Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 v3 (Black)

by Microsoft

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 20 x 3.3 inches ; 2.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001B8EOMU
• Item model number: XSA-00001
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 9, 2008

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

From the Manufacturer

Overview:

The Microsoft® Wireless Desktop 6000 V3, inspired by Windows® Aero®, features a sleek, Comfort Curve keyboard with a next-generation translucent design, quiet touch keys, media controls, and instant access to Windows Flip 3D. The ergonomic mouse combines wireless freedom and the precision of High Definition Laser Technology with the portability of a snap-in mini-transceiver.

Features:

Flip 3D Key Press this key to display a 3D overlay of all open windows and cycle through them.		Translucent Border and Polished Racetrack Brings the subtle elegance of Windows Aero to your desktop.		Comfort Curve with Ultra-Thin Quiet Touch Keys Your hands sit more naturally on the quiet, responsive, thin-profile keys for comfort and productivity.
Magnifier Enlarge screen detail.		Two-Way Scroll Wheel For faster on-screen navigation.		2.4 GHz Wireless The 2.4 GHz wireless mini-transceiver connects the keyboard and mouse right out of the box with virtually no interference, and provides up to a 30-foot wireless range.

Additional Features: "My Favorites" Keys: Customize these 5 keys to instantly bring up the photos, folders, files, and Web pages you use most. Simply push and hold to set. Battery Status Indicator: Tells you when your battery is running low. Extended Battery Life: Many users average more than six months of battery life. Battery status indicator shows when the battery is running low. Microsoft® High Definition Laser Technology: More responsive, more precise, smoother tracking.

System Requirements: Windows Vista® or Windows® XP 100 MB hard drive space or Mac OS X v10.2x–10.5x 30 MB hard drive space Windows-compatible speakers or headphones USB CD-ROM drive 4 AA alkaline batteries (included)

Product Description

Desktop Comfort and Style with Portable Mouse Convenience

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Ergonomics But Spotty Connectivity, November 26, 2008

By 

Avid Reviewer "A Music Fan" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 v3 (Black) (Personal Computers)

(What's this?)

This is my third wireless keyboard/mouse combo (I have one from Dell and one from Logitech as well). I have highlighted some things that I particularly liked about it along with some of its drawbacks.

[Update: I've downgraded my rating to 3 stars because the keyboard amd mouse started having connectivity problems.]

Pros
----
- Decent Wireless Range
The effective wireless range for both the keyboard and mouse is about 15 ft. Beyond that, the response from the keyboard and mouse becomes sporadic. Still, it's a decent range and will suit the needs of most people.

- Ergonomic Mouse
I love how the shape of the mouse allows me to "hug" it with my entire hand, and it fits very snugly and comfortably. Its ergonomic shape, coupled with the support I get from my wrist rest, really helps to alleviate strain on my wrist. As far as ergonomics is concerned, I'm surprised that I actually find myself liking it a fair bit more than my Logitech MX Revolution.

- Ergonomic Keyboard
The slight curvature of the rows of keys for the QWERTY part of the keyboard helps to accommodate the natural position of your wrist. This is my first Microsoft "Natural" keyboard and I must say it has completely dispelled my skepticism of Microsoft's so-called "Natural" keyboard design. I find that it does work as claimed in helping to properly align your wrist so you can work more comfortably.

- Ultra Quiet Keyboard
Wow... I'm very impressed by how quiet the keyboard is no matter how fast I type or how hard I press the keys; there's none of the familiar "clacking" sound that comes from typing on a normal keyboard.

- Pleasant Tactile Response From The Keyboard
I also love how the keys on the keyboard have an almost laptop keyboard feel to it. The keys are firm, not jiggly, and they have a very pleasant tactile response.

- Accurate Mouse Tracking
The tracking on the mouse is responsive and precise. Because it uses laser tracking, it works on pretty much any surface - light, dark, shiny, dull, smooth, rugged - you name it. It took on surfaces that my optical mice have trouble tracking - with no problems.

- Mouse Customizability
All buttons can be completely customized. These include the left and right buttons, the wheel click, and the two buttons on the side traditionally set to forward and backward.

Cons
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- Lagging Quirk
Periodically, there a slight lag in response from the keyboard for about a second or two, before it "catches up" with the typing - not terribly bothersome, but definitely noticeable.

- [Update: Every so often, the keyboard loses connectivity momentarily. At first, it was an occasional glitch, which was bearable, but as time went by it became more and more frequent, and now it's just plain unbearable.]

- [Update: The keyboard also seems to have developed the problem of repeating certain keystrokkes - justt likkke that. I find myself having to backspace to correct the glitch every few minutes - very annoying!]

- Mouse Has Too Much Friction with Surfaces
There is more friction between the mouse and surfaces for my liking. I guess I'm spoiled by the way my Logitech mouse glides on most surfaces - thanks to the coating of Teflon on the bottom of its contact points. Having a mouse that glides effortlessly really makes for a much more pleasant mousing experience.

- Lack of a "Click-to-Click" Wheel
This is a biggie for me - I am thoroughly used to a mouse wheel that gives you tactile feedback of a "notch"/click as you turn it, so I'm very disappointed to find out that the wheel of this mouse turns almost frictionlessly. It's a problem because most people have their mouse optimally set to scroll 3 lines at each click/notch (the default setting), so it requires some effort to precisely control the click-less/notch-less turning of the wheel for scrolling a page up or down to the desired position.

