The Eclipse Litetouch Keyboard is a wireless keyboard that can either connect via USB or Bluetooth with pretty decent range (seems like it loses its juice once you are 15-20 feet away). This sleek looking keyboard also offers a little trackball mouse (with left/right click capabilities) so that the keyboard is essentially an all-in-one peripheral. The mouse isn’t the greatest, but it will certainly do the job for web browsing and the like. The mouse would not be good if you are trying to play a game on the computer, for example. The keyboard is also backlit, which looks really nice and is easy to see when used in the dark, and it has a lit up touch pad on the side that I will later go into further detail with. The keyboard works with any computer and also works with my ps3.

The keyboard has a rechargeable battery inside that can be recharged through a wall socket or through a USB attachment directly with the computer. The battery is strong, it can be used regularly for a few weeks without needing a recharge and the recharge itself goes relatively quickly as well. The keyboard is light and mobile and the keys feel good and solid to the touch. But what sets this keyboard apart from the others is the touchscreen to the right of the keyboard.

When you purchase this keyboard, it will come with a disc that you can install on the computer that lets the user create shortcuts directly from the keyboard’s touch screen. Out of the touch screen controls, the user has the ability to change the computer’s volume level and brightness level through one of the touch screen’s icons and you’ll also see the keyboard’s battery level through an icon on the touch screen. The touch screen also offers three different modes: number pad, favorites, and music/file controls. The music control mode will allow you to pause, record, play, rewind, etc. when you play music/video files. You can have particular music or videos turn on once you press the corresponding icon if programmed and there is also the mode that gives you a functional number pad. You can program in favorite website shortcuts, command shortcuts, or even program shortcuts in the favorites mode. What is also unique is that you can save different profiles so that if multiple people are using the keyboard they can have their own settings, commands, favorites, etc. saved as a profile and when others want to use the keyboard, all of their saved settings are just a click away.

The only problem that I have seen or heard about this product is the connectivity of the keyboard. Sometimes there are minor malfunctions that make the keyboard lose connectivity with the computer and that can be frustrating for users if they have to keep trying to figure out how to get the peripheral re-connected. Otherwise this is all in all a really nice wireless keyboard if you are in the market for one. The attached mouse and the functionality of the tough screen really bring the keyboard home for me. It really has everything you need as far as a mouse/keyboard is concerned. Look online for decent prices.

Apps

Practicality apps are always put at a premium, but they rarely work exactly as advertised. Recently, however, more useful apps to provide additional functionality or ease of use for the owner have been popping up in the app store. Here are three must own applications that make the iPhone even better.

DozeGuard-If you ever fall asleep while consuming media on your iPhone, this app is well worth the $0.99 price tag. The app uses the phone’s accelerometer to detect whether the user has fallen asleep, and stops the media, be it a movie, podcast, or audiobook. When the user wakes, they can choose to restart the media from the point at which they last moved the device, or when the application stopped the media. It’s a neat idea, and further exemplifies the ingenuity of app developers today. Depending on the setting, users can set the interval DozeGuard expects them to move in, and be alerted by a chord soon before the app stops the media to alert the user that they should move the phone or the media will stop. The app just works, and those listening to long form media need to have it.

Clock Pro- This is the most versatile and high functioning clock app in the app store today. The impressive thing about it is it essentially gives the iPhone the ability to multitask by supporting alarms exteriorly, allowing users to run their iPhones to full capacity without losing their alarms, a severe limitation to many clock apps except the iPhone’s native one. The app also supports a sleep timer and alarm clock that allows the user to rise and fall asleep to music on from the iPod application. In addition to these core functions, Clock Pro features an analog clock, chess clock, world clock, stopwatch, nature times, egg timer, project clock, metronome, and a count down clock. It’s basically the temporal equivalent to AppBox Pro, and the first of its kind worth purchasing at $0.99.

