Wireless keyboard w/ touchpad recommendations?

[bpsmicro]

Right now, my BTV box (one of the Shuttle boxes with WinXP Pro) has a wired keyboard with touchpad on it, which is normally stored in my cabinet. I only use the keyboard for "maintenance".

I'm thinking I'd like to get a wireless keyboard, so I can do a couple of other things with the BTV box without having to stretch the wire across the floor. However, I do *not* want a separate wireless keyboard and mouse combo, which seems to be the most popular. I really want a single keybord/pointing device unit (touchpad, thumbstick, whatever).

MS has a nice-looking MCE keyboard, and it's not outrageously priced, but does not come with an IR receiver. I'm not familiar with the MCE-specific boxes. Is this receiver available separately? Will it even work with WinXP Pro or is it "locked" to only work with MCE?
Or can I even make this keyboard work via my existing UIRT and Girder (3.3) combination without a lot of poking around?

Failing that, any other suggestions for sich a keyboard/touchpad combo that isn't outrageously expensive (and has an IR range of at least 20ft)?

Brad.

[jb3osu]

I use the Belkin MediaPilot and am very happy with it. It's a combined wireless scrollwheel mouse/keyboard with universal IR remote built in, and comes in a surprisingly compact form factor. The keyboard/mouse portion transmits over 2.4GHz and has very good range (~30'). It comes with a USB base/recharger with expanded number pad that I just keep tucked under the A/V rack. You have to flip a mode switch to use the universal IR remote since it shares buttons, but it can do basic controls for 8 devices and the keyboard's F(unction) keys can each be programmed as a learning remote key.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...robotminion-20

[nanook105]

These are a little pricey, but I've had two of them for a couple of years:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...9735&CatId=537

The range is great (even though they are used on different floors in my house I have to set them on different channels). Also built solid.

[fester]

I've burned through ALOT of wireless keyboards /mousies over the past 4-5 years sitting 15 ft away fr receiver. Gyration kb is the ONLY one that didnt fail but I really cannot use the small kb's with keys all crunchy. I hate that. So - after killing my last one (they ALL die) I finally decided to get a .... drum roll

SAITEK ECLIPSE LIGHTED USB KB!!!

I just velcro a powered USB hub under the couch - very handy. and the cord is not even an issue. i am SO over wireless kb's. they all suck in my opinion

[bpsmicro]

Heh, thanks for all the opinions. Those 2.4GHz ones are definitely a tad expensive. Running a longer USB cable to my main seating location is an option I'll consider. I'll have to ponder this a bit more, but I'm not in a huge rush.

Brad.

[Crooze]

Here's the one I've been using for the past couple of years. The only draw back is the trackball is really hard to use when the batteries start getting weak.
http://www.directron.com/ack573.html

I also ran across this one. http://www.directron.com/ack581.html Looks like it's made by the same company. I like the mouse pad better than a trackball and for $28 how can you go wrong?

[bpsmicro]

After some reflection, I decided RF wireless would be better for me than IR. In the end I went with this:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...235&CatId=1482
Note that price is in Cdn$, so roughly US$38. I don't have it yet, probably Wednesday. It's the cheapest wireless from a Canadian source (cross-border shipping can cost a fortune) and has good customer reviews. I'll post my own thoughts once I've beaten on it for a while.

Brad.

[norbert]

Originally Posted by jb3osu

I use the Belkin MediaPilot and am very happy with it. It's a combined wireless scrollwheel mouse/keyboard with universal IR remote built in, and comes in a surprisingly compact form factor. The keyboard/mouse portion transmits over 2.4GHz and has very good range (~30'). It comes with a USB base/recharger with expanded number pad that I just keep tucked under the A/V rack. You have to flip a mode switch to use the universal IR remote since it shares buttons, but it can do basic controls for 8 devices and the keyboard's F(unction) keys can each be programmed as a learning remote key.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...robotminion-20

This looks pretty interesting. One of the comments on Amazon said it wasn't very good as an IR remote. He sited the fact you could do direct channel entry. Do you use it very often as an IR remote?

[jb3osu]

The IR universal remote mode/portion of the keyboard is interesting. It's certainly not the best universal IR remote ever invented, however I've also never seen one integrated into a wireless keyboard/mouse before, and it's not terribly shabby. For what I use it for, it's fine. I have a dedicated SFF pc running BTV and iTunes installed in my living room A/V rack, connected to a Sony TV and a Denon 5.1 receiver. I can power on the TV and switch video inputs/channels, power on the receiver, control receiver volume and active mode (although not surround modes), along with controlling 6 other devices (aforementioned are the main two for me). The IR portion also will let you "learn" keypresses from another IR remote and assign them to the F1-F12 keys, which I suppose would allow me to change surround modes if I hadn't allocated them already to replace a generic DVD player remote.
Then I flip the mode switch to 2.4 GHz (PC control) and handle BTV/iTunes/WinXP/etc. from there. The mode switch is mutually exclusive (and a bit annoying at first), but because of the temporal order of how I use the functions I only really have to flip it once or twice per session.
Belkin's software lets you reprogram shortcuts and keys, and I think they have a list of pre-programmed remote codes on their site too. http://web.belkin.com/support/downlo...&lang=1&mode=m
A nice surprise is that the keyboard and mouse work during booting (BIOS editing, dos, etc) if you have USB kb support enabled in your mobo.
Overall I really do recommend the mediapilot, I have replaced 4 other remotes with it and added a wireless scrollwheel mouse and keyboard to boot. I should mention that I also have an ATI remote wonder II that I use occasionally after everything's powered up and I don't feel like using 2 hands. It transmits over RF to a separate receiver, but I find the mediapilot's 2.4 GHz transmitter is consistently more reliable.

[norbert]

Thanks for taking the time to do such a thorough review. It is very helpful.Based on your review, I think it will serve my needs.