Date: July 12, 2007 - Author: Rob Williams
If you have a media PC, chances are you are looking for the perfect keyboard and mouse to compliment it. Microsoft's prime offering is the Wireless Desktop 7000, which uses Bluetooth technology and is perfectly suited for Windows Vista.
Media PCs are the new black. Just a few years ago, many people would not have dreamt of having a dedicated computer in their living room for the sake of watching media, but it's certainly commonplace now. Because of this, the market for media PC accessories has literally exploded. Techgage has taken a look at many such accessories in the past, and you can expect many more in the future.
Because of the growing tech lifestyle and consumers using their PC's for anything entertainment wise, there are countless keyboards and mice designed specially for the purpose. Although most keyboards would fit the bill fine, media keyboards are designed differently. Normally, they are light, offer many media-related buttons and are also wireless. Today's keyboard and mice combo are also designed with Windows Vista in mind. No, this does not mean the keyboard will break halfway through testing, but rather that a few of the buttons will activate Vista-specific features.
The Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000 consists of both a mouse and keyboard, the Wireless Entertainment Keyboard 7000 and Wireless Laser Mouse 8000. You will soon find this out yourself after purchasing the desktop, as you need to specify both during the setup. Both the mouse and keyboard utilize Bluetooth, which I normally find to be hit or miss, but my entire experience with the connection and setup with this set has been fantastic.
But, there are two other features about the set that I am not so keen on, but the reasons are completely personal. The keyboard is "ergo-approved". While not purely ergo by some standards, it has a comfort curve that anyone who enjoys ergo keyboards should enjoy. It's nothing major though, as I found myself becoming more comfortable with it after just a few minutes. This entire review was written with the set, and I didn't slap my head out of frustration once. I still prefer a normal keyboard any day, however.
Another gripe I have is against the ambidextrous mouse, which again, is a personal issue. I have never used such a mouse that I found comfortable, but many people disagree. If you are left handed, it's probably a sure thing that you will enjoy the mouse, because I have yet to find a left-handed person who disliked ambidextrous mice. Feel free to call me out in our forums. If you are used to Microsoft's or Logitech's contoured mice, ambidextrous is always a learning curve.
Here, you can see everything that is included, excluding the small manual and driver CD-Rom. The keyboard is wireless, therefore it requires four AA batteries, which are included. The other battery is for the mouse, as it's rechargeable.
Let's take a quick jaunt around both peripherals, so that you know what to expect should you pick up a set yourself. First stop is the noticeable blue Windows Vista orb underneath the space bar. This key acts as a regular Windows key, which by default raises the start menu. Odd placement, but it helps compliment the Vista scheme of things.
At the top right-side of the board you will find another Windows logo, which loads Media Center, if you have Home Premium or Ultimate Edition installed. Also here is a mouse, despite it looking completely inconspicuous. You can rub your finger around the OK square button to control the cursor on the screen, should you decide to set the mouse aside. This method works reasonably well, but it will never replace your mouse. It's a last resort.
All keys located at the top of the board are not even keys at all, but rather touch sensitive buttons. You tap a button and it does what it is supposed to, without any audible confirmation, such as a key click. I prefer actual keys myself, but this method looks a lot better.
Let's continue on to a look at the rest of the board, and then our final thoughts.
Everything on the left hand side is pretty self-explanatory. We have the media playback keys, the left and right-click for the keyboard mouse, a magnifier, gadgets button and a Windows Live Call button. I don't have a problem with any of the placements or buttons themselves. However, I do find it odd that the gadgets button does nothing more than load up the sidebar if it's closed, but won't close if you push it again. It's overall use seems to be lacking.
Nothing surprising is found on the back, but you will need to push the wireless button at first install to connect it to your USB receiver. Each of the top corners of the board will accept two of those AA batteries that were included.
The mouse, as I mentioned earlier, is ambidextrous. It's not my cup of tea, but it could be yours. As far as ambidextrous mice go, there is nothing glaringly wrong. It's comfortable and easy to use, as you'd expect. However, the two side buttons, I found, are useless. They are difficult to push, and when they were pushed, it was by complete accident. Rather annoying, since the right button here triggers a magnifier. The actual left and right mouse buttons were fine, though.
My last tick against the mouse is that the scroll wheel is tight. It should scroll a wee bit easier to make the process feel like less of a burden. As you can see, the mouse's stand has two metal contacts that will connect with the mouse when put in place. The orb in the middle of the stand is there to help the mouse stay in it's place when set down.
Installation could not have been any easier, unless Microsoft came to the house to install everything for me. Both the keyboard and mouse were detected properly and worked in under a minute of plugging everything in. The included software will install various functionality you would expect, such as configuration and tweaking of the button and mouse speeds.
Any of the special buttons on either peripheral can be edited to do something else. The only thing that you may want to change is the scroll-wheel click function, which by default will load up an application viewer. Normally, clicking a scroll wheel will default to the function of a third mouse button, but here, the left thumb button takes over that functionality.
Throughout all of my testing, I didn't run into any show-stopping problems, but I do wish the mouse connection was constant. I found at times that the cursor would be slow to react. Such is the way of wireless mice, it seems. The only mouse I have ever used that kept constant connection was the Logitech G7. It has to be charged every single day though, so you can't win em all. I still would have preferred a constant connection with this mouse, regardless of how quick the battery died.
On the keyboard side, it was a joy to use overall, and it didn't give me a single connection problem. It was quick to respond, and comfortable to use. As mentioned, I am not a fan of ergo keyboards, but as I used it, I quickly got the hang of it, so usage became more comfortable.
That said, neither the mouse or keyboard is designed for gaming, which is probably quite obvious by now. For office, internet, or light play, this is a solid offering from Microsoft. Both the keyboard and mouse offer a slew of buttons and media keys, but I found myself to dislike the mouse's layout overall. Ambidextrous aside, I didn't like the side buttons in the least. The mouse could have been better designed. The keyboard is tres magnifique.
The Desktop 7000 can be all yours for an average price of $130USD. While expensive, it should prove a worthy addition to any media or office PC. Before you make a purchase though, you might want to check out the '8000' version of this desktop set, which is similar overall but offers backlit keys and mouse charging right on the keyboard. We will have a review of that desktop set after it's release this fall, but for now you can refer to Microsoft's own product page.
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