StealthType SMS- One of the most common complaints new iPhone users make is that with a completely flat surface, it is now impossible for them to type text messages without looking. With StealthType, users can now type completely accurate messages without ever glancing at the screen. The interface allows them to quickly select a message recipient from a favorites screen and then type around where users expect letter or character to be. The application speaks back, letting users know what letter is selected, allowing them to toggle their finger around until they have found the right letter, and then release to select it. The delete and space keys are easily accessible, but the app has some serious limitations. Unless users have headphones plugged in or are alone, the app is basically unusable, and special characters are hard to find. If this were an option in the native messenger on the phone, it would be exponentially more useful, but as a stand-alone app, it will oftentimes be more trouble than just simply looking down at the phone. It’s a great idea though, and one Apple and iPhone users should definitely take notice of.

News

Apple announced that they will unveil the iPhone 4.0 operating system on April 8, so it only seems fit that we add to the rampant speculation surrounding it and make my predictions of what the OS will include. First is the most obvious and needed improvement: multitasking. Second, some basic enhancements to the UI while keeping a similar profile, like a fancier graphic for moving in and out of applications (or between them). I expect more customization to be allowed as well, namely wallpapers and the ability to set any song on the iPod app as a ringtone or message alert. Third, better integration with social media, like icons on the contact list screen to all the specific contact’s social media accounts. Also, voice commands like "post on Matt Schnitt’s Facebook wall" could be supported. Next, I think Apple will fully embrace the augmented reality revolution and release a killer native AR app that pushes the technology to the next level. Finally, though this is more wishful thinking than anything given the iPad’s limitation, but Flash support would make browsing exponentially more pleasant. It will be really cool to see what this OS contains, as it will set the bar for mobile platforms moving forward. I wonder how "magical" and "revolutionary" it will be.

In other news, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg clearly wants the iPhone and it seems like it’s only a matter of time. After last month’s Wall Street Journal article claiming that Apple is working on two phones, one for Verizon’s CDMA platform, Seidenberg said Tuesday that they are open to the iPhone and that they have told Apple that. The CEO wouldn’t confirm or deny whether he knew if the iPhone was coming to Verizon this year when he spoke Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations, but did cite the WSJ report when talking about the possibility. Meanwhile, Apple COO Tim Cook recently spoke about Apple’s gains from only partnering with AT&T, saying, “It’s important to remember that AT&T has more mobile broadband users than any other carrier in the world. In the vast majority of locations, we think iPhone customers are having a great experience.” Eventually, the iPhone will be available on all carriers. It’s inevitable. The question is how soon it will happen. As of now, I would be cautiously optimistic that the iPhone reaches Verizon customers within the next year.

Looking for more iPhone and iPad updates? Follow Matt on Twitter by clicking here.

Old keyboards from the 80s aren’t exactly washable, but they took a licking and kept on typing. One of the computers in my parents’ house still has an old Dell keyboard that suffered the indignity of having had an entire glass of milk spilled over the top of it — the result of an errant joystick movement. It still types.

That said, the brand new Kensington Washable Keyboard looks and feels indescribably retro. The white 104-key device with full size and full depth keys feels like typing in a bygone era in computing. I even fired up Doom 2 for a little spin around the arrow keys.

The keyboard is no relic, however. That old Dell keyboard still types, but it also still sticks from the milky punishment.

You can immerse this baby in soap and water and scrub it down like a dinner dish and come out with a new, clean keyboard.

The board also has antimicrobial coating to prevent the growth of molds, mildews and fungi that can get you sick.

Let’s face it, the keyboard is one of the dirtiest surfaces you touch all day. In the newsroom, we often share old keyboards, and they’re just grungy. I read a study once that claimed that the average keyboard holds more bacteria that a toilet seat!

Try trying to rinse out your illuminated keyboard when it gets dirty. (You could try Cyber Clean though.)

I soaked the Kensington and put it through scrubbing and rinsing and then let it dry. Let me tell you, putting a computer keyboard under the sink is NOT a natural task. The whole time I felt like I was breaking some major commandment of computing. But lo and behold, once the keyboard sat for a few and dried, it worked perfectly.

My only complaint about the keyboard is that the folding legs at the top are a little cheap. I broke one of the little legs by accident, which is enough to prevent the keyboard from being a perfect “10.”

The keyboard is comfortable to type on. A lot of newer keyboards have taken a page out of the laptop world with shallow keys, but this is a regular keyboard that feels very traditional.

