$ Targus 2.4 GHz Wireless Multimedia Keyboard AKB24US Silver

Let me start by saying that even though I gave it 4 stars, I'm quite happy with it. You'll see why I gave it the 4 stars only.



I bought this because it had the low-profile keys (i've submitted several customer images for this keyboard). I didn't care so much for the media keys lining the sides, but that wasn't a strike for me. I figured that at least the media keys looked stylish instead of hideously parading across the top of the keyboard in some awful out-of-suite color. The added width of the keyboard is negligible, and I won't point it out as either a pro or a con.



I run the Windows 7 beta, and it worked perfectly (once I put the batteries in the right way). The wireless receiver is quite small, and I plugged it into the back of my big monitor, next to my wireless mouse receiver, and it works great without the line-of-sight. I tried sitting on my couch 8 feet away and the keyboard didn't seem to miss any keystrokes at all, even with my wife walking back and forth between it and the receiver.



Missing keystrokes was the thing I was most afraid of in a wireless keyboard, but it seems to be working out great for me.



The keys aren't silent, but they're quiet enough for me. I'm sure after a few more months of use, and they'll get softer.



The low key height is perfect, and the keys maintain a slight curvature to their surface, which is good. I came from using a keyboard that was too low-profile on the keys, and the keys were too flat. It was too hard to feel my way around the keyboard without looking at it. I don't have that problem on this keyboard.



The only problems I've had relate to my habit of only wacking the far left side of the backspace key, and the right-hand shift key; I sometimes don't get the desired effect from the key the first time I push it, probably because I'm not perfectly used to reaching far enough to hit it square in the middle. Even as I type this, several of my capital letters from the left side of the keyboard comes out lowercase first, since I wasn't pushing the right-hand shift key in the right spot :D I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually.



The other oddness is the Home/End/Ins/Del/PageUp/Pagedown key layout. I'm used to being able to hit the End key while my hand hovers over the arrow keys. This keyboard instead puts the Home/End keys side by side, followed by the Ins/PageUp just below, and then finally the Del/PageDown just below that. I'm a programmer, and I honestly can't say that I like that orientation. I'm very accustomed to having Home and End right next to my middle finger, from the arrow keys.



The keyboard sides slope up a bit, where the media keys sit. I don't notice it very much, but when I feel around for the num pad's Enter key, I'm usually trying to actually find the edge of the keyboard as a point of reference for my hand. I sometimes hit the empty space below the media keys instead of the enter key itself :)







The only other quirk with the keyboard (which has its justification) is that its driver is kind of a must-have, because there are no lights on the keyboard to show if num/cap/scroll locks are on. Yeah, kind of a bummer. (I can only honestly say that I want a cap lock light. The other two are meaningless to me.)



So once you have the driver installed, the num/cap/scroll locks appear in your system tray as little icons. (see my customer image of my system tray.) I don't really like that approach, but I know why they did it: because this is a wireless keyboard and it doesn't have an on/off switch, there's no sense making the keyboard batteries have to power the lights. So instead the system tray icons do the work.



*shrug*



Might want to look at my customer images that i uploaded, for a few more shots of the keyboard. I was hesitant to buy it at first, because there were no reviews, and only the one low-res picture. All things considered, I'm quite happy with the purchase, and I hope that this review can shed a little bit more light for those not sure if they want to buy it. For the $35 I payed for it, it is wonderful.
(1 customers reviews)
Customers Rating=4.0 / 5.0

More Detail For Targus 2.4 GHz Wireless Multimedia Keyboard AKB24US Silver

• Slim, space-saving keyboard features 103 low-profile keys for comfortable, effortless typing
• Twelve one-touch Multimedia/Internet buttons provide instant access to frequently used commands and allow easy management of multimedia files
• 2.4 GHz USB receiver provides wireless connectivity of keyboard, eliminating workspace clutter and providing wireless freedom up to 10 meters
• Media hot keys include: Media Player, Play/Pause, Stop, Volume-Up, Volume-Down, and Mute Internet hot keys include: Home, My Favorites, E-mail, My Computer, Sleep Mode, and Calculator
• 1 Year Limited Warranty