Customer Reviews

Kensington PilotBoard Laser Wireless Desktop Set 64390

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

A lot of reviewers are confusing this model (64390) with the older model (64385) and it's not a fair comparison! The newer model addresses all the problems of the previous version and is actually an excellent product. Yes, the 64385 did drop signals and act erratically, but the new one repaired that problem. The "missed keystrokes" have also been dealt with in this new version of the Laser Wireless Desktop.

It's unfortunate that the two models are cosmetically identical, but believe me: As an owner of both versions, I found a HUGE improvement going from the old model to this 64390 version of the set.

Anybody who has the older one and a receipt to prove it should call Kensington and get it replaced with this one under their excellent 5-year warranty. That's how I got the new model, and it was worth the effort.

High praise to Kensington for hearing the customer complaints and dealing with the issues with the original model of this keyboard.

UPDATE 01/04/10 ~ I have to lower the rating on this device because of a troubling policy choice at Kensington. It seems they have no intention of supporting Windows Vista or Windows 7, and have no plans to release updated software to take advantage of the advanced features on this desktop set. What that means is that you can't assign any of the multimedia keys, alter what the additional mouse buttons do, or set any macros. Windows 7 does support some of the extra keys natively, but you have no control over what they do. You're stuck with the default Windows functions. That means the media player button will ONLY launch Windows Media Player. The left-side mouse buttons will ONLY work for web browser Back/Forward. Some of the media keys don't work at all, and the ones that do only launch native Windows OS applications.

Frankly, I have to withdraw my former statement of high praise for Kensington customer support. This desktop set is still on the market, still being sold, and yet they do not support the current or last-generation Windows operating system? That's irresponsible, and especially unfair to those who purchased the keyboard & mouse, and then later upgraded their operating system. It's as if Kensington thinks that we're going to just stop using a perfectly good device set, and rush out to buy their newest product because they've decided to cease supporting this one.

Well, that ain't happening.

I have since dropped the keyboard in favor of a Microsoft model. At least with MS I know the software support for a new operating system will be there. I still use the mouse from this set on occasion, but I'm quite unhappy with Kensington's choice to make it difficult to map the mouse buttons by failing to support Windows Vista or Windows 7.

Kensington made a save for a while, but now they've completely dropped the ball and managed to insult and belittle their customers with this ill-thought plan. You can't tell me that Windows Vista/Windows 7 software couldn't be written for this desktop set; They just don't want to allocate the resources toward doing it because they want people to buy their latest offering. It's a bad marketing decision, and because of the lack of support such a short while after the product hit the market, I'm not buying another Kensington product. Who knows when they'll decide to stop supporting their next toy?

Way to lose a customer, Kensington.

EDIT 08/2011: Well, now apparently all the major features of the keyboard are natively supported with Windows 7 built-in drivers. The only function which didn't work for me when I tried this keyboard again was the scroll button. Everything else-- Media keys, volume, mail, calculator, etc-- All worked without need for drivers from Kensington.

Of course, they still aren't supporting it with new software, and that means that you're stuck with the built-in functions doing what they do, with no choice to re-map, but at least everything is working now.

Because of this, I upped the rating another star, back from the lowered rating when they stopped making Windows 7 drivers.

Saw this at Fry's and had to have it, so I ordered it from Amazon. The keyboard is amazingly quiet! Unfortunately, at the same time, the mouse clicks are deafeningly loud. Not a good pairing. Sure, I could use another mouse, but the nice thing about the pair is that one little USB stick will receive signals from both of these units.

Unfortunately, my keyboard was flat-out defective and had to be returned. Would not communicate with any computer, even though the mouse worked just fine. ReStockIt was the Amazon.com merchant that shipped it to me, and they did refund my money, but took their sweet time to do so. Their shipping was hecka fast, too bad they shipped me a garbage keyboard!

It's lightweight and attractive. Works pretty well most of the time as long as the batteries are fresh. The mouse sucked up the power from my rechargeable batteries in less than 2 weeks. I put some regular alkaline batteries in there and it's doing much better. Not sure if I didn't have a full charge on the rechargeable batteries or if the mouse just doesn't like them. The keyboard loses signal every once in a while while I'm typing - or the signal gets all hinky and types several characters even when I pushed the key only once. Sometimes it hesitates or simply won't type anything once in a while. The keyboard problems are usually alleviated simply by moving the position of the keyboard (I usually have it on my lap). If I move it to a different position it tends to pick the signal back up rather quickly. This set works pretty well in Linux but you have to map the "special" keys using lineakd and I still can't get some of them to work (user error maybe?). All in all I'm happy with this set - it works as well or better in Linux than any other wireless set I've used. I'd buy it again.

