Which cordless keyboard / mouse would you recommend?

[HenrikDK]

Hi there,

If like me you want to buy an eMac (for the home office) as well as an iMac II (for the office) and in this connection you also want a matching cordless desktop (mouse / keyboard), but are not satisfied with Apple's one-button-no-scroll-wheel-for-Bluetooth mouse nor with the mediocre amount of media keys on Apple's Bluetooth keyboard what other matching (eg: ice white colored) desktop solutions would you recommend.

Just to give you a hint I would prefer to buy a Logitech Cordless Desktop MX for Bluetooth http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm?c...page=products/details&CRID=486&CONTENTID=7153 or a Logitech doNovo Media Desktop http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm?c...page=products/details&CRID=486&CONTENTID=7321 but unfortunately non of them seem to wotk with Mac OS X and furthermore none of them are available in ice white.

Are there any rumors as to Logitech or Microsoft launching their Bluetooth desktops also in the ice white / alu color?

 

[alset]

I have a Logitech MX700. You'd have to break my knees to make me switch to any other mouse. It's absolutely wonderful. Dunno about wireless KBDs, though.

Dan

 

[MoparShaha]

I also second the MX-700 for mice. It's absolutely fantastic. I also use the Apple Wireless Keyboard, and equally love it. Its a high quality keyboard and it responds instantly.

 

[manitoubalck]

I agree with tho others Logitech geat is second to none.
Remember that there are 3 main wireless standards
RF: Radio Frequency,
IR: Infa-Red
Blue Tooth.

Since I have a Radio Frequency LG Wireless KB&M that uses PS/2, I can't really recomend it for a mac, but I have had no troubles with the RF or my previous IR mouse. Blue tooth is non-essential.

 

[JulesK]

Get the MX-700!

The MX-700 is an absolutely fantastic mouse. I'm not as sure about the matching Logitech keyboard, though. I tried it at the local CompUSA, and one thing for certain is that it is very large with tons of extra function keys. If you are into that sort of stuff, perhaps it is worth it. Looked overly busy to me, though. The keyboard feel also was different, but that's a personal preference thing. I think that the Apple wireless keyboard (if you have Bluetooth) would be quite nice.

I also have the Kensington Studio Mouse (wired version). I can't really recommend it because the "touch" scroll pad, while an interesting idea, isn't as good as a good scroll wheel, and far inferior to the scroll wheel/cruise button combination on the MX-700. On the other hand, if you find a Kensington mouse you like, one nice thing about the Kensington mouse software is that (I believe) it allows you to program the buttons to do different things in different programs. That's a neat feature that I do not think is available from the Logitech mice. (If I'm wrong, somebody please let me know because that would make the MX-700 the bomb! )

 

[FuzzyBallz]

Neither. Go w/ the MX Duo. Comes w/ excellent KB and the famed MX700. I have that set and the Navigator combo. Both work flawless on Mac OS X and WinXP Pro.

Blue Tooth for I/O devices like kb and mice is another excuse for companies to charge more money.

 

[manitoubalck]

Originally posted by FuzzyBallz
Blue Tooth for I/O devices like kb and mice is another excuse for companies to charge more money.

How true this is, Stick with RF and you can't go wrong

 

[Lain.v2]

get the apple cordless

 

[RobVanDam]

If desktop space is a factor may I suggest:

Gyration's Ultra GT Compact Keyboard Suite

15 hotkeys on the keyboard while maintaining the footprint of a laptop keyboard. The mouse as 2 buttons and a scroll wheel. The mouse can also move the cursor in mid-air, a great feature if you want to lay back in your chair and just read through some sites.

 

[erickkoch]

I use a Kensington wireless mouse and keyboard. Havn't used any of the others so I can compare but I'm happy with it. One cool feature is that the tranmitter/receiver unit that plugs into the USB port includes a built-in battery charger so you always have a fresh set of charged batteries, no separate power supply needed, competely powered by the port.

 

[G4scott]

I'm going to order the Apple Wireless Keyboard. That seems like the best bluetooth wireless keyboard for a Mac.

I plan on also ordering the Logitech MX900 bluetooth mouse (if I ever find out for sure if it works with my built in bluetooth)

The main reason I'm looking for bluetooth, is because it's already built into my PowerBook, so there's no need for an extra dongle or anything. As for the batteries, I use rechargeable batteries, so I don't really need the base station for the mouse. Besides, Bluetooth has a longer range, and encryption (although I think some, if not most RF keyboards have that too)

 

[JulesK]

MX-700 Battery Life

G4Scott - I'm not sure what the power usuage of the MX-900 is compared to the MX-700 (which I have), and whether using different rechargeable batteries make a difference, but the my MX-700 batteries run low after about 3-4 days of light usage if it is not placed into the recharger.

The MX-700 doesn't have a power switch, and perhaps the MX-900 does. After some period of non-use, the MX-700 goes into a sort of sleep-mode (the red optical light only pulses and doesn't stay continuously on), although it's no problem getting it started up again.

If you are not planning on using the recharger for the MX-900 and relying on rechargeable batteries, you may be changing batteries quite often. I plan on getting the MX-900 if they write some Mac drivers for it. It would be something to have around the house, and I would just leave it in the cradle during the day. For traveling the MX-700/900 is too big; I'll use my Kensington StudioMouse for travel.

 

[Cooknn]

I have the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and the Microsoft Bluetooth Mouse - sitting on an Apple mousepad