ThinkOutside Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard and Travel Mouse

cng · 01-12-06, 07:15 PM

Well, its time for me to give my impressions/review for this combo. Definitely a possible laptop replacement if you only want to type some simple reports or make final adjustments to your presentations. The web browsing experience is enhanced and I feel like I am more efficient in browsing as I can properly scroll with the mouse. The mouse also adds 2 hard buttons for me to remap and use (centre and left as I need to keep right for taps). The hotkeys of the keyboard does work really nice but I need to remember to keep closing programs as it is really easy to start stacking up programs and hogging memory in the background.

The build quality of these things feel quite weak but only time will tell. I dont abuse my gadgets but even with gentle use, the keyboard feels a bit wobbly. The mouse is a lot better and it feels quite solid. After removing and putting back on the stand a few times, the hinge is already weakened (the plastic fades white - meaning it might crack and break soon). I am very disappointed and have emailed TO about this.

Although they're small, they're not small enough. I actually expected them to be smaller but the size they're now keeps the balance of portability and usability, which I think is important too. However, with that said, it still wont fit in most my pockets as I have way too many things to hold something like a keyboard and mouse in just my jeans. With my big jacket I got everything pocketed but the thing is, this will only work in the winter. In the summer, I wont have more than the two pockets in my shorts. The Dell and my phone would be already on the borderline of pulling them down. I wish instead of the case and pouch of the mouse and keyboard that TO would have supplied a sling bag and can be carried on your shoulders like a mini backpack. That way it'll be stylish and convenient. Anyhow, I dont think I'll be taking it EVERYwhere.

Setup was very simple and easy. I had to go to the website for the newest WM 5.0 drivers but after that, it was pretty straight forward.

Now, I havent tested the mouse for a long time but the most important surface, my desk, is not compatible with the optical sensors. It is a simple white ikea desk and I have no idea why it doesnt work. Maybe its the glossy level, the texture, etc but something is making it so that my mouse moves very little. All other surfaces, even glass works well.

Finally, I really want to know the kind of battery life to expect from this combo as it would strain not only my Dell but the AAA's as well. I am not really fond of AAA's or any of those types of battery as I like rechargeables straight up. If a user who has used this combo for a long time, please tell me the battery you get out of each and the hours you normal use it per day/week.

Any comments? Questions?