Penclic R2 Wireless Mouse and K2 Wireless Mini Keyboard – Review

USING THE PENCLIC MOUSE AND MINI KEYBOARD

R2 Wireless Mouse

Using the R2 as a pen felt natural and I soon became accustomed to the new method of controlling the cursor.  The area where one grips the mouse is rubberized, which makes it easier to hold and maneuver.  The primary click button is located beneath the index finger and easy to operate.

The mouse is very responsive to even the smallest of movements.  I was pointing and clicking with more precision than I ever experienced with other laser mice and I quickly came to appreciate the weightlessness I had previously scoffed at.

The scroll wheel was easily reachable with my middle finger, but it lacks tertiary click functionality.  The other four buttons, however, required loosening my grip on the pen and bending my fingers uncomfortably to reach them.  It seemed less than ideal to scrunch my index finger to perform a secondary click, but I soon became used to the action.

I soon realized the benefits of having three extra buttons.  Programming each of them in Apple’s mission control preference pane to trigger different actions made the R2 a useful tool that could take over many of the track pad gestures I was sure to miss.  PC users can also program these buttons to perform various computing tasks.

After ten minutes of inactivity, the mouse, as well as the keyboard, will put itself to sleep in order to conserve battery power.  Clicking any of the buttons will bring it out of its slumber.  I have not yet needed to recharge either device after three weeks of usage and Penclic claims that the mouse and keyboard won’t need recharging for three and two months respectively.

As a frequent computer user, I actually found substantial relief in regard to wrist and elbow strain while using Penlic’s ergonomic mouse.  A small amount of strain shifted to my fingers, although I only experienced this when extensively accessing the extra buttons.  One design consideration to be aware of is that Penclic’s mouse operation is geared towards right-handed users.

K2 Penclic Wireless Mini Keyboard

Penclic’s mini keyboard failed to impress with its functionality.  It looked pretty and its slim design was attractive, but when it came down to actual performance, the K2 failed to meet my needs.

I found that many of the keys I was accustomed to using on my MacBook keyboard, namely volume, brightness and iTunes controls, didn’t work on Penclic’s K2.  This was an annoyance, but I was able to live with making the adjustments to keyboard shortcuts in various settings and third party apps.  Still, it never felt like a native keyboard, which isn’t an entirely fair criticism as the accessory caters to PC and Linux computers as well.  Penclic does note on its website that the “Mac operating system does not support all special functions,” but I would have liked to at least retain my original day-to-day keyboard commands.

The biggest problem I had with the K2 keyboard was its unresponsiveness.  Often, pressing a key didn’t register.  I found out that pressing the edges or corners of a button was not recognized.  The keys on my MacBook Air responded to a key press regardless of where I pressed, and I had grown used to this level of sensitivity.  I found that to make up for this fault, I typed rather aggressively to be sure my key presses were acknowledged, which negated Penclic’s efforts to make a quiet-touch keyboard that operates with comfort and efficiency in mind.

In addition, Penclic currently does not offer a Bluetooth version of its mini keyboard, which means any model that you buy will inevitably take up a USB port when in use.  The C2 corded version, however, offers two additional USB ports, in addition to a caps lock LED indicator that is absent on the wireless version (the K2 light only indicates battery and charge status).

The keyboard did have a few redeeming qualities, I appreciated the foldout feet beneath the keyboard that raise the rear of the K2 about a half-inch providing a more comfortable angle for typing.  While not any smaller than the MacBook keyboard, Penclic’s mini keyboard is a bit smaller than most wired or wireless external keyboards, and provides a smaller footprint that could prove very useful when lack of desktop space is a consideration.

Neither the R2 mouse nor K2 keyboard come with any sort of in-device storage  for their USB wireless receivers making them difficult to store or transport. Separated from their tiny and losable dongles, the devices have no way of communicating with the computer.

BOTTOM LINE

Although my initial impression of Penclic’s mouse was somewhat negative, I changed my attitude towards the device once I got to use it extensively.  It’s comfortable and ergonomic, overall a viable alternative for those who do a lot of mousing at work or home.  I was less impressed, however, by the mini keyboard.  As far as wireless keyboards are concerned, it brought little new to the table and failed to meet my very basic needs for functionality; I can’t justify or recommend the purchase of a keyboard based on aesthetics alone.

R2 Wireless Mouse – Available at The Human Solution – $79.95

K2 Wireless Keyboard – Available at The Human Solution – $69.95

(Photos: Accura Media Group)

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