Monday, April 15, 2013

Mini Keyboard UKB-500-RF Review

I purchased a Mini Keyboard UKB-500-RF because I wanted an easy way to control the Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android Mini PC device that I wrote about last week and thought that I would write a review of it and my experience with this product when used in conjunction with the Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android Mini PC.

According to the specifications for the product, it supports HTPC, Windows OS (Windows 2000, XP, Windows CE, Windows Vista, Windows 7), Linux OS (Debian-3.1, Redhat-9.0, Ubuntu-8.10, Fedora-7.0 tested), MacOS, Xbox 360, & PS3. I was assured that it would work with the Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android Mini PC and it does work with it. I haven't tested the device with any of the other supported products and have used it exclusively on with m MK802IIIS device.

The device is powered by a proprietary rechargeable battery but it can also use 2 x AAA batteries. You can charge the proprietary rechargeable battery by connecting the Mini Keyboard UKB-500-RF via a USB cable (the device has a mini-USB port for charging). However, if using 2 x AAA batteries in the unit, it won't charge the batteries via the same mini-USB cable.

I find that the keyboard works fairly well with the Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android Mini PC device. The only thing is that sometimes when I use the trackpad to move the pointer to a different area of the screen, it will detect a click when I didn't click on any application or menu option. I find that also when using the trackpad, it will detect that I am scrolling across the screens when my finger touches the right side of the trackpad (where the scroll bars indicators are located). The trackpad isn't as responsive as the trackpad on most laptops that I've used but it does get the job done.

The QWERTY keyboard itself feels comfortable and typing on it is easy. Using the keyboard is not as good as using a real keyboard or any of the built-in phone keyboards that I've used (Treo 600, Treo 650, Treo 680, Blackberry Bold 9700) but it also gets the job done.

To use the keyboard with your device (PC, PS3, XBOX 360, Android device, etc.), you must connect the USB receiver to your device. In terms of the Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android Mini PC device, it recognized the keyboard without any issues (no installation of any software necessary).

I use the UKB-500-RF keyboard about 10 feet away from the Rikomagic MK802IIIS device and generally there aren't any issues with me controlling the Rikomagic MK802IIIS. As mentioned, it will sometimes scroll when my finger accidentally touches the area on the right side of the trackpad and when I'm moving the pointer across the screen, it will sometimes detect a "click" or "double-click" when I didn't do either, however this in my opinion is a minor inconvenience based on the price that I paid for the unit and the fact that I don't use the keyboard for long periods of time. I basically just use it to select the Android application that I want to launch and then use the application for a brief period of time with the keyboard (ex: I will launch Netflix and then start the Netflix movie/video that I want to watch).

Overall, even based on minor inconveniences that I mentioned above, I have no problems recommending the Mini Keyboard UKB-500RF to connect to an Android device. I have tested it briefly (maybe 10 minutes in total) on a Windows 7 PC and I find that it works relatively well. I would not use the device on a regular-sized computer (I bought the UKB-500RF mainly to use with my Rikomagic MK802III device) unless I needed to be away from the computer itself (ex: giving a presentation) since in my opinion having this mini-keyboard connected to a PC doesn't really make sense since a regular keyboard and regular mouse are much more responsive. Not only that, it is easier to type on a full-sized regular keyboard and by using a mouse instead of a trackpad, there generally isn't an issue with the computer detecting a "double-click" when you did not double-click on anything.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment which contains a URL link (whether it is embedded or not) will automatically be labelled as spam and will not be posted.

23 comments:

  1. I had bought this item from a chinese seller. The package did not contain the usb receiver. I could not resolve the issue with the seller. I went ahead and bought a separate rii mini i8 receiver from another seller thinking that as both the UKB-500-RF and rii mini i8 items are basically similar, I could somehow match the UKB-500-RF keyboard with the rii mini i8 receiver. This I am unable to do. I am seeking help on this issue from people more knowledgable than me. Thanks in advance.

