VisionTek Candyboard Keyboard with Touchpad and Built in IR Remote 900507 Black USB RF Wireless Mini Keyboard VisionTek Candyboard Keyboard with Touchpad and Built in IR Remote 900507 Black USB RF Wireless Mini Keyboard

Pros: - Good design, in theory
- Battery life is very good

Cons: - Range is very poor; it struggles to send keypresses to a reciever 6 feet away, behind only glass, and only works consistently when held at a certain angle
- Keyboard doesn't "wake up" unless you agressively press a key either for a full second, or several times, always with unpredictable results
- When flipped over to the IR remote side, the mouse cursor jitters uncontrollably
- When keyboard goes out of range in the middle of a keypress, it causes an infinite repeat of that keypress until reconnect
- Charges over mini USB instead of the now-ubiquitous micro. Why?

Pros: It's small and keyboard layout is keen, mouse board worked keenly too. Heavy durable feel to it. It does go to sleep with no use, but connection to Windows is lost.

Cons: No removable recharge battery; it is built in! Charge is only good a few hours with heavy browsing, VT claims it goes to sleep to save battery, yes it does, but looses conection with windows like a baby loosing its input.

Other Thoughts: To much cash for this product, maybe $20.00. Throw away item when battery goes bad : (

Pros: got rid of the full-sized wireless keyboard (and mouse) for the HTPC. this has cool IR remote features -- programming was easy.. this thing is sure to impress provided I can master the touchpad..

Cons: needs more buttons on the IR remote side, and more programmable 'sets'..
F6-F11 should be mapped to media functions as the default key-press instead of needing to hold 'FN'. not like they're going to mess up anyone's Word Perfect macros, this toy seems meant for media machines.

Pros: * For the most part, touchpad works well for cursor control
* Illumination works well and all keys are easy to read
* 4 direction d-pad is nice touch and provides viable alternative to touchpad for control within WMC
* Included IR learning feature is VERY useful when it works (see Cons)
* Lightweight, compact, and charges quickly via USB

Cons: * Transport controls (play, pause, stop, etc) must be used with function key to work-Clumsy
* TV power on/off via learned IR does not work consistently. Multiple button presses required, even within a few feet of the TV.

Other Thoughts: This device is a great idea that almost works beautifully. The touchpad and all keys work well. I love the lightweight and compact size of the Candyboard. If the IR for TV power on/off worked more reliably and the transport controls were discrete (direct access without use of function key), the Candyboard could serve as a viable, low cost alternative to more expensive remote controls like the Logitech Harmony series.
IMPORTANT CAVEAT ABOUT INCONSISTENT IR: I tried the same remote IR on another TV in the home and it worked very well. No extra button presses were required. Thus, I still recommend this keyboard, but be prepared for possible IR control trouble. TV which had trouble with IR reception: Sharp LC-80LE632U. TV that responded well to IR reception: Pioneer KURO PDP-5020FD.

Pros: I have to start off by saying this thing is so small and cool. Just opening the packaging and feeling this keyboard was a pleasure. I bought it for my HTPC and it fits in perfectly.
- Small; I guarantee the size will surprise you no matter what you're expecting. Don't fret, though, it's not too small or anything, and typing on it isn't clumsy or difficult. I see why VisionTek brands it "CandyBoard." I held up a standard chocolate candy-bar up to it and the candy-bar was longer. This made me immediately think that it'd be a pain to type on, but I was wrong.
- The keys are a lot like a slide-out keyboard on some Smartphones, like the Droid 1. They have that stiff haptic feel and require some thumb pressure to push down. You do get a satisfactory haptic feedback, like a click, and a push back up. The keys are not mushy at all, so if that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere. There are indicator bumps on the essential keys.
- Overall, the learning curve is not hellacious. It's rather easy to get used to, although since the keys are straight up and down, it's a little troublesome after using a full-size keyboard, but you'll get accustomed to it especially if you're a frequent thumb-typing texter.
- The trackpad is responsive and when increasing the mouse-pointer DPI sensitivity, it's relatively easy to move the mouse-pointer around.
- Teaching it to be a remote was easy as well. It clones the remote and allows you to hotkey what remote button you want on the keyboard. It is rather limited, but functions as a basic remote or any other IR device you want it to be.
- The build quality itself is outstanding. It's strudy and looks great. The key's illumination is strong but not distracting. You can definitely see all the keys in total darkness.
- The range is surprisingly good. I have yet to run into a distance problem in my family room, and the receiver is hidden by a cabinet. The receiver dongle is small and low-profile. I also have not experienced a key drop. It registers every action.
- So far the batteries have been lasting. Easy to charge. It also sleeps after a minute or so of inactivity. Just one key-press and it wakes from sleep.
- Plug-n-Play. I put in the USB dongle and within a minute, the keyboard was working and good to go.

