3. Using the keyboard and mouse

I won't spend too much time going over the mouse since that was covered in my previous review of the Ultra Mouse.

3.1 Keyboard

The mobile keyboard from Gyration has a nice solid feel to it. It's substantially smaller than the Logitech keyboard and you can easily use this on your lap. The keys do have a slightly mushy feel to it though it's not nearly as bad as some of the other cheap keyboards out there. There's just enough tactile feedback to let you know that you've pressed a key, This is pretty much a full sized keyboard with a laptop like layout. The keyboard appears to use a membrane switch for it's keys which would explain the mushiness feel - can someone correct me here if I am wrong?

Gyration has added a set of extra keys to the top of the keyboard which include:
1. Music operations -Prev Track, Next Track, Volume Up, Volume Down, Play/Pause, Stop and Mute buttons
2. Browser operations - Back, Forward, Home, Favorites, Stop, Refresh, Search and Mail buttons

Special keys

Whenever you press a key, a little green LED light on the upper left hand corner lights up. The Mobile Keyboard certainly saved space in my living room and here on my desktop.. Having that Logitech Keyboard around was just too bulky for my setup.

Comparing the Gyration w/ the Logitech

3.2 Gyration Ultra Mouse

What can I say about the mouse? I absolutely love this device. I can use it in the air; I can place it down on a flat surface and use it as a regular optical mouse. Sitting back on my couch and surfing the web has never been more pleasurable. It does take some getting used to - especially when you are using the in air abilities of the mouse. You come to realize that all it takes are subtle movements of your wrist to move the cursor. Pressing buttons is also somewhat different in that you use your thumb to left click an item. Those with big hands may find the mouse a bit small for size - especially if you are using it on a table.

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3.3 Response

How's the response of the system? Sorry - I didn't take any scientific measurements in this department but I'll say this much. In the original review, we had some issues with using the mouse in 3D games. Though the issues may still be there, I had no problems using the Ultra Mouse in the new Unreal 2003 demo this past weekend. Of course I had the mouse down on a flat surface and not in air but there was sufficient responsiveness on the part of the mouse. In fact Spinlock pretty much fragged all of us with that mouse. How is it in other games? OK as wireless mouse goes. If you still want to game, you'll ultimately want a corded mouse.

However for normal everyday use, this keyboard is great. In fact it looks even better when you couple the suite next to a small form factor PC like a AMS gBOX machine or a Shuttle SS51G.

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