Rapoo E2700 Wireless Multi-Media Touchpad Keyboard - Black

Excellent micro keyboard. Looks robust and the key action is responsive. The pad works fine and is of course adjustable for speed within the computer settings. It worked instantly it was plugged in using Windows 10. This is a micro keyboard so be prepared for small keys - that's what having a micro keyboard is all about. Some fellow reviewers seem to have trouble with that concept....

The "Rapoo E2700 Wireless Touchpad Keyboard" is smaller than a traditional keyboard. This means it is easier to store, and good for people used to using mobile phone keypads. The mouse is a touchpad like on laptops.The keyboard is well presented in a slim design, and beautiful brushed stainless steel on the back.Pluses:* You can turn the computer on and off using the keyboard, and also use it to adjust the volume.* Portable - you can sit on your settee and enjoy browsing the internet.* Stylish.* Compact - good for storing.Minuses:* The range is advertised as being 10m. I was sitting about 2m away from my desktop and the mouse and keyboard were unresponsive at times.* Also it takes about 2 minutes to respond after first turning it on.* You couldn't use this for a gaming set-up as the mouse would be hard to use quickly.- Wifey Roast

The first thing you notice about the Rapoo E2700 is the size. It’s small (a good thing as that’s what I wanted). The second thing you notice when you extract it from the packaging is that it has an immediate feel of quality. It’s not heavy, but has enough weight to give you confidence this isn’t some cheap plastic keyboard that will break the minute you start using it. It’s also an attractive little fella ….. as far as keyboard go.The quick start guide is a simple affair – no written instructions just a few line drawings. But they tell you everything you need to know and a 10 second glance is really all you need.Flipping the keyboard over, you’ll find a metal underside and the battery compartment which takes 2xAA batteries (supplied – thanks guys). The battery compartment runs the length of the underside beneath the functions keys acting as a keyboard raiser to angle the keyboard for typing. You’ll also find the on/off switch here.A nice touch is a socket to plug the USB receiver into next to the battery compartment for when you want to take the keyboard with you or when not in use. The receiver fits snuggly and a rigorous shake test didn’t dislodge it so it shouldn’t go missing on your travels.Popping the USB receiver into my PC, Windows 8.1 automatically installs the driver and we’re ready to go …. so the rest of this review (including editing) is written on the E2700 with the integrated touchpad.Now I’m not a fan of touchpads. I tend to use a mouse even with my laptop but as touchpads go this one works well. It took five swipes to get from left to right of my screen, but a quick visit to the mouse settings in the control panel to increase the mouse speed sorted that.Unlike a laptop touchpad there are no buttons for left click/right click. Tapping the pad with one finger gives you a left click, tapping with two fingers gives you a right click and tapping with two fingers combined with an up/down motion moves the scroll bar. A double tap with one finger allows for drag and drop.The keys themselves have a surprisingly positive feel to them. The keyboard has a UK layout with the speech marks on the number 2 key and a proper pound sign on number 3. Some of the other keys are in different places to allow for the snug design but this didn’t cause me a problem. Talking of snug design, with a keyboard this size the keys have to be close together and I was expecting to be hitting double keys all the time but this didn’t happen.The function keys are dual purpose. F1 to F12 are marked in orange requiring depression of the Fn key to activate. By default they act as shortcut keys such as Volume Up/Down, Browser Home, Email, Pause, Stop, Play etc. They all launch the default apps without any configuration.As with most wireless keyboards, there are no lights to denote CAPS LOCK or NUM LOCK to save on battery usage.When first using the device I did find whilst typing that the cursor would shoot off to another part of the document as I kept catching the touchpad. By the end of writing this review I’d obviously got use to the keyboard as that no longer happens.An experienced typist is never going to reach their maximum words per minute on this little fellow but that’s not really the point. If you have need for a small keyboard then I don’t think this will disappoint. For me, I have a Media Centre with a hulking full size wireless keyboard and mouse that are always in the way. This E2700 fits snuggly by the Media Centre’s side relegating the old keyboard and mouse to the cupboard. :-)

I tested this out with my 27" Apple iMac, and while it does actually function as it should do, the keys are very small for typing a lot of text at a normal speed, it also took a fair while to move the mouse pointer around such a big screen using the mini trackpad.HOWEVER…as stated in the product description this is really designed for is using a keyboard instead of that infuriating situation where you're sat in front of the TV going back and forth with a TV remote trying to type "Family Guy" letter by letter.SETUP /USAGEThe plug-and-play USB functionality is perfect. No set up required it just works as soon as you plug it in, especially since it comes with batteries pre-installed (once you've removed the paper cover). Gestures on the track pad are easy enough, with one finger for a left click, two for a right click and two gently sliding up and down for scrolling pages.I certainly would not replace any computer keyboard with this (unless for a day or so or in an emergency) as it slows down your work pace considerably…but for a TV / Playstation etc. or anything where you are struggling to enter text using an alternative controller or remote, I found this to be an excellent replacement saving a lot of time and annoyance.APPEARANCE / ERGONOMICSIt's relatively smart, in black and silver with a smart chrome-effect underside, and the battery compartment serves as a nice prop to angle the keyboard slightly up towards the top.When replacing a TV remote with this device you'll soon realise that this is a vast improvement, which also removes that equally annoying experience of trying to awkwardly use a mouse with nothing to move it around on but a stray magazine cover on the wonky arm of the sofa.