Like somebody said earlier, the newer models of this desktop set completely address the problems that people have complaining about. For me, there have been no dropped signals, and excellent response times with both the keyboard and mouse.

This set actually has a huge advantage over the logitech sets that I've purchased in the past... Range. I have an HTPC hooked up in my living room, so alot of my web surfing is done from my couch at about 15 feet away. Every logitech and microsoft model (minus the bluetooth sets) wouldn't even respond past about 6 feet. This one works like a champ, and costs much less than the bluetooth models.

The only con I really notice is the mouse is a bit "clicky" (meaning pretty loud when it's clicked). The rubber grips are kinda weird, but hey.. at least they're trying to be innovative. The construction feels pretty good.... not top of the line, but not definitely not cheap either.

I wouldn't really recommend this set as your main keyboard and mouse, but it certainly performs as advertised, and at a very reasonable cost. A great buy in my opinion.

I, like so many others, thought 'WOW! What a deal' when I found this laser keyboard/mouse combo for only $30 after rebate. I usually use Microsoft's wireless kb/mse, but figured that with a 33' range, I could use this unit with my media center. NOT. The keyboard misses keystrokes and the mouse gets jerky and misses clicks of the buttons. So, I moved it to my desktop with a 3-4' range from the USB transmitter. Same problems. Do not buy this set unless performance is NOT an issue and you don't mind slamming on the keyboard to get it to type. Next garage-sale, it's gone!

I ordered this product based in part on the positive reviews here. When I began to use the keyboard and mouse, I was very dissappointed in the mouse operation. The cursor arrow was somewhat difficult to control and for no apparent reason. I was also unhappy with the comfort of the mouse in my hand. On the plus side, I thought the keyboard was comfortable to use, but the mouse was the big reason for the purchase and that just didn't make it for me.

I have an interesting setup. I am running a Mac and PC through a Belkin KVM switch. I have wanted to go wireless for a long while but was worried about the struggle I was surly to face with this setup.

My old Apple keyboard finally gave out and I picked up this combo pack at a major electronic retailer for less then what is offered here. I chose this one because it was the only one with seemed to be designed to work with both platforms. Meaning...the hotbuttons were not "My Documents" or "My Favorites."

I plugged the USB receiver into my KVM switch and before I could do a thing my Mac picked up both units and off I went. Same was true when I switched over to the PC. I was totally prepared for a installation struggle and I was done in less then 3 minutes.

All this at a third of the price of all the other wireless keyboard mouse combos on the market.

I loved the feel of the mouse and it has been ok but the Keyboard has been horrible. It started with the letter M sometimes not working then it spread to the 10 key pad and so on. No help from their website. NOTHING!!! 60 dollars, Wow. Not again.

UPDATE 10/17/11

I got Kensington to agree to take this set back and refund my money to me directly. I've put that process on hold while determining what to buy next. Consequently, I've been using this keyboard regularly since I received it. Last night, in the middle of typing an email, the keyboard froze. I banged away on the keys like a monkey trying to get it to respond, but to no avail. I moved the USB connector to a different port. I rebooted the computer. Switched to yet another USB port. Replaced the batteries. Nada. Nothing. I now have a giant doorstop on my hands, hence I've downgraded this product to one star. If I could give it no stars, I would.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2011
Don't buy this item if you're using Windows 7!!! Maybe I missed some fine print somewhere when I was researching this item and reading reviews. Maybe not. Either way, in none of my research or reading ads/descriptions of this desk set did I see anything saying what I was shocked to discover when I received and unpacked the item. You cannot download the software for this item if you are running Windows 7, which means that you can't use any of the programmable features. No onscreen caps lock or numbs. lock notifications. None of the fancy, one-click function buttons can be made to work. And the mouse cannot have it's many buttons programmed. So, if you're using Windows 7 and you install this product, what you've got is the equivalent of the plainest, simplest wireless desk set out there, which is available for a much lower cost than you'll pay for this item.

That said, I bought this wireless Kensington model [wireless was the only option I was considering], first and foremost, for two reasons: One, the typing touch of a Kensington keyboard is great for me. It types as fast as I do, and then some, with no hangups. And, when I get going, that's between 90 and 110 wpm. No other keyboard I've ever used, be it a high-end Dell, Logitech, or any other brand, responds to my touch instantly the way a Kensington does, or can keep up with me. Second, it was one of the few desksets/keyboards available that clearly stated it gave you both a Caps Lock and a Numbers Lock notification, albeit on screen rather than on the keyboard where this gal thinks it belongs the way Kensington used to do it. You should take into account, though, that I'm 66 years old and I still think that the way to turn the bright headlights on in your car should be a pedal on the floor that you hit with your left foot the way it used to be decades ago. [I used a fairly simple, wired Kensington keyboard for 6 years and loved it until it "died" because I ate too many lunches over it and couldn't clean out the dried remains of lasagna and spinach quiche--and dog hair just because that's always around--that had lodged beneath some of the keys. My own fault entirely, obviously. If it still worked, I'd uninstall this laser wireless jobbie and install my old wired keyboard until I could find a Kensington wireless that is compatible with Windows 7.]

