Wireless, In-Air control mouse with compact keyboard for presentations and PC connected home theater.
$ 116.82
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Gyration Wireless Air Mouse GO Plus and Wireless Compact Keyboard Bundle GYM1100CKNA – Energy Star Qualified
Pretty good product for the price but it does have a few limitations,
*******HOW LONG HAVE I OWNED THE GYRATION GO AIR MOUSE & COMPACT KEYBOARD?*******
I have owned this Compact Keyboard and Go Air Mouse Combo for well over a year. I bought it to replace my IR (infra red) Silitek SK-7551 compact keyboard + pointing device for my Home Theater PC (HTPC).
*******WHY DID I NEED IT?*******
Since I have an HTPC it’s connected to my HT receiver in my living room and its used to play back DVD, music, stream online video (YouTube). And usually in an HTPC setup the the actual computer case is next to the TV and HT Receiver while you sit a couple of feet away (11ft in my case) from the set up. So you need a wireless keyboard/mouse and remote to work everything.
I have had some sort of an HTPC for about 6 years and in these years the MOST used device (besides the universal remote) is the MOUSE. The SK-7551 retailed for $25 but is no longer made. The OLD mouse was a pointing device in my Silitek Keyboard which meant I had to cradle the weight of the entire keyboard just to use the mouse. So I realized that I need a separate mouse and keyboard but did not want to spend on high end stuff like Logitech DiNovo. Plus the Silitek Keyboard was IR which means I needed to ALWAYS point to the receiving station (placed under the TV) for me to make it work.
*******SO HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?*******
Note the OLD keyboard on my HTPC was an IR or infra red keyboard which means the two sensors MUST be in the line of sight to work. That was the bad news, the good news was that it was immune from interference. Any RF product that run at 2.4 Ghz (like the Gyration Keyboard&Mouse) will have some interference. Even a microwave can cause some interference.
Here are some observations:
1) The Gyration KEYBOARD is a compact 88 keys RF keyboard and it’s very light. But I do have some delay between initial keystrokes and them appearing on screen. But once the letters start appearing on screen the delay is minimal. But it can get irritating but you get used to it.
2) If you plan to use this as the ONLY keyboard & mouse connected to your PC you need to enable USB mouse and keyboard in your BIOS. The RF receiver that comes with the product plug into your USB device. Otherwise you cannot use the mouse or keyboard when you are in the BIOS.
3) The RF USB receiver seems to work better when plug it in the front USB ports. This could be because my HTPC has 802.11G PCI card with antenna in the back and plugging it in the back with both devices on 2.4Ghz may not be a good idea. But if you have a toddler in the house like I do, that’s not very feasible to put it in the front USB port. So I bought 3 ft USB extension cord and plugged one end in the rear ports but the actual RF receiver is safely hidden in the TV cabinet. Since its RF it works through walls.
4) The STAR of the system in the Gyration GO Air Mouse. It can be used as an optical mouse and if you pick it up it becomes an gyro controlled air mouse. It works “pretty well” most of time. The Go Air tools software controls hand gestures and they work well too. But I cannot get the back and forward swipe motions for Firefox to work. Every time I gesture to go back in the FireFox browser it will do it but it will also open ANOTHER Firefox window. The solution is to open an IE window, minimize it and then use Firefox. When you do this the back and forward motion in Firefox works fine. This is a Firefox specific problem…its irritating but I have learned to live with it.
The above problem only happens with back and forward gestures in the Firefox browser, if you use IE you wont have to deal with it. The short cut to programs are really cool and they work well.
The other problem is with the battery. It does not hold charge that long (and I mean like a standard on your table bluetooth or wireless mouse), the solution is pretty simple keep the mouse + charger as close to your couch as possible this way you use it and when you are done put it back on the charge and its always on the charge till you need it. It will hold a charge for about 2-3 hours enough for you to get through a DVD movie.
*******OK OK…DO YOU RECOMMEND THAT WE BUY IT?*******
I did NOT buy this from Amazon, there was a very very slickdeal for this combo and it cost me about 1/4th of it’s current Amazon Retail (at the time of writing).
Do I think its a great product for $100 + ? No, go for a Logitech DiNovo Mini for a little more.
Do I think its a great product for $50-100? Meeh, it depends.
Ok so is it a great product for under $50 ? ABSOFRIGGINGLUTELY 🙂
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|Great wireless setup,
This is the third set of these wireless keyboard/mouse setups we have bought for our office. This is a great setup. The gyro function of the mouse works pretty well, but its not something we need, nor use very often. The keyboard is small, which means it takes up less space on the desk. Batteries last about 9 months in the keyboard. The scroll wheel on the mouse is a great feature. The mouse battery will die down overnight, if heavily used & not returned to charger. Expect to buy a new mouse battery after about 4 years. Hang on to your old mouse for a backup. Easy to hook up & use. Can even be moved from PC to PC very easy. This keyboard came with a dust cover that can be flipped over & placed underneath while using the keyboard. More expensive than similar setups, but this is quality equipment, that can hold up to daily business use. Overall, this is a great setup.
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|Gyration Wireless Keyboard/Mouse Did Not Work,
First, I thought I had order the compact keyboard and go mouse but I must of error’d as I got the full keyboard and go wireless mouse. It came with a USB wireless plug-in, the go mouse and charging cradle, keyboard batteries, keyboard and nothing else. No instructions, no installation software; nothing. I plugged the charger in and set the mouse in it and left it for several hours. I then put the batteries in the keyboard and plugged in the USB wireless transmitter into my laptop. Nothing. No setup windows no message about new hardware, nothing. I tried to use it – didn’t work. There’s a switch/button on the transmitter but that didn’t seem to do anything except show a blue light. After searching the Gyration site for installation or instructions, which I wasn’t pleased in having to do, and not finding anything, I gave up. Went to Amazon, printed out the return labels, put it back in the box and shipped it back along with a short note.
Recommendation? Try something else.
Displeased.
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