Wireless keyboard. Suggestions.

[xoggyux]

Hi, I got a wireless logitech MX 3200 combo of keyboard and mouse which i bought for nearly $80 before i had my MBP. However i never found any logitech drivers for it (I downloaded the logitech control center however it says it does not detect any logitech device) and some of the extra buttons doesn't work, in top of that, the mouse is SUPER jerky, 5 out of 10 times i click the wrong button due to inaccuracy (despite the mouse is 1 foot away from the receiver, and they are in line of sight, same height nothing in between, batteries are also new.)
So after so much frustration I decided to get a new keyboard and mouse combo (was not an easy decision since i spent over $80 for these less than 1 year ago and I'm not the kind of person that would spend too much in a keyboard or mouse.)
Now, since MBP has only 2USB ports and I already have one in use all the time (external seagate FreeAgent HDD) i'd prefer a bluetooth combo (assuming that the onboard bluetooth will work for them and i will not need another kind of adapter) also assuming they work well, since I already have an awful experience with some bluetooth headphones that every time they are not being used for more than 15 mins they automatically go off (power-management feature) and the computer goes crazy and I have to restart to being able to pair the correctly, therefore I am asking, does bluetooth mouse and keyboard work well? after I pair them once do i have to pair them again every time I restart or anything? Does their battery last a reasonable amount of time? do they have any kind of lag etc? (range wont be an issue since I'd be less than 3ft away from the computer 99.99% of the times.)

Assuming that bluetooth is a good idea for me, which brand and model (i'd prefer something that looks well besides a mac such as mighty mouse or rocketfish mouse,) also i'd like to pay less than $100 for both, I have heard that mighty mouse is crap (is it?) also i have seen the rocketfish mouse and keyboard but though they are not quite as pretty as the apple's they do look good and they are half the price as apples (about $50 for both.)

What do you think.....
Thanks

 

[Repo]

I use the mighty mouse every day. The only problem with it is the tiny scroll ball gets dirty and can lose responsiveness. I heard from someone that cleaning the scroll ball with a q-tip and some rubbing alcohol will fix the problem, and it did. If you get the mighty mouse then clean it once every month or two. Plus, the mighty mouse is very well integrated into OSX, which makes it very useful and customizable.

As for a blueooth keyboard, I use Apple's. Pairing is easy. I've only used it on a Mac Pro, but it's the same on a MBP. Just go into your bluetooth, and search for devices, or setup a new keyboard (or mouse). The keyboard turns itself off when you're not using it, and turns itself on once you start to type.

Here's some more information regarding Apple's Bluetooth Mighty Mouse and Keyboard and more help.

 

[The Samurai]

I use the Apple Wireless Keyboard with my Macbook, works a treat and have been using it for the past three months.

Hunt around eBay or the refurb store for a bargain.

 

[xoggyux]

yesterday I ordered a apple bluetooth wireless keyboard (the short one, without number pad) and a rockefish bluetooth wireless keyboard (I choosed this one because it was $18 new, compared to $50-80 for apple's refurbished or openbox mighty mouse, and I have heard so many "bad" things about it so I decided for $18 give it a try to the rocketfish first, I also checked the targus for applpe wireless bluetooth mouse but still was $50++)
I'll let you know what I think about them when they arrive.

 

[winninganthem]

Please post your opinions when you get a chance, I'm considering buying an Apple keyboard but the idea of having no numpad scares me.

 

[xoggyux]

yesterday I received the apple wireless blue tooth keyboard (the short one,) I ordered at ebay and its a refurbished or openbox item, it cost me $59 final cost (shipping including, etc), however despite the packaging was in pretty bad conditions, the keyboard is in great conditions (clean, no scratches, it even smells like new, one thing though, for some reason the "h" key is a bit insensitive in mine, though it may be my fault since I almost always press it by a corner because of its position and my way of typing.. nothing that I couldn't live with either and I miss 5 or 6 out of a 100 *maybe*) anyway overall pretty easy to install, looks fantastic (its exactly the same size of my MBP keyboard, in fact I put it over it and every single key is align with the MBP's keys which means that you don't have to "adapt" (e.g. muscle memory) to a different keyboard. The number pad, yeah i might miss it, however i look it in this way, when I'm on the go I don't carry the keyboard of course so I have to use the notebook's keyboard, so if i get use to use only those keys (which this keyboard can help me do easily) then i wont miss it, and when I'm on the run i'd be able to use the notebook's key more efficiently since I'm used to at home)

For the mouse, well i got it today (rocketfish wireless bluetooth mouse) so far i like it a lot, much more precise that the other wireless mouse that i had (logitech MX3200 combo, so 3200 mouse?,) however that mouse (the logitech) used to be very good when i bought it no long ago, so it might happen that under the same logic, this mouse also loses precision overtime (don't know why since no ball dirt should not affect, i just know it happened) it is pretty comfortable, the scroll is kind of the 'click click click' rather than the new *more expensive* mouse, however I really don't have any preference for any of those systems just wanted to mention it in case someone does have preference for any. The mouse was also refurbished (or open box don't know) the box also came looking like a mess and smelled like cigar however the mouse was in great conditions, did not smell bad either though i did clean it throughly just in case. Shipped and everything was $19 so a pretty good deal.
Overall I spent less than $70 in the combo, the mouse and keyboard are better than logitech and i saved myself an usb port which was one of my reasons to do all this.
See pictures: in the second one, the bluetooth keyboard is on top of the regular MBP's keyboard (so you get a perspective.)

