If you have a Bluetooth-enabled Mac, Apple's Wireless peripherals are the natural choice. Just make sure you have the right OS first.Apple's sleek-looking Wireless Keyboard and Wireless Mouse aims to dress up your desktop while eliminating pesky cord clutter. But, as is the way with almost all Apple products, high style and cable liberation don't come cheap: both components cost the same amount, a wallet-slugging AU$119 each. And both work with only Bluetooth-enabled Macs running OS X 10.2.6 or later, so Mac users with older versions of the operating system (and all PC users) or those whose systems lack Bluetooth, will have to look elsewhere.
Based on Bluetooth technology, the keyboard and mouse are a snap to set up. The included instructions are comprehensive and easy to understand, and it took us less than five minutes to install the software and successfully pair the keyboard and mouse with our Bluetooth-enabled, 15-inch PowerBook G4. Unlike other Bluetooth input devices we've tested, the keyboard does not act as a Bluetooth hub. Instead, it uses Bluetooth technology to connect with a Mac that has Bluetooth already.
In classic Apple style, the shiny, white Wireless Mouse sports a streamlined, ambidextrous, no-button design that feels comfortable in either hand; few other mice boast this unfailingly comprehensive design. The device moved as smoothly on a bare wood surface as it did on a mousepad, and the optical tracking engine provided accurate clicks from up to 30 feet away from the notebook. We did, however, notice a short lag time from click to action regardless of distance, a peculiarity that no other mouse we tested demonstrated.
The shiny, white Wireless Keyboard certainly stands out against its black and silver competitors. It is surrounded by an elegant, clear-plastic enclosure, and it rivals the Apple Wireless Mouse in good looks. Apple fails to make any of the ergonomic tweaks that we've seen in some of its competitors' keyboards, but as a result, its keyboard features 16 function keys and a full numeric keypad and is still compact enough (12.07 by 44.45 by 3.3cm) for a comfortable on-the-lap typing experience. In our tests, key tension was adequate, providing satisfying but quiet keystrokes. We did, however, experience a minor lag from stroke to action, though it wasn't as noticeable as with the Wireless Mouse.
The Wireless Keyboard and Mouse employ Adoptive Frequency Hopping technology to eliminate interference between other Bluetooth peripherals and wireless networks and devices. And a power-management system on the device automatically switches to low-power mode when it's not in use, and it can be turned off to reserve battery power. Apple claims that you'll get up to nine months of life out of the four standard AA batteries that power the Wireless Keyboard. With other keyboards we tested, the battery life varied between three to six months, but those peripherals ran off of only two AA batteries. As for the Wireless Mouse, Apple claims that you'll get up to three months of life (the standard for most wireless mice) out of the two regular AA batteries that power it.
Apple Wireless Mouse & Keyboard
Company: Apple Australia
Price: AU$119 each
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 133 622
