I had to return this keyboard after discovering that when I typed too fast, it transposed pairs of letters. I know that sounds implausible, and at first I thought it was just me typing sloppily on an unfamiliar keyboard. I tested it many times, with the keyboard connected to two different computers, and it was unmistakable and very easy to reproduce: typing any two letters in rapid succession would cause the opposite pair to come out ("ab" became "ba").
It's possible I simply received a defective unit, and a replacement would not have had this problem. But the keyboard has some significant design flaws as well. They've simply crammed too many keys into the layout. There are keys to the right of both the Backspace and Enter keys. I am extremely used to these frequently used keys being the rightmost keys on the main area of the keyboard, as I suspect most people are, and found myself constantly hitting Home instead of Backspace, PgDn instead of Enter. Yes, I could use software to reassign those keys, but that doesn't seem like an ideal solution.
Also, the modifier keys (Ctrl, etc.) are tiny, and there are five of them on each side of the space bar, which is non-standard. No matter what keyboard and operating system you're used to, you're going to have to do some significant retraining of your fingers to hit the correct modifier keys consistently. Adesso Mini Black USB Keyboard ( ACK-595UB )
I ordered this keyboard so I could bring my mouse closer to the front of my body.
Pros:
- it has good crisp key feedback, and medium-length keystroke. Feels like a cross between a laptop and standard keyboard.
- despite its tiny size it has a key arrangement that is fairly similar to standard. In particular, the control key is where it should be at bottom left.
Cons:
- most glaringly, it without a doubt misses keys (and I don't type lightly)
- it also reverses keys when I type too fast. I have confirmed this repeatedly by typing two letters in sequence quickly; my typing "accuracy" due to this has dropped substantially. When I type more slowly it's OK.
- some of the keys are beyond tiny; perhaps some could be omitted instead. I mean, who needs two Windows keys? And does anyone actually use the menu key?
I may return this keyboard. Alone while typing this review, I have had to backspace and fix transposed characters repeatedly. I never had this problem with any previous keyboards.
Edit: it did not get better, so I am returning it. Too bad; I liked the form factor.
FYI it is made in China, but the box was marked "RoHS" (Not "RoHS-Compliant...")
I've owned this keyboard for about two weeks and really am loving it. Having to keep the full sized keyboard shifted way to the right in order to center the keys I used with the monitor I viewed and then having to reach way over to mouse always bothered me. This keyboard has solved the problem. It looks great and the white letters and numbers are easier to read than those on my laptop keys so that is very helpful. You really don't know how much stress you are putting on your body by having to reach past that (for many of us) useless numeric keypad until you get rid of it and feel the difference. My arm is allowed to stay closer to the rest of me and it feels great. There are a few differences between the layout of this keyboard and a full-sized one so expect a period of adjustment but the differences are very few so it has been an easy transition. I also bought the Logitech V200 cordless mouse and the combination of the new smaller keyboard and the cordless mouse has made my life at the computer even more enjoyable that it was before.
I bought this after looking rather extensively for an external keyboard that's configured similarly in size, layout, and feel to the laptops to which I've become accustomed. It fit my main criterion well - it allows me to place my mouse close to the keyboard for a more ergonomically sound desktop arrangement. Oddly, it's a little narrower than either of the laptops I use regularly and some of the keys are a bit narrow and placed in unusual locations, so it takes some adjustment. After a week or two of use, I was pretty comfortable with it, but a more typical laptop-type layout would be better and would use very little additional space. That being said, after rendering it useless by spilling liquid on it, I am satisfied enough with its overall feel and functionality to replace it with the same model.
I needed a mini-keyboard in order to fit both a keyboard & mouse in the pull-out drawer for the desk that I have. I ordered this from another supplier, never received it, ordered the other version of the Adesso keyboard, which I had to return after a day of using b/c the 'S' key would constantly stick (try typing without an S!!), and ordered the ACK-595UB from Amazon. It arrived quickly, and I was happy to finally have something, but the keys on this keyboard are nearly as bad. There seems to be some sort of delay, so letters are frequently inverted, or the space bar will not depress when it should, so typing something like "space bar", will turn out "spaceb ar". I have nowhere NEAR as many typos when I use my other keyboard at home, or the (old) full-size keyboard I replaced with this one, so I know it's not my typing. Also, the keys require a good amount of effort to type. Given that I purchased this small keyboard so that I could fit the mouse & keyboard in pull-out drawer so that it would be more ergonomically correct because of a wrist problem I have, I honestly don't know which is worse--using this keyboard to type, and having to press super-hard on the keys, and going back to correct half of what I type, or just using my old keyboard in the incorrect position.
I kept the keyboard initially because I thought that perhaps it just needed to loosen up, and after a few days of use the keys wouldn't stick any more, but it doesn't seem to be doing any better after a few weeks. I definitely wouldn't recommend this product....I just wish there were more "short" keyboards out there...I would much prefer a Logitech product. The only reason I gave it even 2 stars is b/c if you NEED a short keyboard, at least its a keyboard & maybe yours wont be as horrible as mine. - Mini Keyboards - Keyboard'
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