Quick Look: Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for PC

Well, I bought a new gadget for home and I figure I might as well add my review here at my own Blog to bring it "up to date" a bit and also help a few people out there.

Anyway, I transferred to my new home, well far far away from my previous one (one country to another), so I needed to sell a few things and acquire new things. Unfortunately, some of the things I brought with me are basic, but working just fine. While I will bring the "core components", I left the common ones. An example is my HTPC. While I brought the whole CPU (Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 500GB HD), I did leave my wireless mouse and keyboard behind to save up some baggage space and of course, shed off some weight (you know how airlines tend to penalize for overweight baggages).

So like I said, while I did save off a few $$$ here and there, the trade off is that I can't bring the "whole system" up. And when the time has come to bring up all the sytems, I am faced with using the old keyboard and mouse set up, but this time, I decided I needed something more elegant (my old set up is still more PC than HTPC).

Going thru the web, I got several options. There are some pretty cool offers for a full-sized wireless keyboard and mouse for about $30 but I don't want to go that route anymore. Then there's mini, really portable mouse and keyboard too, but it goes a little higher than usual, about $40. I just want an inexpensive solution for a very simple problem: "remote" (whether it's in actual remote form-factor or wireless keyboard and mouse for cheap). And after a wee bit more of searching, I stumbled upon this little gadget: Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for PC.

Well, it's a mouthful for name for such product. The weird as well is that, this product is manufactured by a rather doubtful name: unknown. Well, either this product is bad, or it's just a generic one. I was rather skeptical, but I went along and bet my $6.75 won't go to waste. I went ahead and purchased it.

Technical Details (taken from Amazon):

• Plug & Play - no driver or software required
• Remote has a maximum range of 18 meters
• Infrared receiver with 4ft cable plugs into your USB port
• Compatible with Windows 2000 / XP / Vista
• Powered by 2 'AAA' batteries

Product Build Impression:

I haven't used this product for more than a day, hence the "quick look" mention on the title.

• Packaging: The product packaging looks really cheap, very flimsy box. There's no other things inside the packaging except for the product itself, the USB receiver and documentation. This product could have used some styro or plastic to retain the shape of the box. I understand that this product is dirt-cheap, so buyers do get why is paid for.
• Documentation: The instruction is in English, but it is so badly written, it makes my own English reads and sounds like a genius. I can barely get past the 2nd paragraph, and I gave up trying to understand the documentation after the first few seconds. If you have patience and have a knack for deciphering codes, then understanding what's printed in the documentation may provide some bit of excitement and fun, but as for me, I'm done with it.
• Product: There are two pieces here, the actual remote and the IR USB receiver. The "remote" doesn't come with batteries, and it's clear from the get-go that it's not included. Adding the battery is easy and straight-forward, the battery compartment is easy to open and close, and very secure. However, the whole remote feels and screams "cheap". Not that I am complaining, but if this product was indeed sold for $34.99, then I would be very disappointed. As it is priced a lot cheaper, I can't complain much for the build quality. But the product is responsive, I have tested it a couple of feet away and work like a charm. I can't vouch for 18m advertised distance though. The buttons worked as advertised, and the shortcut A, B, C, and D worked nicely too. Entering text and Scrolling is also easy, but takes a bit of getting used to, but it's acceptable considering the price I got this for. As for the USB IR Receiver, I guess it's good since the remote works just as fine. Remember it is an "IR" so line of sight is very much needed. And oh, the "switch Window" only works for two Windows. So if you have multiple applications open and would like to "scroll across open applications", this won't work. And one last things, while the tech detail never mentions Win7, this product works with Win7 as well.
• Other things: I just want to comment on shipping and shipping package. I believe that for this device, and its price, the shipping package it comes with is acceptable. The product is not damaged, looks new, and sealed securely. The delivery time is also fast, "two-days free via Amazon Prime"

Verdict:

This isn't the best "PC remote" out there, but it certainly gets the job done. Again, the buyers gets is paid for in this device. It's not fancy, it's probably not durable as well, but it works fine. I tend to say that it looks ugly actually, but aesthetic aside, the only gripe I have for this device is the window-switching and bad documentation.