 

[winninganthem]

Cool, thanks for your thoughts .

Yeah I'll probably miss the numpad, but the fact that it looks so freakin' nice makes it hard to pass up.

Thanks again. Nice setup by the way.

 

[rollsroyce442]

Blue tooth number pad

I know that this is a old topic but it was the newest on that I could find. Has anyone found a bluetooth number-pad that matches in style with the apple bluetooth keyboard? I really am thinking about switching from my 20 in iMac to a 13 in MBP w/ the 24" display at my desk, I want to be able to come home, plug in two things (mini display port and magsafe) and have it work like my imac but bigger and I can take it with me. The only problem is I use the numpad ALOT. Don't want to be hooking up a bunch of usb ports so does anyone have an answer?

 

[PolySciSurfer]

So overall how do you rate the mouse? That's the same one I want to get, the rockfish. It's cheap and gets really good reviews.

 

[PhixionFilms]

yesterday I received the apple wireless blue tooth keyboard (the short one,) I ordered at ebay and its a refurbished or openbox item, it cost me $59 final cost (shipping including, etc), however despite the packaging was in pretty bad conditions, the keyboard is in great conditions (clean, no scratches, it even smells like new, one thing though, for some reason the "h" key is a bit insensitive in mine, though it may be my fault since I almost always press it by a corner because of its position and my way of typing.. nothing that I couldn't live with either and I miss 5 or 6 out of a 100 *maybe*) anyway overall pretty easy to install, looks fantastic (its exactly the same size of my MBP keyboard, in fact I put it over it and every single key is align with the MBP's keys which means that you don't have to "adapt" (e.g. muscle memory) to a different keyboard. The number pad, yeah i might miss it, however i look it in this way, when I'm on the go I don't carry the keyboard of course so I have to use the notebook's keyboard, so if i get use to use only those keys (which this keyboard can help me do easily) then i wont miss it, and when I'm on the run i'd be able to use the notebook's key more efficiently since I'm used to at home)

For the mouse, well i got it today (rocketfish wireless bluetooth mouse) so far i like it a lot, much more precise that the other wireless mouse that i had (logitech MX3200 combo, so 3200 mouse?,) however that mouse (the logitech) used to be very good when i bought it no long ago, so it might happen that under the same logic, this mouse also loses precision overtime (don't know why since no ball dirt should not affect, i just know it happened) it is pretty comfortable, the scroll is kind of the 'click click click' rather than the new *more expensive* mouse, however I really don't have any preference for any of those systems just wanted to mention it in case someone does have preference for any. The mouse was also refurbished (or open box don't know) the box also came looking like a mess and smelled like cigar however the mouse was in great conditions, did not smell bad either though i did clean it throughly just in case. Shipped and everything was $19 so a pretty good deal.
Overall I spent less than $70 in the combo, the mouse and keyboard are better than logitech and i saved myself an usb port which was one of my reasons to do all this.
See pictures: in the second one, the bluetooth keyboard is on top of the regular MBP's keyboard (so you get a perspective.)

Sorry to run a little off topic, but where can i get that desk? I love the color of the wood.

 

[bolen]

yesterday I received the apple wireless blue tooth keyboard (the short one,) I ordered at ebay and its a refurbished or openbox item, it cost me $59 final cost (shipping including, etc), however despite the packaging was in pretty bad conditions, the keyboard is in great conditions (clean, no scratches, it even smells like new, one thing though, for some reason the "h" key is a bit insensitive in mine, though it may be my fault since I almost always press it by a corner because of its position and my way of typing.. nothing that I couldn't live with either and I miss 5 or 6 out of a 100 *maybe*) anyway overall pretty easy to install, looks fantastic (its exactly the same size of my MBP keyboard, in fact I put it over it and every single key is align with the MBP's keys which means that you don't have to "adapt" (e.g. muscle memory) to a different keyboard. The number pad, yeah i might miss it, however i look it in this way, when I'm on the go I don't carry the keyboard of course so I have to use the notebook's keyboard, so if i get use to use only those keys (which this keyboard can help me do easily) then i wont miss it, and when I'm on the run i'd be able to use the notebook's key more efficiently since I'm used to at home)

For the mouse, well i got it today (rocketfish wireless bluetooth mouse) so far i like it a lot, much more precise that the other wireless mouse that i had (logitech MX3200 combo, so 3200 mouse?,) however that mouse (the logitech) used to be very good when i bought it no long ago, so it might happen that under the same logic, this mouse also loses precision overtime (don't know why since no ball dirt should not affect, i just know it happened) it is pretty comfortable, the scroll is kind of the 'click click click' rather than the new *more expensive* mouse, however I really don't have any preference for any of those systems just wanted to mention it in case someone does have preference for any. The mouse was also refurbished (or open box don't know) the box also came looking like a mess and smelled like cigar however the mouse was in great conditions, did not smell bad either though i did clean it throughly just in case. Shipped and everything was $19 so a pretty good deal.
Overall I spent less than $70 in the combo, the mouse and keyboard are better than logitech and i saved myself an usb port which was one of my reasons to do all this.
See pictures: in the second one, the bluetooth keyboard is on top of the regular MBP's keyboard (so you get a perspective.)
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Thanks for your input. Is it possible to get some more pictures of the mouse up close, so to speak? Thanks!