In an age of advertising hyperbole so gratuitous that every spec tweak or color change is accompanied by a press release, it's honestly refreshing to watch Lenovo tip-toe interesting new products into retail with nary a peep. Like this palm-sized Multimedia Remote with Keyboard spotted by an Engadget reader inside a Singapore mobile phone shop. Seems this wireless pup (model 57Y6336) has been on sale for about a week across the globe with a $60 MSRP or about $30 after a quick Google for discount coupons. That meager tithe takes home a 2.4GHz keyboard with trackball and USB "nano dongle" for your Windows home theater PC good for about 10-meters of wireless sofa surfing. See it in the wild after the break.
Update: This "pretty awesome peripheral" received a brief hands-on over at
HardwareZone who tells us that it's powered by a pair of AAAs as well.
[Thanks, Bryan C.]
posted December 28th 2009 1:35AM
Does anyone know where I can buy one of these for shipping to the UK? Tried the Lenovo website, but only shipping to USA at present.
Am I the only one that thinks this could double as a great ping pong paddle?
I wish Microsoft would release pc drivers for the chatpad, it would be perfect
This was on slickdeals last week for $30 from Lenovo's website... A lot of people jumped on it; I imagine the price might come back soon.
a "quick google" might have told engadget that the coupone expired a few days ago... engadget news FAIL
IMHO this is a great design for a HTPC control. It's about time someone is putting some thought into these devices. I personally have this model http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823166079 which is branded under many names. It's ergonomics are second to none in terms of HTPC use (it feels like you're holding a huge PS3/Xbox controler), but its build quality isn't quite top notch. This looks like a great alternative for anyone wanting the same functionality, but in a smaller form factor.
Now if it just had a recharging dock to set it in...
@ECH
Smaller? Sorry, but I really do think that's incredibly ugly, and not at all designed for a sofa-side table.
@WilliamG
Smaller... Yes, compared to the HTPC keyboard in the link which is a "laptop" sized keyboard. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to me the form of this seems to be very thoughtfully driven by its function. Hold it in one hand with the large bottom tab (either left or right) while you use the track ball, and hold it in both hands with the tab between while you type with your tumbs.
I think this will be a hit for HTPC users looking for a smaller keyboard + trackball combo, especially at this price point.
ZOMG HTC Touch Pro keyboard! muthafucka!
There also this little $40 keyboard/mouse/trackpad. Fugly though it be.
http://efo.buy-lowest.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=180
this could be could for mmorpgs on a large screen display and sitting back on a recliner...
Does anyone know of a gadget that is a:
wireless keyboard with built in mouse, that can control the HTPC ie my TV, AMP, Blu Ray, CD player ect? Small and backlite, by chance? Ty.
After about a week and a half waiting for Lenovo's stock to replenish, my unit finally arrived last night and I am officially enamored with it. I love this thing. It's actually smaller than I though it would be (a good thing). It's entirely ergonomic, very light, works with my Acer Revo 1600 XP SP3 no problem. It's great. Highly recommended.
Out the box, it cant wake my Revo up from sleep mode. Gonna look into that, may just be an under-powered usb port or something. But that's an OS thing, and no fault of the keyboard. Everything else is golden.
I've been using the D.Mini with my Mac Mini in the Home theater and it's no longer working due to a water leak from my upstairs to where this was charging. Will this work on a Mac ? Unofficially, The D.Mini "doesn't work on a Mac" but it does (with a few minor drawbacks). Also the D. MIni is Bluetooth so I don't need a line of site and works anywhere in my large living room. This isn't IR or BT ? Just radio freq ? 2.4 GHz ? This is half the price to replace the D. Mini... I'd rather have this (due to the track ball) than the D. Mini if it works on a Mac. Any luck out there ?
MAC SUPPORT.... In case anyone is wondering if this works on the Mac, worry no more. I just got mine in the mail and it was plug and play with my Mac Mini (Snow Leopard).
When the "we found a new keyboard" wizard popped up, it wanted me to pressed the button directly to the right of the "shift" key. Well, there is NO button to the right. So I just randomly pressed buttons until it let me choose what type of keyboard it is. Just chose the standard ANSI keyboard, and all seems to be working great.