down, etc? Also, does anyone have any experience with using this on a Linux system? Thanks!
Comment by
on 2010-02-02 10:01:39 Please advise where to buy this in the usa
Comment by
on 2010-01-15 05:09:08 Hi, I would like to purchase one of these units, where can I get one and how much do they cost
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