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    1. Thank you K.M. for reading and taking the time to post a comment on my blog.

      I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get the USB receiver with your UKB-500-RF keyboard. I'm not 100% sure but I believe that the receiver is a proprietary receiver so I am not sure if any other manufacturer's receiver will work with this mini keyboard (however, I'm not an expert on this).

      I hope that you manage to resolve your issue.

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  2. I have owned one of these for sometime only its stopped working recently and I think it may have become unpaired with its receiver. I thought re-pair it you pressed FN and RF but that doesnt work and I have lost the manual and I cant find one anywhere. So long shot do you know which buttons? do you have a manual u could post?

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    1. Thank you PaulBB for reading and taking the time to post a comment on my blog.

      Unfortunately, the manual that I have for this keyboard doesn't show how to configure/pair the receiver with the keyboard. I can try to scan it and post it when I get a chance but I'm sure that it will be useless to you.

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  3. I bought a couple of these, for an LG Smart TV, but i can't write with the keyboard letters, it just appear an screen keyboard and i have to select letter by letter with the mousepad... Is this product compatible with Smart TV's, or not?

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    1. Thank you Guillermo Riquelme for reading and posting your comment on my blog. Unfortunately I don't have an LG SmartTV. I have an LG Smart TV Upgrader ST600 Box so I don't know whether it is compatible with LG Smart TVs or not. I do know that on my Android HDMI television stick, depending on the application that I'm using, the actual keyboard doesn't work and I must use the on-screen keyboard that appears on the screen and the touch pad of my mini-keyboard to select each of the letters from the on-screen keyboard.

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  4. Hi
    I bought this keyboard two days ago. Now it's just blinking with a red light and I can't control anything. Does anyone know how to stop this red light?

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    1. Thank you Kamal As for reading and commenting on my blog. I've taken a look at the manual for the mini keyboard and unfortunately it doesn't make any mention of the red light and I've also never experienced your issue with my mini keyboard. I'm sorry that I couldn't be of more help

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    2. Red light means low battery. Since this keyboard has various version with different battery, if your version is using rechargeable battery, you need to recharge it or replace it (with Nokia BL-4C compatible).

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  5. The device is powered by a proprietary rechargeable battery but it can also use 2 x AAA batteries. Could you tell me exactly where? Because I tried and I don't see where.

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    1. Thank you Willie for reading and commenting on my blog. Actually, you're correct, the device can't use 2 x AAA batteries. When I originally tested the unit and I removed the battery cover, it looked like the top portion of the battery compartment can be used with 2 x AAA batteries but upon closer inspection, it can't. Sorry for the mistake.

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    2. There is different models with rechargeable lithium battery or AAA size battery

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  6. hi, i just bought the keyboard but I can not get it to work in win7 you know where to find drivers? I searched the internet but I find only sites where to buy

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    1. Thank you lorenzo giannini for reading and commenting on my blog. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where you can find the drivers. During my testing, when I plugged the USB receiver into my Windows 7 PC, it automatically detected it. Sorry I'm not able to help you with this.

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    2. The USB receiver gives standard "USB HID" devices which should be directly detected with almost any OS, if not, your device should be dead.

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  7. you might be able to use the nokia 6110 phone battery to power this keyboard i hVE ONE HERE BATTERY LOOKS SAME AS NOKIA bl 4c BATTERY 3 PIN I THINK

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  8. How can i press right click on this air control

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    1. There is 8 buttons align vertically to the left and right side of the touch pad, 4 at each side. The bottom left is left click and bottom right is right click.

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  9. If you push c on some addons it will bring up the menu, but I can't figure out the right click either.

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  10. How do I activated the ñ key in this keyboard?

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  11. Does this model have a back light for the buttons? For the life of me I can't figure out how to turn it on... it's suppose to...

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  12. Does anyone know how to turn on keys back light

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  13. I don't think this version has a backlit cos I tried pressing function key and F6 like the videos ask for turning it on but it didn't work. All it does is enable or disable the track pad.

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