Zit Seng's Blog

A Singaporean's technology and lifestyle blog

Much Ado About Keyboards

DSC08455Some people get passionate about their keyboards. I’m more the kind that go for functionality. I’ll have a bunch of requirements, but they all revolve around practical needs and functionality. It’s quite likely that in different use cases, the ideal keyboard would be different. There is no universally perfect keyboard. One has to recognise that and rationally select a suitable product.

Lately, I’ve been looking for a keyboard and mouse combo. It’ll be a secondary keyboard/mouse, that is, one which connects to a desktop PC that I don’t usually use. I typically work on my notebook. My desk is cluttered. My current secondary keyboard/mouse tend to get in the way. When I want to use it, it’s also a little awkward to reach.

That is the use case. When translated into requirements, basically, what I needed was a compact, wireless, keyboard and mouse combo. Wireless connectivity is critical, because wires tend to get in the way and they are cumbersome to manage.

Then, because of lack of space, I want a compact keyboard. But yet, it still has to be a proper keyboard with full-sized keys that will be easy to work with if I needed to. You know, there are those smallish keyboards with keys of substandard size. Those are too difficult to use when you really need the keyboard to do some substantial work.

As it turned out, Logitech has just the kind of keyboard I’ve been looking for. It’s the MK220 keyboard and mouse combo. As you can see below, the MK200’s keyboard is significantly smaller than a standard full-sized keyboard.

DSC08456

Its keyboard layout is similar to what you’d expect on notebooks. There’s no dedicated cursor area, although there is still the number pad. There are still the cursor keys, tucked into the corner below the right shift key.

The MK200’s keyboard is still completely functional with proper full-sized keys, even though its footprint is significantly smaller than typical full-sized keyboards. Combined with wireless connectivity, it’s really ultra convenient. Now that I’m also working with Raspberry Pis on and off, it’s also very convenient to simply move the wireless receiver dongle from device to device.

Another good thing about this keyboard and mouse combo is that it’s cheap. You can pick one up for under S$30. So if you’re looking for a compact wireless keyboard and mouse combo for your cluttered desk space, check out the Logitech MK220.

ps: This is actually my second purchase.

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