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FK-760 A Keyboard and mouse in one
The FK-760 - sold by Gizoo details at the end - is available according to the box in Black or Silver or Red I was sent the more normal Black. However for lounge use the other colours might get a look in. This is the same model I looked at first close to 18 months ago. Once I reviewed it several people said that the one they were selling was different well it's now back in stock and indeed at less money.
First the all important dimensions, it is 38x18x5cm and it weights around 800grams. It feels great when held with the mouse rollball and mouse buttons on the top edges easily operateable by thumbs and fingers. Placing it over my normal keyboard there is a space saving of between 8 and 11cm on the width.
Open the box and there is the keyboard, the four AA batteries and the wireless link that fits into a USB port. The manual consists of a folded piece of paper. To install place the link in a USB port a press a small button on it's face, the unit flashes, now press the ID button (top left on the face of the keyboard) and now both the keyboard and the integrated rollball work.
The manual (folded piece of paper) has not improved it states 2xAA when it's 4xAA and says the ID key is on the back of the keyboard when it's on the face, but lets say it was written by someone whose first language is not English.
Being a belt and braces person at this point I disconnected my original PS/2 keyboard all still worked fine. Now I switched off and then restarted, no error messages that used to arrive without a keyboard attached 'keyboard error press F2 to continue' these would be funny if they did not happen for real. Now I disconnected my mouse and shutdown and restarted again, no errors. The only difference I noticed is that the PC is unresponsive for a few seconds longer after boot up, apart from that no difference.
I have been using the FK-760 for about a month not only on that PC but also on another that has Windows ME on to check it works on earlier models with exactly the same results.
This is a 86 key keyboard with only the function keys being smaller than normal. There is no numeric keypad and this is replaced by an FN key and blue additional symbols on 15 keys as well as on 4 of the function keys, perfectly useable and similar to what you have on a notebook keyboard. On the top left are the two mouse buttons with the scroll wheel under the left top edge. The top right has the rollball and a second left mouse button under the right edge, these work very well when used as a conventional keyboard on a desk or when the keyboard is held as with media centre operation. Above the function keys are 13 buttons all clearly marked as to their purpose and a single small LED in the centre that will only come on when the batteries are low.
For anyone used to using a notebook there is really no problem, for those who hate trackpads or worst still the erasure type button that used to be popular on some notebooks then the rollball and buttons will be heaven.
My Windows ME system is nowadays used mainly for transferring my LP's onto CD's and as such the keyboard and mouse take up a lot of space in a confined area where it now is, the FK-760 is ideal there and line of sight between the keyboard and the wireless link is not required, in fact it has to travel through my old audio system where the LP's are played and transferred by lead to the sound card.
The FK-760 is stated to work at up to 10 metres from the wireless sender, my eyesight is not good enough for that but I have certainly used it about 2.5 metres away without the slightest problem.
The price is currently £29.95 including post and packing from the link below and while this is not cheap it does allow you flexibility and in my case it allows me more room where a separate mouse and keyboard are not really able to fit. I still like this and while keyboards and mice are available for less this works well especially with limited space and also when held as indeed you are likely to do when using it with a media centre. http://www.gizoo.co.uk/Products/PCGaming/Wireless/WirelessKeyboard.htm
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