With that take on things, the Kensington Washable Keyboard is a winner. It’s a regular keyboard. It’s wired — no batteries to replace. It has all the standard, regular keys that a keyboard should have. It’s the perfect solution for an office or a computer user that just wants to clean up a bit.

Kensington has done it right with a great wireless keyboard and mouse set.

The set works great with a Mac or a PC. Within two minutes of plugging in the USB receiver into a MacBook we were up and running smoothly with both the keyboard and mouse.

I was a bit skeptical of the thin design, as it sits very low to the desk, but once I tilted it forward with the tabs in the back, it was very comfortable under my hands. The keys are quiet and easily navigated. Running on only two AA batteries (included) the keyboard is very light. An indicator light is also set off when these batteries are at 10 percent remaining. Aside from a standard QWERTY setup there are several other features located above the keyboard and number pad. Eject CD, Internet search, email, web browser startup and media keys are all featured above the F1-F6 keys. A more involved set of media shortcut buttons is located above the number pad. These include the standard previous track, next track, play/pause and volume controls.

When the keyboard is not in use, a sliding plastic cover at the top center of the keyboard can be moved over the keys, which reveals a holster for the mouse. Placing the mouse in this holster powers the mouse off in order to save battery life. With the mouse in the holster, the keyboard and mouse configuration can be rotated 45 degrees away from the user to make it a standing picture frame. A clear sleeve in the center of the back of the keyboard allows for a 4 X 6 photo to be displayed when not computing — a nice touch.

The only way I could see improving the keyboard portion of this wireless set would be to offer back-lit keys, or a glow in the dark keyboard for easier nighttime use.

The mouse wasn’t a letdown either. I was concerned that it may be heavy, since it is battery operated, but the weight is very comfortable. It moved just fine on my desk, even without a mousepad, and it felt even more comfortable than my Microsoft wireless mouse (which cost about as much as this whole set). I had no problem with the response time of the mouse using it about 2 feet from the USB receiver. There is an USB extension cable included which will allow for greater distance if needed.

This mouse is nothing fancy but it’s everything a mouse should be: a lightweight, comfortable, two buttoned mouse with scroll wheel. As with the keyboard, there is a low battery indicator located between the left and right buttons on the top of the mouse. Not visible unless turned on, the light is housed beneath the two buttons and will come on once 10 percent of the battery life is left.Your browser may not support display of this image.

All in all, this set is a great value for the money. It can currently be had for about $70 through Amazon. We have used several inexpensive wireless sets in the past, but the Kensington Ci70 actually blows them away. With the Ci70′s comfortable design and unique features it’s an easy choice for anyone in the market for a wireless keyboard and mouse set.

Our friends at Kensington recently sent us a little care package of goodies to try out, as they debuted a collection of products specialized for the growing number of netbook users.

Netbooks “" those little tiny computers with a dozen hours of battery life “" are growing hugely in popularity lately. Kensington recently came out with an equally tiny wireless mouse, a reversible sleeve, a security lock, a multi-device power adapter and a good, old-fashioned, wired USB mouse.

After toying around on some of the netbooks we’re reviewing for various purposes, we’re impressed, particularly with the Wireless Mouse for Netbooks and its nano receiver. It’s a small but comfortable mouse and a great alternative to the frustrating touchpads. Just keep a supply of batteries or rechargeables handy.

The Security Lock for Netbooks works with any laptop with that security slot, which is nearly every laptop. It features a coil of wire around a four digit combination lock. The wire is thin, but you can’t beat the portability. It won’t stop a pair of bolt cutters, but it will prevent someone from walking off with it at the library.

I’m not a huge fan of sleeves, but the Reversible Sleeve for Netbooks is a great choice for those of you that are. It fits up to a 10-inch netbook and stretches for some accessories. Forget about a full power cable, though. That’s why we tend to use bigger laptop cases. Maybe we’re old fashioned.

If you’re all like “man, I hate battery-powered wireless mice,” boy, do we have a solution for you. The Wired Mouse for Netbooks was actually our favorite device. We didn’t mind the little bit of wire for the security of an “always working” mouse. It beats carrying around an old Dell mouse in our little netbook sleeve. It’s a plug-and-play mouse that tracks really well on these small screens.