As for the functions that do work, typing, scrolling, etc.--the basics, this keyboard is wonderful. As with all Kensington products, and I've had a few, it seems to be kind of chintzy. Light-weight plastic that feels as though you could sneeze on it and it would fall apart. Nevertheless, Kensington always seems to hold up well under heavy-handed abuse. And, as with my old wired Kensington keyboard, it can keep up with my keystrokes and then some.

The wireless aspect is a bit touchy. I can be typing away with no problem for 5 minutes, then, all of a sudden the keyboard hangs up. The cursor won't move; a key won't type. And I have the USB plugged into the front of my tower roughly 15 inches away from the keyboard with absolutely nothing between the two except air. [When I plugged the USB into a port at the rear of the tower, the keyboard hung up far more often.] It performs exactly the same way when I move back 10 feet from the tower. It seems the darn thing has a permanent case of occasional hiccups. I could live with that--if I could program it to use all its functions!

Onto the mouse: Huge! I've got medium-sized woman's hands, and this mouse feels like I'm moving around a brick on my mouse pad. [Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it's still much heavier than your average mouse.] It's much too large for me. And it's unusally heavy. Perhaps gammers are used to such a heavy mouse, or trackball; I am not, and I don't like it. I've put it on the shelf and am using my featherweight Cherry laser mouse. The Kensington mouse, because of it's weight, I think, is not, in my hands, as responsive as I need a mouse to be. If I'm moving quickly, I have trouble centering the cursor on any icon or "button" on the screen that is small. And in Word, positioning the cursor between two letters to add/delete a letter is a bit like trying to thread a tiny needle with vaseline on my eyeglasses. I simply cannot move it only a hair this way or that on the mouse pad. No matter how hard I try to do that, I wind up moving it 1/4 or an 1/8th of an inch too far. Very frustrating and time consuming.

I would love to be able to give this deskset two ratings: One star for it's problems; four stars for how well it responds to a fast, heavy-handed typist's touch--excluding the mouse problem. Since I can't do that, I've added this review to the 3-star category. I just hope people check out the 3-star reviews [which I often don't do--DUH!!!] to find out that this otherwise pretty good product can't be used with Windows 7 to anything approaching it's full advantage.

I have tried to contact Kensington directly tonight, but they're not there at this hour. I will try again tomorrow to get some satisfaction--and a recommendation for a keyboard [to heck with the mouse] that will work with fully and completely with Windows 7.

I agree with one of the other more recent reviews. Overall, I have been extremely pleased with my Kensington products. They work well with my multiple Macs and also Windows-based PCs. I bought an earlier version of this desktop wireless set (K64382), which worked well for about two years and then began to malfunction -- primarily a few keys that either wouldn't function or only every now and then. I contacted Kensington, and they informed me that they didn't have that set, which I'd purchased via Amazon (where I buy nearly all of my electronics and plenty of other products). However, under their five-year warranty, they told me that they'd send me a new set, i.e., this one (K64390US). It's fantastic. I couldn't even use the other one where I wanted to use it, which was with my Mac Mini that's connected to our plasma TV in our bedroom (reception wasn't very good, which resulted in using it directly in front of my iMac). With the new set, it works perfectly with my Mac Mini setup, allowing me to use the wireless keyboard and mouse about ten feet away. I've experienced no issues whatsoever with the new set, which seems even more responsive as well. I would definitely recommend it as well as the Kesington brand due to my support experience.

Sept. 8, 2011: This is an update to my original May 3, 2010 review (awarded 4 stars at that time). This newer set worked well until recently. Then it completely stopped working. It seems like a software issue. However, when I contacted Kensington, they informed me that they haven't updated and don't plan to update this MouseWorks-type software. I've purchased several Kensington products for Mac over the years, but don't plan to purchase anything else in the future. Logitech seems to have some of the best Mac-oriented keyboards and mice. I'm disappointed in Kensington's apparent decision. Their newer iPad keyboard has received good reviews, but I'd approach with caution based on my experiences with these full-sized desktop sets.