Saturday, February 2, 2013

Cideko Wireless Keyboard


For ages now, I've had a computer hooked up to our flatscreen, and we've slowly transitioned off of cable and mainly onto internet-based content. It's a pretty sweet deal for us, but only because we don't care much about sports or the shows being offered on basic cable. 

The other night, I sat up to grab our wireless keyboard and mouse, which are unwieldy things, and wondered if there was an easier way than using full-sized input devices. I was picturing a small keyboard that plays well with my thumbs, like the one that comes on the Sidekick or the Google TV remote. And sure enough, someone thought of it already. In fact, several someones have.

I'm an impulse buyer, so I ordered the first thing that came up, the Cideko AVK-02-915 Black RF Wireless Mini Keyboard (available on Newegg for $40). I've seen some good reviews online (here, for instance). It's working for us so far, although the construction seems a little flimsy (for instance, I expect the letters to rub off the QWERTY keyboard), and the buttons are less than intuitive. But it serves the purpose I bought it for (namely, to keep from having to get off my duff, which is a terrible inconvenience).

Start looking around in other places for the same type of thing, and you'll find more options, like the Koolertron Air Fly, the iPazzport Fly Air (a name that surely got someone fired), and the FAVI SmartStick, some of which have me feeling a little bit of buyer's remorse.