KeySonic KSK-3205RFM Air Super Mini Wireless Keyboard w/ Trackpad Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. KeySonic Wireless Keyboard with Trackpad4. Performance and Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

The design of the KeySonic is unique, at least in terms of its size. It measures only 6.5 centimeters in length which is smaller than a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone. As such, you probably don't expect much functionality, but the KeySonic KSK-3205 crams in a plethora of features. The air mouse feature is fantastic, especially when used as a presentation pointer. By pressing the mouse button twice, the gryo function is enabled permanently until double tapped again.

I especially like the keyboard backlighting, something you don't normally see on a small wireless keyboard. The play controls are brilliant, and they work with iTunes, offering a wireless remote which can skip forward/backward, change/mute volume and even open up the default media player.

If you use Windows Media Centre then this will also work as a TV remote allowing you to change channels.

The keyboard is very small, and subsequently rather difficult to use for serious typing duties. Even after many hours of practice I couldn't type more than about 20 words per minute. Annoyingly, I can type faster than this on any of my smartphones, even an ancient Nokia I have in storage.

I also found the layout of the punctuation to be a bit illogical, with only the full stop getting its own key. The rest are strangely positioned as function keys, and as the keys are so small the function key texts are rather tiny and difficult to see.

For instance, on the top row the left square bracket is the function of the T key, but then function Y (the next letter to the right on a QWERTY keyboard) gives the right hand curly bracket …. this just doesn't make sense. The keyboard is not pleasant to use, with an excessively high resistance and some movement across the left and right plane. It also doesn't feel built to a very high standard.

In terms of range the device is quoted to work at up to 7 metres. We tested it thoroughly at this range and there were no problems, although direct line of sight is obviously a requirement.

We didn't have time to thoroughly test the battery life but it only uses power when transmitting key presses and even the keyboard illumination turns off after a few second when none of the keys are depressed.

The KeySonic KSK-3205RFM retails at £40.76 from Scan.co.uk which is a good price, however the Xebec Tech iTouchpad Diamond HTPC keyboard retails for less, and due to the larger size is much easier to use as a typing device. At the end of the day, this is a very useful product, but the incredibly small dimensions also bring a series of user interface issues into the mix.

Pros

• Very small and convenient
• Good range
• Easy to set-up (Plug and play)
• Has keyboard backlight

Cons

• Difficult to type on
• Punctuation keys are located illogically
• Key's could be nicer to use.

Kitguru says: If owning the smallest interface platform is a key buying decision, then look no further. Just be prepared to accept usability issues due to the limited physical dimensions.

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