Which keyboard for an Android box?
Si_Crewe
Posts: 40,202 Forum Member
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Okay, I know this is one of those "Geez, can't you decide for yourself?" threads, but still...
I want a new keyboard for the android box I have in our bedroom (I'm currently using an old wireless PC mouse/keyboard) and I'm thinking of either the LoFree MT-200 or the Rii I12.
I know the MT-200 gets bad reviews due to the keys being hard to see but it occurs to me that, for an Android-based device, it might be useful to have a keyboard where the whole surface can be used as a big touchpad.
The Rii I12, conversely, seems like it'd be a better traditional keyboard but I'm a bit worried that the smaller touchpad area might make controlling an Android device a bit fiddly.
I know that there are other alternatives, such as THIS or THIS, but, again, I'm thinking that having an even smaller touchpad might make using an Android device, which relies heavily on moving a cursor around the screen rather than typing, more fiddly.
So, what'd ya reckon?
I want a new keyboard for the android box I have in our bedroom (I'm currently using an old wireless PC mouse/keyboard) and I'm thinking of either the LoFree MT-200 or the Rii I12.
I know the MT-200 gets bad reviews due to the keys being hard to see but it occurs to me that, for an Android-based device, it might be useful to have a keyboard where the whole surface can be used as a big touchpad.
The Rii I12, conversely, seems like it'd be a better traditional keyboard but I'm a bit worried that the smaller touchpad area might make controlling an Android device a bit fiddly.
I know that there are other alternatives, such as THIS or THIS, but, again, I'm thinking that having an even smaller touchpad might make using an Android device, which relies heavily on moving a cursor around the screen rather than typing, more fiddly.
So, what'd ya reckon?
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Comments
Sarcastic replies are not really appreciated on this forum. You have to be patient and eventually you will get a response. You asked about specific keyboards, and probably only a few people have experience.
However, in simple terms, perhaps you should consider just getting a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I personally find I prefer to use a mouse when I want very precise positioning.
Good ol' DS eh?
People would rather provide an argument than advice or opinions.
Still, I guess offering a useful opinion would require more effort.
Did you, for example, fail to read the part of my OP where I wrote that I am ALREADY USING A WIRELESS KEYBOARD AND MOUSE?
See, now that's a useful suggestion.
What app' do you use for that?
I assume it'd run on a phone just as easily as a tablet, albeit with a smaller keyboard?
Does it allow you to use the phone/tablet as an independent device and then "toggle" in and out of use as a remote keyboard?
Most of the time, the android box gets used for watching movies or on-demand TV in bed and, while that's going on, one or the other of us is usually playing with a tablet or phone so it'd be inconvenient if the device was "stuck" in use as a remote keyboard.
It's just an app so you can bring up it when you want to use it, then minimise it again and carry on playing Candy Crush! My media box is a WD TV and it has it's own specifc app, but I notice there's generic apps such as this you could try....
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.learn2develop.RmCtrl&hl=en
Says it is very configurable and uses a lot on his htpc kit and xbmc on PC
Works well with Windows 8 and even Windows 10, he says many do not
Interesting option.
Just watched a review of it on YT and I liked the idea of the "air mouse" at first but then I remembered what it's like trying to move an on-screen cursor accurately (especially to do stuff like select from a list of hot-links on a web page etc) on my Wii so I think I'd rather go for a more traditional touchpad type device.
To be fair, that's probably more my problem than the device's but I've never really been good at getting an on-screen cursor to move accurately with a Wii Remote.
FWIW, I know it might seem like I'm over-thinking all this but I really dislike buying stuff and then finding it only fills part of the role it was intended for.
For example, I think I've already ruled out the MT-200.
I do like the idea of it's entire surface being a large touchpad but I'm not keen on the way you have to tap the device (1 finger for left-click and 3 fingers for right-click) to emulate mouse clicking.
That might not seem like a big deal but, thinking about it, it would seem to mean that it'd be impossible to click & drag with it, or do anything else which requires clicking & holding while moving the cursor around.
Equally, of course, it seems like devices like the Rii I12 might be a bit fiddly, with the mouse buttons underneath the touchpad.
Seems like you'd have to lay it on a flat surface in order to use that comfortably.
What'd be ideal (IMO) would be a device which had a touchpad on one side so you could use it with one thumb while the mouse-buttons were on the opposite side so you could use them with your other thumb while still holding the device in your hands.