Cons: - I would have liked the keyboard to feature a dedicated Windows key; reason being, I use the keyboard with Windows 8 and if you know Windows 8, you'll understand why a dedicated WinKey would have been nice.
- The trackpad lacks any type of multi-touch features. At the very least, a scroll option would be handy. You can, however, double-touch to select.
- The layout of the keyboard in some areas are funky, but considering the size, I can understand some displacement. It's not too rough, however.
- The Right and Left mouse button keys aren't hard to get used to, but I would rather have had them right beneath the trackpad's edge with the inclusion of a middle click. That way the Directional arrows would have been bigger and easier to navigate.

Other Thoughts: Overall, I recommend this to anyone that is building or own a HTPC and you need a small-footprint keyboard. It's smaller than my own remote, light, and perfect for an HTPC setup. It would even be good for an XBox or any other third-party hardware. Very pleased with the keyboard purchase.

Pros: Internal rechargeable battery
Decent Range
Shuts off automatically after a couple minutes idle
Has backlit buttons for easy use in the dark
Plug and play
Lasts for weeks on a single charge

Cons: Hyper-sensitive mousepad (hard to adjust)
Feels lightweight for it's construction
USB receiver must be facing the remote, or else it disconnects randomly
It's a little pricey

Other Thoughts: Another reviewer mentioned it was hard to use "CTRL+ALT+DEL". This isn't true since it has that shortcut as "Fn+Enter", it says it in blue lettering right on the Enter key.

Either way, if you want a full functioning keyboard and trackpad all in one little device, this is it. The trackpad is about 2" x 2", so when only using your thumb to navigate it, it's a surprisingly decent amount of space to move the cursor. Doesn't work real well for intricate cursor movements, but I've been playing XCOM with it and so far it works pretty well.

The construction does feel a little cheap, but the buttons are pretty responsive with an audible clicking and don't feel spongy at all. Overall, it's about 2.5" x 6" in total size, about as wide as a smartphone but a little longer.

I can see myself moving on to something better when it comes around, but until that happens, this is probably the best HTPC remote out there for the money. It might cost a little more than you would want to pay, but it's functionality makes it worth it.

Pros: Keyboard and Mouse features worked immediately. The rf receiver is great since both my front usb ports on HTPC are being used. No problems in XBMC. Backlight is rare in a product like this and a great thoughtful feature. Battery lasts and rechargable feature is great. Havent had any problems typing the occasional operator error, no spelling bee champ here.

Cons: May not be a con to some but I think the unit needs to be heavier. Unit is very light and feels cheap but so far it has held up. Took me a little while to get used to using keyboard but now it isnt an issue

Other Thoughts: Pressing ALT-CTRL-DEL is a challenge due to DEL being a secondary key requiring pressing the function key. Not a concern for me but may be for others.

Pros: Excellent size, worked with no problem

Cons: None

Pros: This device does everything is says. I am very impressed with the range, 30ft. The size is very surprising, it's much smaller than I thought. It's very easy to type on, the keys have a very positive feel to them, then click real nice when pushed. Battery life is awesome. I charged it and it's worked for a week. The dongle that you plug into the computer is very small, which I like. I'm using it on a Linux Box (MythTV), plug and play, no software needed. I saw some review about the touchpad being hard to control, I don't see it. The touchpad seems to work very smoothly and has a very good response to me. I also have big fingers and I find it easy to type and use the touchpad. I would recommend this product.

Cons: I don't want to use it as a remote control, wish it didn't have the remote control buttons on the back. No big deal, I just wanted a keyboard only.

Pros: I'm all thumbs when it comes to typeing and this is great for thumbs! The touch screen is is just as good as my laptop and only 1/3 the size. PS for those of you that have to make several passes to get across the screen , go to mouse setting in the control panel and increase your pointer speed then relearn how to control your finger. Good range ,25' to 30' direct line of site, plugged into front usb hub. Charges fast and powers down to standby mode when not used to save battery

Cons: Needs a left click button on the left side of the key board. Could be a little sturdier, I just hope no one ever sits on it .

Other Thoughts: Awesome product, its great not to have to switch back and forth between key board and mouse , and the back light is sooo nice for home theater, no more fumbling in in the dark...I'll be getting another one , hopefully by that time they will have R and L click buttons on the top or the bottom.