The last item up for bid is the Power Adapter for Netbooks. But they didn’t give us one, so we don’t have much to say about it. From the pics, it appears to come with a variety of charging heads, and it charges both the laptop and your USB-compatible phone. That’s handy. Wish we had one.

Ah. Hello old friend.

The Expert Mouse has been around for about 10 years. The first time I tested one was for ReviewCenter.com, and the trackball was “90s computer case beige” in color. It depended on mechanical, dust-gathering wheels to position the cursor.

This is the seventh generation of the Expert Mouse. Now, it’s optical, has a “Scroll Ring” to replace the mouse’s scroll wheel, and has an attaching wrist pad for ergonomics. But it’s basically the same big-old trackball. Same size. Same shape.

A trackball takes some getting used to. The ball rolls smoothly and gets better as the oil from your hands transfers onto it.

There is evidence and argument that says a trackball is better for you than a mouse — and a mouse has been shown to be absolutely terrible for your wrist, so that’s not surprising.

The Scroll Ring is a nice touch. We’ve become hopelessly dependent on scrolling windows on the fly. The real difference here is that you’ll find yourself using all your fingers instead of just one or two. As you get better with the Expert Mouse, its four buttons and the Scroll Ring, you’ll find your fingers flying around it to perform tasks.

Installation is a breeze. Plug it in, and the mouse snaps to action.

I admittedly, still use a mouse for my input needs. The Expert Mouse is as close as I’ve come to converting. It’s a great trackball that’s comfortable, sturdy and functional.

This one surprised us.

We’ve spent the last month reviewing all sorts of mice: big mice, small mice, weird mice, but mostly expensive mice. And lo and behold, we’re having some fun with one of the cheapest of the bunch.

The Razer Salmosa mouse is not a decked out super gaming mouse. In fact, a lot of gamers are going to be turned off by it. It has two buttons plus a wheel/wheel button — which almost makes it seem like a normal mouse.

Then we get under the hood and find out that things aren’t nearly as they seem. Below the mouse are the two switches to control precision and response time. We preferred the default 800 dpi and 125 khz resolution/response but you can switch up to 1800 dpi and 1000 khz when you’re gaming and need the extra juice.

Speaking of games, the mouse does perform admirably in most game settings where you don’t need 10 buttons. The biggest boost for the mouse is that it’s accurate. Whether you’re editing a photo, shooting a guy in the head, or just browsing your email, you move your hand, and the cursor goes where you want it.

The Teflon non-stick feet also made sure the mouse performed as well on a desk or counter top as it would on one of Razer’s super mousing surfaces.

Even the wheel, a little fatter than usual, seemed to know where I wanted the page to scroll.

Lastly, the two buttons the mouse does have are comfortable and responsive.

The only complaint is that the matte surface of the mouse doesn’t respond well to oily hands, raising concerns of sweaty gamers’ hands ruining the look of the product.

Because we know gamers sweat.

The Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 is another foray into laser tracking technology that is probably going to take a back seat to Microsoft’s BlueTrack technology.

It’s probably good that they’ll be leaving this one behind, because it’s not one of Microsoft’s better mouses.

The problem is not so much with the laser tracking — that works fine for the most part, especially on a mousepad. It’s just not a well designed mouse. The buttons don’t press in quick succession unless your fingers are just in the right spot, a disaster in games.

We also experienced problems with the cursor freezing up at random times, and we even had a problem syncing the mouse up to its receiver on one of our laptops.

The thumb button was also a problem. We found ourselves clicking it by accident a lot when we were doing regular left clicks. That, alone, turned us off the mouse.

It does come with a replaceable rechargeable AAA battery and a dock to charge it, so that’s a plus. The AAA battery life is great too.

Really though, as you can certainly see from Blast’s “Holy Mouses” coverage of like a dozen mice this fall, there are lots of good choices out there in the input device world. Just not this one.

With Microsoft and Razer joining forces to produce their Habu mouse, that really leaves two major companies fighting it out in the world of computer mice, specifically hardcore gaming mouses.

The Logitech G5 Laser is regarded by many as the best pure gaming mouse on the market, so we decided to take a look at the G9 to see if it’s the next evolution or just a bunch of cheese.

