IOGEAR GKM551R Black 105 Normal Keys 4 Function Keys 2.4GHz Wireless Slim Media Center Desktop - Retail

Works well (but had to repair mouse wheel)

Reviewed By: on 1/28/2010

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 month to 1 year

Pros: Impressive range; looks nice; small footprint; responsive. I've had this keyboard for about a year and haven't had to replace batteries in the keyboard yet! Mouse, however, is more battery thirsty.

Cons: Placement of ENTER key causes occasional accidental presses; mouse scroll wheel axle is very thin plastic and broke after about a year of normal use.

Other Thoughts: The mouse's scroll wheel axle is very thin plastic and broke after about a year of normal use. I drilled out the center of the mouse wheel and inserted a homemade axle.

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Cheap. GREAT Range! But some drawbacks...

Reviewed By: TheHorta on 12/31/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

Pros: Excellent RANGE! 20+ feet through drywall without a problem. NO lag, stuck keys or mouse clicks. Good battery life thusfar. Tactile, short-throw keys work well. Using it on Windows 7 Ultimate x64. No drivers, instantly recognized and installed Plug & Play. Small USB dongle. No interference with 2.4GHz cordless phones (3 separate systems in the house). Multimedia keys perform flawlessly. Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!

Cons: There are a few, and some are significant -- for me. First, the mouse has NO page forward/backward thumb buttons, so you have to mouse to the back arrows or use the backspace key. That's a pretty cheesy omission and a real inconvenience, as I do alot of web development. It has a scroll wheel, but it does not rock left/right so you have to use scroll bars in browsers and applications. It's also awkward compared to the more organic-feeling mice by M$ and Logitech. The scroll wheel is smooth (treadless) and can slip on your finger. The keyboard is a bit cramped, so if you have big hands or fat fingers you won't like it. Some function keys are also awkwardly placed (almost at random). Lastly, the weirdest thing is that, from the moment I plugged the dongle in (using Win7 Ultimate x64) it MUTES my audio at random and FREQUENTLY (like it just did this moment). Whether I'm listening to anything, watching a movie, or just doing nothing -- POOF, there it goes AGAIN!

Other Thoughts: The mouse needs a serious update. The keys could/should be placed better, and I don't know if the frequent, random audio mute (speakers only, not headset, making it even more strange) is specific to my unit (defect) or endemic to the product itself. I can't imagine it's the latter, as I haven't seen anyone complain about this yet. It could be a combination of my HW/SW setup, but who knows. It's enough of a nuisance that I'm going to replace it. I found a much better deal at another reputable mega-vendor (like 40% better), which included free shipping. Maybe that's the problem -- cheating on the Egg gets you bad Karma Koodies.

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Reviewed By: Bill Drew on 12/17/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Keyboard has good feel, good range (at least 20 feet), Mouse feels good

Cons: No status lights on keyboard - have to turn it off while in use to be able to be sure it is off. Mouse is large to haul about with laptop - OK otherwise. Dongle is very small and does not have a way to attach lanyard.

Other Thoughts: Cons are a bit nit picking, but real.

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