| |
3DVelocity and Belkin have developed quite a relationship
during 2002, and we look forward to a 2003 that is just
as fruitful for everyone. Whenever a Belkin product
lands itself here in the dungeon, it brings with it
an air of quality and function that gives this reviewer
a sense that all is right in the world. That may be
a little extreme, and from my past reviews of Belkin
products, you might think I moonlight as a PR rep or
advertising liaison for them. I can assure you that
I don't, it is just that nearly everything I have reviewed
thus far has been of high quality and very useful. Well,
a couple of weeks ago I got an email from Belkin announcing
a few new products that they are adding to their line
for 2003, and now I find myself behind a wireless keyboard
and mouse that has it's place in the world, as long
as you are not a gamer. Read on.
Part one: Retail package
The wireless keyboard and mouse combo
comes in a light blue box with a picture of the contents
printed on the front.
Inside you find everything needed to eliminate the
cables that not only clutter your desk, but confine
the limits of your keyboard and mouse to the length
of their respective cables. There is a keyboard, mouse,
RF receiver, batteries and a manual.
Part two: setup
Set up is as easy as installing a standard PS/2 mouse
and keyboard (unless they are not in sync, then you
have to add a small step). Just shut down, unplug
your existing mouse and keyboard, plug the color-codes
wires from the RF receiver into their respective sockets
and power back up. They should be detected as standard
PS/2 peripherals, if not, calibration is as simple
as pressing the button on the receiver followed by
pressing the reset buttons on the bottom sides of
the keyboard and mouse.
From this point, the keyboard and mouse are fully
functional, however, there is an included driver CD,
so I tried installing them. Here's a snap of what
to expect.
Pretty straight forward, no choices other than the
driver installation. Once installed, you get a set
of status indicators in your tray, they show the status
of the Caps Lock and Num Lock keys.
I found no difference in performance with or without
the drivers, but there are no led indicators on the
keyboard to show these statuses, so it's handy to
have the drivers installed. (Of course, the status
of Caps Lock and Num Lock is fairly evident when you
go to type something)
3DVelocity would like to thank Belkin,
especially Melody, for providing this sample for review.
|
|
