A visit from the (Blue)Tooth Fairy (Wireless Optical Desktop for Bluetooth)

Member Name: LegendaryMrDude

Product:	Wireless Optical Desktop for Bluetooth
Date:	23/01/03 (2785 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wireless!, Range, Extra buttons

Disadvantages: Cost, Battery life

Vive la revolution! Let them eat wireless and other phrases of that nature.

The price of wireless networking kit has plummeted recently, so much so that I bought a couple of NetGear wireless network cards for my PCs. This has allowed me to have a PC in the living room, connected to the TV and the stereo so that I can surf the web and listen to MP3s from the comfort of my sofa. But this would be no use at all if I had to push the sofa to within 2 feet of the PC every time I wanted to use it... The solution to this particular problem arrived in the form of the new Microsoft Optical Desktop for BlueTooth.

"Why," I hear you cry, "did you go for a bluetooth keyboard/mouse?". Well the answer is pretty straightforward really... I did, as I always do, some reading around on the subject of my next purchase. Much to my dismay, I found that a standard wireless keyboard only has a range of about 6 feet, which would still require me to move the sofa should I want to use the PC in the lounge. Obviously this was no use and I was greatly disheartened until someone at work mentioned the new Microsoft Bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo.

Now I'll be honest and admit that I've not really been that interested in BlueTooth and so it has, in the main, passed me by. But a quick bit of reading revealed that it could be the answer to my wireless keyboard woes. Bluetooth is a low-power wireless communications protocol that operates up to a range of approximately 10 metres (30 feet). It was designed for 'personal' communications, things like mobile phones, fridges, pocket-PCs and the likes, that would never need the 1000ft range of standard wireless networking. It's perfect for the keyboard/mouse scenario as well and so I bought it.

So that's the 'blurb' out of the way, but is it any good?

I'll start from the beginning. In the box you get a keyboard, mouse (with a pair of AA batteries for each) and

a nifty little BlueTooth receiver (with a bright-blue LED on the top). The idea is that you plug the receiver into a USB port on your PC and put the batteries in the keyboard/mouse and you're off. At this point I must mention that BlueTooth is ONLY supported in WindowsXP, as far as I know it won't work on windows 2000, ME, 98 etc. But I digress... You plug the USB receiver into the back of the PC and Windows does it's thing, detecting the new device and installing the necessary drivers (from the supplied CD). It then walks you through creating a security association between the receiver and the keyboard/mouse. This is to ensure that someone else with a bluetooth keyboard/mouse won't be able to take over your PC. Once the BlueTooth receiver has detected the keyboard, it pops up a box on the screen asking you to type in an 8 character validation code to prove that they keyboard it had found is the keyboard you are using. This done and the return key pressed, the keyboard is good to go. Next up, the mouse. Flip it over and press the 'reset' button and the Bluetooth receiver detected it in no time. This time, the validation involves using the Bluetooth mouse to click on a padlock on the screen, so no problems there. So within the space of 5 minutes the whole lot is finished... time to sit back on the sofa ad relax!

Before I go, I'll leave you with some detail on the layout of the keyboard and mouse.

The keyboard is a neat, navy-blue affair with translucent blue keys. It isn't too heavy and is nicely balanced for sitting on your lap. The keys have a good positive action without being to "clicky". What really sets it off through is the row of silver quick-link buttons along the top, these allow you to do all manner of tasks at the press of a button, ranging from opening your Internet home-page to adjusting the volume, opening a new mail or skipping to the next track in Windows Media Player. These extra but
tons cover so many
of the common features that I found myself not needing to use that mouse that much.

The mouse follows the same colour-scheme, dark blue with occassional silver and translucent bits. The shape of the mouse itself takes a bit of getting used to, it's much more 'fitted' than I am used to. It has a number of extra buttons, again designed to make life easier. These are mainly for Internet browsing and cane be used to quickly take you Back through pages or cancel a page loading. The mouse mechanism is purely optical so there isn't a ball to get gummed up with muck. It also means that you don't need a mouse-mat, it will happily work on a trouser-leg, carpet, coffee table etc. It's also a pretty intelligent little critter, trying to save battery power by reducing the brightness of the LED depending on how light/dark the surface you are using the mouse on is. Despite this, you should only expect the batteries in the mouse to last for around 2 weeks of average use, slightly more if you use it less or less if you use it more. I would advise buying a couple of sets of rechargeables and having a fully charged set spare all the time. It would have been nice if the mouse/keyboard came with a 'docking station' that recharged them overnight, but this would only have driven the cost up even further.

In summary then, this keyboard/mouse has allowed me to enjoy true wireless freedom. It has better security features than standard wireless keyboards/mice, has a much better range and looks a lot tidier to boot. In addition, the supplied BlueTooth receiver can support an additional 5 blueTooth devices, so as more things become BlueTooth enabled I am ready to conect to them. This has come at a cost though. The price is bordering on ludicrous when you consider that a standard (wired) keyboard can be yours for only £15 and an optical mouse being an additional £30. What you should remember though is that you are also bu
ying a BlueTooth receiver which can support multiple additional devices, and this is why you are paying the extra.

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