2. Installation and Use

2.1 Installation

The keyboard was very simple to install. The target system was my Home Theater PC box (currently a Soldam Pandora Quatre) sitting underneath my television set. I already had a Gyration Ultra Keyboard and Mouse installed so I had to remove that set though in theory I could have both keyboards installed since the Gyration unit uses USB to connect the RF receiver.

The RF Receiver

At the basic level, all you need to do is connect the RF Receiver unit to the Keyboard and Mouse PS/2 ports. Power is drawn from those ports for the RF receiver. You add power to the keyboard using the supplied 4 AA batteries. The batteries themselves go in on the back side of the keyboard.

The RF Receiver	Receiver connected to the PS/2 ports
Install the batteries to the back of the KB	Batteries installed

Once I had the receiver installed, I started up Windows XP and the OS found the receiver immediately and installed it which then required a reboot. If you don’t plan on using the buttons along the top of the keyboard then this is sufficient with most of your needs. The keyboard and integrated controller work with the base install.You may have to synchronize the receiver and the keyboard if they do not "see" each other initially. To do this - just press the blue buttons on both the keyboard and receiver at the same time. You can switch between two channels if one channel does not perform well for you. I could not get more than the two so if anyone else there can get more - please let me know.

Back of the receiver	Top of the keyboard

However if you want to make use of the specialized IBM buttons on the keyboard, then you’ll need to install the CD that comes packaged with the box. The CD installs software that basically let’s you customize the various buttons as well as modifying the channel on which the keyboard and receiver communicate over. Installing the software was a cinch. You'll need to perform a reboot once the install is over.

After the quick reboot, I was provided with a screen showing me how to change buttons or preferences.Most of the buttons are already assigned but using the built in software you can provide different assignments to three customizable buttons. Want auto start a media player? Assign the player to a button! Want to email? Press the email button. You get my drift. You can even replace the top button labels that are found on the keyboard with your own set of customized labels that the included software application can print.

Button Customization

Keyboard Preferences

Specifc Button Customization - Customizing the Internet button

Tasbar buttons	Closeup on the buttons

The keyboard buttons	The specialized buttons up top

2.2 Using the keyboard/mouse

Perhaps the most unique aspect of this keyboard is of course the integrated pointing stick. It’s a small rubber knob that is on the upper right hand corner of the keyboard. The mouse buttons are found on the upper right hand corner. In my normal use, I found myself holding the keyboard along the side grips and then using my thumbs to either move the cursor or click on an item. IBM molded grips along the sides of the keyboard for that very purpose.

Controller	Another view of the controller
Mouse buttons are on the left side	What it looks like from above

Using the pointing device wasn’t too difficult to get used to. In fact if you use the IBM TrackPoint device, you will quickly feel at home with this device which looks like a mini joystick. However you do end up primarily using your thumb to move the pointing device as opposed to your index finger on the trackpoint. The response time of the mouse was fairly good with cursor acceleration within what you would expect from a device such as this.

Using the left mouse buttons and	Navigating with the mouse

Of course you won’t really be playing games with this pointing device but you will find it very easy to maneuver through menus or click on items in environments where using a regular mouse is hard to do. The obvious areas of use for this keyboard include space constrained areas, business presentations and in the HTPC arena.

Aside from the mouse, the keyboard is a joy to use. I do miss the numeric keyboard but that’s a small price to pay for a small footprint. The keys are nicely spaced apart and the tactile response of this keyboard is great. No mushiness here.

2.3 What it is not

This keyboard will not replace your normal keyboard on your PC if you have the room for a regular keyboard and mouse. The fact is – a mouse will provide better feedback and response rates than a wireless mouse will ever provide (except maybe for the new Logitech mice). Not having a numeric keyboard on the keyboard can be a real negative aspect for some keyboard users out there.

How does this compare to the Gyration Ultra Suite. Though it’s one less device to manage (the gyration suite is composed of the keyboard and the wireless optical mouse), the gyration excels in communication distance and in overall performance. Plus the fact that a mouse is available provides many more options to a regular PC user.

In some informal testing, we noticed that signal strength dropped off quickly once you got at least 10-15 feet away from the receiver. There were also some strange blind spots in ranges where the keyboard should have been performing well. Since this is an RF based solution, you should not need to have line of sight for the keyboard and receiver. This was a bit annoying considering that my couch was approximately 15 feet back from the TV set! I’m also willing to bet that I’m getting a decent amount of interference from sources around my television and electronic equipment. The Gyration devices definitely offer better communication performance in my home environment though yours may differ.

Mouse performance was good enough for web browsing, but don’t plan on playing First Person Shooters (FPS) or using the pointer for fast paced applications (usually games). The mouse has a very smooth feel to it that would make it good for normal everyday usage in a windowing environment. Dragging and dropping takes some getting used to since you are using two hands but it’s not hard to do at all.

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