But we are a gaming site, so when you look at the keyboard from a gaming perspective and say “well, is it good for gaming?” I have to say “Well – it depends.”

First, though, let’s talk a bit about its size, form, etc.

Note the name of it. Two things to note from the name: it’s a “mini” keyboard, and it has an integrated trackball. That’s important.

The “mini” part means that, well, it’s small. In fact, it’s about the same size as the keyboard on my Dell E1505 Inspiron notebook. That means that if you’re like me, and prefer a “full size” keyboard, it can be a bit small. That’s not necessarily bad – it makes it easier to carry. But unless you’re in the habit of using a small keyboard, it can be a bit tough to get used to typing on it.

Second, the trackball is built into the upper right of the keyboard. The buttons for the mouse are on the upper left.

Which is, well – a bit awkward for gaming.

Not all the time, though.

Basically, it depends on what kind of games you like to play.

The first game I tried it with was EVE Online, the science fiction MMORPG. It wasn’t totally inconvenient in that regards. It was a bit easier to use than the standard “pad” on my notebook computer, though I did have to take my hands completely off the keyboard to use the mouse and buttons.

So, while that’s not that bad in EVE, it was a huge pain in the butt in fantasy MMORPGs and first person shooter games where you use the mouse to look while navigating by keyboard. In fact, any game where there is extensive action on the keyboard while still needing mouse work was tough to play, if not downright impossible.

On the other hand, if you were playing a game that was only mouse-controlled, you could pick up the keyboard easily and use it almost like a giant gamepad. That worked out better, and even gave some more freedom to use it since it is wireless.

Set up was fairly easy. Plug in the USB key while the computer is off. Boot up the computer. Press the button on the key to get it to find the keyboard.

It’s easy…but annoying. I didn’t like having to “activate” the keyboard like that especially if my laptop was sitting ALL the way over on the table. I mean – it’s far away! Isn’t this keyboard wireless?

I also had some issues getting it to recognize before logging into Windows. Often times I had to use the three finger salute (control-alt-delete) from the notebook’s keyboard before it’d recognize the Adesso.

Also, the keyboard will turn itself off if not used in a while to save battery power. It’s easy to see if it’s getting your keystrokes or mouse movements, as there’s a flashing green light on the USB key. However, the first keystroke or two could be missed if the keyboard was still waking up. Thus – keep doing stuff while using it. If you’re (say) AFK-mining in EVE Online, for instance, it could take some precious seconds to get response back if suddenly attacked by rats.

I thought about the keyboard a lot in terms of travel, gaming, and even business use. I travel a good bit for work, and I always have my laptop with me. Was this keyboard worth the effort to carry with me?

Unfortunately, I’d have to say no – and here’s why:

In terms of pure functionality as a keyboard, it is small enough to not be more convenient to type on except for the fact that it has real keys, and not the little flat laptop keys that annoy the hell out of me.
1. For business use, I do not find the functionality of the trackball – and its additional sensitivity – to be an upgrade over the trackpad of my laptop.
2. For gaming, it is no more convenient than a pre-existing laptop keyboard. On a desktop system, it’s far less convenient.
3. Personally, I keep my monitor at the highest resolution possible. Couple that with my less than perfect eyesight, and being far enough away to make the wireless keyboard worthwhile meant I couldn’t make out enough detail to really play a game well or read e-mail.

1. As we’ve been doing work on media center PCs, I could see it being very useful if you had a media center PC in your living room.
2. When watching a movie on my laptop, it was like a big remote.
3. I could throw it at my cat. Not that I would ever do that, that’s animal cruelty. So, instead, I could throw it at my brother. Not that I would do that, either, as a) it was a loaner keyboard and b) he’s a lawyer and can sue me.