- Mouse Customizability
The left and right tilting motion of the mouse is strictly reserved for left and right scrolling, and is thus not customizable. So far, I've found one particular application (Opera) the side-to-side scrolling doesn't work on.

Conclusion
----------
What impressed me most about both the keyboard and mouse is how much they help in alleviating wrist strain to help me work more comfortably. I give it high marks for ergonomics, which is a pretty compelling incentive for me to switch to it from my Logitech keyboard/mouse combo. However, it has some quirks, and there are a couple of drawbacks to the mouse, the most significant of which is the lack of a "click-to-click" wheel - something I find very hard to get past. There you have it; the above are some considerations you might want to take into account before deciding whether the Microsoft Natural Keyboard/Mouse Combo is right for you.

[Update: I see at least a couple of reviewers have, like me, come back to downgrade their rating and update their reviews after they, too, started having connectivity problems with the keyboard/mouse. I was initially stoked about the ergonomics this package has to offer and was prepared to accept a couple of minor quirks. However, the glitches became more than just "noticeable"; they became unbearable as connectivity problems became more and more frequent. I'm switching back to my Logitech, which gives me rock solid reliability.]

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Try it before you buy it..., November 26, 2008

By 

Jay "jason_j_a" (Orlando, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 v3 (Black) (Personal Computers)

(What's this?)

I'm a software engineer so I use a keyboard and mouse all day and I probably use keys that the typical user doesn't. I'd have to say over all that I don't intend to replace my current keyboard and mouse with this setup. I can tolerate the ergonomics of the keyboard and I like that it's quiet; however the space bar make an annoying click that the other keys don't. I absolutely hate what they did to the function keys and the escape key. Instead of being normal keys, they've turned them into small soft like buttons as if they are not important. If you develop software then you probably use the function keys all the time in Visual Studio or the debugger or IDE you use. Trying to find the function keys without looking at the keyboard is impossible. I also don't like the plastic frame that goes around the entire keyboard, it looks like I forgot to take the keyboard out of it's plastic shipping container or something. I'm using it for writing this review and I'm constantly getting double keys inserted, which I'm certain is due to the keyboard. If you don't tilt the keyboard up using the included "peg" feet then the back of the keyboard tilts up when you put you palms on the palm rest. I will say that the palm rest is a nice rubberize plastic material.

Now lets move to the mouse. While the keyboard is silent, the mouse is ridiculously loud when you click the right or left button. People in the cubicles around you will know about every click you do. Yet the mouse wheel has no click or any sort of tactical feedback (I hate a free spinning mouse wheel). The shape is okay, but it's unacceptable for gaming and I prefer the normal mouse shape to this right-hand only contraption. I'd also prefer that the mouse had a rechargeable battery with a charging station like my old Logitech wireless desktop has. I'd have to say that my Logitech wireless desktop from 5 years ago is a better product all around then this.

Keyboards and mice are very subjective things to review so I'd highly recommend that you try this setup out at a local store before committing. The key layout is different and the keyboard and mouse just seem like they were designed by two different teams. If you're big on ergonomics and don't know what the function keys are for, then you might like this keyboard/mouse. If you're a gamer or a developer than I'm going to guess that you won't be happy with it. In the end I'll be sticking with my Logitech G15 keyboard, it's not perfect either but it's light years beyond this MS keyboard setup.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Designed Wireless Desktop, November 26, 2008

By 

Seanna - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 v3 (Black) (Personal Computers)

(What's this?)

I have been using the wireless Microsoft 3000 series keyboard and 5000 series mouse for a long while so I am very familiar with this product range.

The first improvement I noticed with the 6000 series is that you no longer have the big transceiver which will sometimes move and make it so you end up losing your wireless signal. Microsoft has now integrated the transceiver into a device which is the size of a thumb drive and plugs directly into your USB socket. The result of this (along with the better wireless technology) is hardly any signal loss so you always feel confident that things will happen instantaneously when you press a key or move the mouse.

To install the keyboard and mouse you plug in the transceiver, press the silver button and then the white signal buttons on the bottom of the mouse and keyboard and it will auto detect them. You can also install everything using the software included.

The 6000 keyboard is very sleek in design; it is about an inch thick at most and very lightweight. The main keyboard area is similar to the 3000 but there are a lot more `quick keys' around the outer area. Some of the new ones are `magnify' which lets you enlarge screen detail, `my favorites' which is a way to make your own set of personal keys and `flip 3D' which displays a 3D overlay of all open windows and lets you cycle through them. Another cool addition is the battery status indicator so you know when your batteries are running low. The keyboard itself is very responsive and when you press the keys it feels effortless instead of feeling numb and unresponsive like so many keyboards. The built in ergonomic wrist rest helps it feel a lot more comfortable.

The 6000 mouse is well designed and neatly crafted (even better than already excellent previous models) to fit comfortably in your hand. It is quick, smooth and responsive and the keys click with purpose.

Final conclusion - I really like the whole feel of the 6000 desktop series and Microsoft has taken the design of the keyboard and mouse to another level - highly recommended!