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11 Feb 2007 Labtec Ultra Flat Wireless Desktop review

[Review] My computer desk is a mess. There's klutter all over the place, blocking access to my keyboard and mouse. So naturally the perfect solution would be for me to get a wireless keyboard and mouse bundle. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it (an £80 bundle would be silly) so I settled for a Labtec Ultra Flat Wireless Desktop after being drawn to it's slim design and not-too-much-not-too-little price tag.

*sigh* Keyboards and mice should not be this much hassle...

I unpacked the kit, looked at the instructions, plugged in the USB wireless receiver, got the keyboard and mouse connected and everything seemed to be working fine. Thumbs up. I then proceed to install the bloatware on the CD that is provided, after all I figured that's where the hotkey magic comes from and I wanted to encourage my laziness with hotkeys. However trouble struck after I restarted my computer.

The keyboard was working happily, but the mouse would keep cutting out. I'm not talking just a lack of signal, I'm talking the mouse would just loose power and die despite the fresh batteries inside its belly. Pull the batteries out, plug them back in, the mouse works ok for about 5 minutes then dies again. Repeat again and again. I tried uninstalling the bloatware, the drivers for the keyboard and mouse, restarting the computer over and over again, swearing, nothing was working. I must have gotten a dud set.

So I return to where I got the set from and asked for a replacement. After returning home and unpacking everything and plugging everything again I try to connect the mouse. And glory-be it works! It didn't die unexpectedly. Great, now lets get the keyboard working. That should be ok.

Oh no it wasn't...

This new keyboard was very unresponsive, it only registered a key being pressed after the fourth or fifth frustrating attempt. And now it had affect the mouse so that the pointer was jerking all over rather than gliding across the screen. By this point I'd had enough.

I was drawn to the though of having the freedom to browse the Internet from the comforts of my bed. I loved the slim, laptop-esque design with the handy hotkeys. I could quite happily ignore the slight pause from the mouse as you moved it from its idle mode. I really wanted this to work.

I am very unimpressed with this shoddy attempt at wireless keyboard and mouse technology. I returned it from whence it came and got my money back. I shall search through the internet for this product and add a negative review to the small but significant pile of negative reviews as a warning. Oh why didn't I heed their warnings? And finally I shall end this review with a bad mark for the Labtec Ultra Flat Wireless Desktop set. Shame on you Labtec. You make such adequate speakers, why did you go and ruin my experience with wireless desktops?

GRAX RATING: 0/5

One last note; you don't want to be using a wireless keyboard if you play games like FPS. The slight pause with the mouse and keyboard every time you leave them idle will ruin your game. Stick to the wired sets.

Posted at: 18:54 PM

Your Thoughts

neil said on Wednesday 6th of February 2008 at 08:30:08 AM

Gravatar I have the same problem but only with the keyboard.Although i have noticed that if you go into notepad and type some garbage it clears itself for a while.I Won't be beaten by a piece of plastic.

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