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Part Three: An In-depth review of Apple's new Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product(s): Wireless Keyboard and Wireless Mouse

Company: Apple Computers Inc. (www.apple.com)

Rating (Mouse): (out of 5) 4.5

Rating (Keyboard): (out of 5) 4

Pros (Keyboard): No wires! Frees up space (explained in review), works great as an iTunes remote, leaning back and using the keyboard on your lap is very relaxing and destroys any chance of good posture.

Cons (Keyboard): Could use more function keys (especially for iTunes), rechargeable batteries would be more convenient and would save the consumer some money.

Pros (Mouse): No wires! It is wonderful when you can zoom across your desk with no wires to stop you when playing games. No more wire tangle or need to stay near your USB port. Feels a bit more solid than other wireless mice.

Cons (Mouse): Sometimes will momentarily freeze for a fraction of a second if you should move your mouse around the screen at a high speed.

Requirements: Mac OS X 10.2.6 or later and either built-in Bluetooth or a USB Bluetooth Adapter.

Okay, we know what you are thinking, what do I need a wireless keyboard or even a wireless mouse for? Many have argued that wireless mice or keyboards are useless and that is exactly why we decided to review the new Apple Wireless keyboard and Mouse, to see if the critics are right or wrong. We have to admit that from the start, we here at NaoPress were a bit on the side of Apple on this one. Why? Because when displayed at Apple Expo, we immediately thought that the wireless devices were really, really cool. That being said, we were a bit skeptical at the true usefulness of the peripherals.

When we first started using our new wireless gadgets and stopped taking pictures of them (as seen in parts one and two of this in-depth review), we were first of all stunned at how elegant Apple had made the devices. One of the reasons that made Apple's new keyboard and mouse feel and looks so great is that they weren't as big or clunky looking (and feeling) as many other wireless peripherals.

Okay, so let's continue with the good news for another paragraph. When we first started using the keyboard and mouse we expected many good things to come from being detached from our computer. These expected pros included the ability to use the keyboard as a remote for iTunes or Keynote, the ability to type on our laps and the ability to roll our mouse over the surface of our entire desks. One pro that we never considered was maybe the most obvious one, if you like many of us at NaoPress have smaller desks with your computer and its keyboard taking much of your valuable desk space, the wireless keyboard is for you. When you need more desk space, you can simply move your keyboard off of your desk to somewhere more convenient, imagine that.

Fine, we will agree that there are some things that we don't like about the wireless keyboard and mouse. For starters, it would be wonderful if the wireless keyboard had some media buttons like other keyboards to make using iTunes even easier. Next, if the keyboard and mouse were rechargeable that would be a lot better than having to go out and buy some AAs every couple months. Finally, we found that when moving the mouse around our screen a bit too fast, the mouse would freeze up a bit or slow. This slight problem will hopeful be corrected in Panther's release or a Software Update update.

The verdict: For $69 dollars each, these wireless devices are awesome and perfect if you are trying break out of your wired world. Go out to your local Apple Store and try one and you'll understand why we will definitely be keeping our wireless keyboard and mouse around. Need extra reasons to buy one or both of these wireless devices? Here's two: The Apple Wireless Keyboard uses 128-bit Over-The-Air encryption to make sure that what you type doesn't end up on the screen of some weirdo and both devices use Adaptive Frequency Hopping which lessens chance of interference with other devices.

Contributed on Monday, October 6th, 2003 by The NaoPress Staff

Edited by Nick, NaoPress Editor

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