The first thing we noticed about the G9 Laser Mouse was how different it was compared to the G5. It’s a different size and shape, the buttons are different, heck, even the wheel is different.

The second thing we noticed was that it was very impressive in its own right.

The mouse has all the standard gaming bells and whistles including nine buttons, a 4-way tilt wheel, on board adjustable sensitivity and weight and that Logitech hyperscrolling where you flick a finger and the wheel spins and spins and spins.

The wheel lock/unlock button has been moved to below/the feet side of the mouse, which we don’t necessarily mind as long as the laser is off.

The G9 is a corded mouse. Many gamers, this one included, haven’t made up their minds about cords versus cordless. On one hand you have a wire to worry about, and on the other, batteries. We’ll leave that one alone.

The mouse tracks very well, saves gaming profiles via on board memory, and has decent drivers that let you customize all the buttons. Overall, it’s a great mouse and a solid option for PC gamers.

I may finally have found a replacement for my Dell optical mouse. I’ve been shipped two dozen mouses over the last couple years, and I always go back to my old wired Dell default special.

Why? Simplicity, comfort, easy button pressing, and good pointer tracking for when I need to do a photo cutout or some kind of funky design on the cover of Blast.

With the review units of new Microsoft BlueTrack mouses, they include a brick — a real block of construction material that has granite on one side and shiny metal on the other. This is designed to show that the BlueTrack can move on nearly any surface, including wood, shag carpet, kitchen counters, and metal. It still won’t work on glass or mirrors, so don’t throw out all your photo mousepads just yet.

The mouse is fat but not over-sized. It fits my hand comfortably. It comes with a dock, but they should have made it a USB dock. The last thing we need is another AC adapter somewhere.

The Explorer tracks extremely well across a high-resolution screen. It’s comfortable metal wheel scrolls nicely down the page with just the right amount of resistance and precision.

It also installs quickly. I later installed the actual drivers from the CD, but you can just plug in the miniature adapter and you’re instantly ready to mouse around. It works on XP, Vista, and Mac.

I stuck with the default mouse for so long because it was a good fit. Most keyboards are roughly the same, but the mouse is something special for the user, and you really have to form a bond with your pointing device. Heck, we’re all going to get debilitating wrist injuries by the time we’re 40 anyway, so we might as well like the mouse.

The Microsoft Sidewinder Mouse is the most complicated consumer computer input device ever made. It’s also one of the best.

It’s a mouse, designed for gaming, that Microsoft says was inspired by the Master Chief from Halo and the Mazda Senku Concept Car, among other futuristic muses.

“Microsoft Hardware conducted research with hundreds of gamers all over the world to uncover what they want from their mouse,” Microsoft said of the Sidewinder. “Research revealed gamers’ desire to personalize their mouse to fit their needs, whether it’s tweaking the weight, dots per inch (DPI), glide of the feet or button actions.”

The result is a pointing device with a built in display, add-on weight bars and the best scrolling wheel ever made.

Some consumers may find the Sidewinder overwhelming — and with good reason. You expect to buy a mouse and find, well, a mouse in the package. The Sidewinder opens up with a cable anchor that doubles as an accessories box for all your weights, an opening compartment for said weights and more buttons than many joysticks. This isn’t an office product.

There are two features that really set the Sidewinder aside. First of all, the tiny LCD screen displays the mouse’s sensitivity setting, up to 2000 dpi. It displays this feature right on the mouse, meaning you don’t have to interrupt your full-screen gaming session. Also keeping your game in the foreground, the LCD also handles display prompts for recording in-game macros and assigning them to one of the buttons.

The Sidewinder Mouse comes with four weight cartridges, three of which can be stored at once. Three 10g and a 5g cartridge let you store from 0-30 grams of weight adding to the overall level of detail you can employ on the mouse.

At $60-$80, the Sidewinder Gaming Mouse is a decent-sized investment, but considering the $50 pricetag on most games, I think it’s well worth it.

Quick hits:

Producer: Microsoft
Platform: PC USB
Genre: Hardware/Input Device
Launch Date: August 22, 2007

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars