VIRB

A4Tech X-Slim Mini Keyboard (KL-5UP) - price $10 (without s/h)

Lately, I've been taking a minimalist approach to things, mostly out of necessity. A smaller computer chair (the other one has been broken for quite some time), less hair on top of my head (aka a haircut), less video games, less being on Virb, doing less of my chores... these are all great examples. But what happens when "Johnny-been-lately-minimalist" decides to do something about his keyboard, which has been bothering him? And why was it bothering him to begin with? Let's give this non-journalist a break and take a look at some pictures, shall we?

Now THAT'S what I call a hangover! Hahahaha... haha... ha... okay, nevermind.

As you can see, an ergonomic keyboard can quite possibly be the Mt. Everest of your work (or play) space. I know you're probably thinking, "Why didn't you just get a larger keyboard tray or smaller keyboard when you bought those blasted things, you dum dum?" and other such colorful things. Well, the truth is my apartment currently isn't that large and I've had that keyboard for a long time now. The more honest version: hindsight kicked me in the rear after I forgot to take that small part of desk buying into consideration.

So after a couple of years of putting up with "the incredible hulk-of-a-keyboard", I went looking for solutions and came up with this, the A4Tech X-Slim Mini Keyboard (model KL-5UP).

The Dynamic Deskspace Duo

As you can see, the solution came basically in 2 parts, although I'm only reviewing the X-Slim here. It wasn't enough for me to have just a keyboard. No no... I must have my 10-key numeric goodness, like a side of fries to my favorite sandwich. It comes in handy when I need to quickly add something up with Windows Calculator or enter a few numbers quickly online.

What's the big deal?

compared with Apple iPod 5.5G

Aside from the obvious benefit of regaining lost deskspace, it comes with a few nice features. As the name suggests, it is quite slim. Depending on your tastes, this in itself can be a big plus. If you're used to using keyboards found within notebooks, you won't really need to adjust to this one at all.

I know it's hard to see the detail of the buttons in my pictures. But they're etched in and clearly visible, I assure you.

Even better than that are the 6 customizable buttons located on the top left. You will need to download the driver from the A4Tech website, which installs iKeyWorks. However, out of the box with Windows XP, these buttons will already move you backwards and forwards through your internet browser history, refresh web pages, go to your homepage (which happens to open your default web browser when none are open), open your operating system's search utility, and open your default e-mail client, all in that respective order. After installing the driver and the iKeyWorks customization utility, I set my buttons to, from left to right, open iKeyWorks (I know, I'm a dork), open Windows Explorer, link up to my work's server, open Firefox, open the Windows calculator, and open/check e-mail on my Outlook Express (although I should probably be using Thunderbird). As you can see, iKeyWorks makes it easy to pretty much set the buttons for any program or macro.

I know you're saying, "But you fool, keyboards have been doing that since the dawn of time!", to which I'll reply, "Umm... keyboards haven't been around that long, n00b." Then with a flourish, I will point to the button to the left of those 6 customizable buttons and gently press it with one of my index fingers. It won't matter which index finger I use, left or right, because you'll be amazed at the simplicity and grace of the "one-touch system shutdown"! Yes, my favorite feature is so simple. And how appropriate is that for this minimalist-oriented article? As one would expect, it's recessed more than any of the buttons to avoid accidental shutdowns.

But it's not perfect...

And nothing really is. To create such a small keyboard, certain things had to be traded up. As mentioned earlier, this keyboard is similar to those found in notebooks, so these problems may or may not be real problems for you. For example, the 10-key numeric pad that's usually waiting on the right is completely gone. If you never use it anyway, that's barely a problem and easily solved with a $3 separate numeric pad such as the one I use. Also, you may notice that the F-keys (i.e. F1, F2,... so on - not "F" for explicative) are smaller, and the Print Screen and scroll keys (i.e. Home, PgUp, End) are in places you wouldn't think they would be for a desktop PC. Lastly, if you're used to the feel of most normal-sized keyboards, this one can take a little getting used to. It's still responsive, but the travel upon depression of the keys (aww, poor keys need Prozac) is much shorter, much like a notebook PC.

Is it for you?

That depends on your situation. If you are in desperate need of a little more keyboard space, then I think this is a great solution. At $10, it's certainly an affordable one. However, if you simply can NOT stand the feel, look, or whatever of the keyboards found on notebooks, all of which are reasonable issues in my book, especially the "whatever" part, please avoid this one.

Verdict: Recommended (for those with similar situations)

Thanks for reading my first review,
Tremolo ^_^

Coming soon (maybe): review of one of the best games nobody played