And then there is the Media Center Start Button which brings one-touch access to Windows Media Center – assuming, well you get the idea by now. Or how about the gadgets button which, er, gives instant access to your Vista sidebar gadgets – assuming you use Vista that is. Oh, and for your £150 you also get lots of dedicated buttons including one to access your Windows Live Messenger contact list, select an online contact and initiate a video conversation – assuming you use Windows Live Messenger that is. The way the light dims according to the brightness of the ambient light in the room is impressive in a big kid in the techno candy store kind of a way though.
Sure it saves battery life, but we would prefer a simple on/off switch to disable it completely which would save even more. The intelligent backlighting is a little bit gimmicky, coming on automatically when you approach the keyboard and then turning off when you move away. The keyboard itself didn’t though, thanks to the ultra-thin "comfort curve" design which has been cleverly built with ergonomist approval to place your hands naturally and comfortably so reducing the chances of strain. Call us old fashioned but we like a bit of feedback when it comes to keyboard use, a reassuring click is handy in this regard whereas a "quiet touch" combined with not the greatest of spring in the key action itself left us feeling a little numb. The quiet touch keys we could have done without in all honesty. OK, perhaps those last two are not the norm. You get the usual things that are expected of any self-respecting media keyboard these days, which means a total of four integrated USB ports, built-in navigation pad just in case you don’t fancy using the mouse that came with the keyboard (doh!), quiet touch keys and backlighting.
As in the first with a specially designed charging hub that enables both keyboard and mouse to be charged in-situ, in the one place. This is, we are reliably informed by Microsoft, the first ever rechargeable mouse and backlit keyboard solution to emerge from the company research dens. Well, there’s the keyboard itself which has been slightly tweaked to make it rechargeable via the included all-in-one charging dock which it, and the mouse, plug into and the space-age backlighting - more of that in a moment - with the application of a quick burst of silver spray paint to the keys. (Pocket-lint) - The Microsoft Entertainment Desktop 8000 costs twice as much as the previous 7000 version, but what does the extra 1000 give you? We get typing to find out.
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