Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 3000

by Microsoft

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12 x 2 x 20 inches ; 2.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0021ZG61E
• Item model number: YMC-00001
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #59 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Accessories > Keyboards, Mice & Input Devices > Keyboards
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 19, 2009

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Turn heads with this stylish keyboard. It features a contemporary, low-profile design with a compact footprint that fits easily into keyboard trays and minimizes desktop clutter. Plus, its portable size makes it perfect as a notebook PC companion. It’s loaded with convenience, comfort, and performance features, including easy setup, a soft-touch palm rest, thin and responsive Quiet Touch keys, reliable 2.4 GHz wireless, a Media Center, hot keys, a battery status indicator, and more.

Features:

Hot Keys One-touch access to Windows® Media Player, e-mail, Home, calculator, My Documents, Zoom, instant messaging, and photos.		Reliable 2.4 GHz Wireless Technology Confident connection out of the box; up to 45-foot range.		Great for Notebook Computers Plug and Play Mini-Transceiver for less clutter and a confident wireless connection.

Additional Features: Media Keys "My Favorites" Keys Hot Keys Comfortable Soft-Touch Palm Rest Quiet Touch Keys Spill-Resistant Design

System Requirements: Windows Vista®/Windows XP Mac OS X v10.2x–10.5x CD-ROM 2 AA Alkaline Batteries (included)

Product Description

Microsoft 3000 Keyboard - Wireless - Black YMC-00001 405

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great wireless version of the same keyboard I have at home, July 9, 2009

By 

KASEY "Minor Geek" (MARSHALL, Vatican City State (Holy See)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 3000 (Personal Computers)

I ruled out Logitech keyboards because of their arrangement of the delete key. I'm very meticulous so it had to be a "standard" keyboard layout. I also wanted flatter and quieter keys, and I wanted them to be easier to press down. It's extremely easy to type on this keyboard, and although it's not as quiet as a laptop keyboard, it is much quieter than your normal run-of-the-mill keyboard that comes with a purchased computer. It's very sleek, and looks absolutely great next to my Logitech mouse. The glossy black finish just around the keys can attract fingerprints, but you're not supposed to touch that part anyway, and the rest of the keyboard isn't glossy like that. Battery life is supposed to be good, but I don't know for sure (I guess I'll find out in a year.) One of the things that shocked me was that this thing comes with real Duracell batteries, which is a real surprise in the tech world. Usually included batteries are cheap knockoffs from some brand I've never heard of. All of the extra buttons around the outside of the keyboard are useful and changeable through software. You can even assign macros to all them except the 1-5 and * buttons on the top (due to the functionality of that set of keys) if you'd like. This is a very sturdy, solid keyboard; stylish and professional-looking (which is good because I bought it for work!) I've spent $200 on a keyboard before, and this is easily the best keyboard I have ever bought. I'd recommend this keyboard to anyone for uses for anything from general computing to hard-core software development. 5 stars for this one.

Pros:
+ Build quality is top-notch
+ Flat, easy-touch keys help type faster
+ Most extraneous keys assignable to macros (including "F" keys)
+ Standard keyboard layout
+ Real Duracell batteries!

Potential Cons:
- Quieter than standard keys, but not as quiet as laptop keys
- Glossy black finish around keys can attract fingerprints
- "F" keys are smaller than normal
- Can't assign macros to the 1-5 and * keys
- 2.4GHz USB receiver and keyboard backing are white (in case you care)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works good with my Laptop, November 29, 2009

By 

Sarwat Ezzeldin "PrinceAly" (Irvine, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 3000 (Personal Computers)

Even though this is a desktop keyboard, I use it primarily with my laptops, I have an older Dell with XP, a newer Acer and a Toshiba both with Vista; this keyboard / mouse combo works very well with all of them. I have my Laptop hooked to a large screen, and I keep this wireless keyboard on my lap and use a wireless mouse to do all my computer work; I love it.
Installation was a snap, a real plug and play. However, to get all of the keyboard features, you need to install the included software. The keyboard is fairly light, has a low profile keys, similar to those on a laptop; it is also quite, responsive, it has a so-so wrist pad, and a number of shot cut keys that work with Microsoft apps, like "Save' "Open", "Spell Check", to launch Explorer, outlook or live messenger, etc. It also has a number of user definable keys that can be assigned a short cut to your most used functions.
This keyboard uses two AA batteries (included), not sure yet how long they will last.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Functional--Requires Special Purpose, However..., July 9, 2010

By 

MonWolfos "Druid Mon'" (USA - Fairbanks, Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 3000 (Personal Computers)

I had quite a keyboard adventure which led to this purchase outside of Amazon.com. However, the keyboard has left me with several complaints, thus I am going to inform potential buyers of what to expect, as well as perhaps vent some of my frustrations with this device.

Now, as a first major point, Video Gamers Beware. This keyboard is not gamer friendly, particularly to MMO gamers I'd think.

Design
- I give the design a low rating due to a curve in the keyboard. It's rather weird, but for someone who is used to typing on a flat keyboard, this curve format really puts strain on my wrists. It's difficult to fully describe the shape of the keyboard, so for now I'll say it "dips". The Space bar is high, then it dips slightly to the ASD row of keys, then it rises again all the way to the top row of shortcut keys. Also, the keyboard can't be turned on or off unless you remove the batteries every night and put them back in every morning. Key softness varies: the letter keys are softish, the space bar is a bit noisy ("Clacky" as one reviewer stated, and a very apt description that is!), and the function keys are all but silent, which is a major downfall considering they're already tiny and hard to identify. You'll have no idea if they're actually functioning at all until you get used to it.
For typing in general, it's reliable, but it only really shines once you've gotten used to the layout of the keys and the shape of the board. Also, the size is rather ungainly, especially due to...

Wrist Rest Thing
- At the front of the keyboard, there is a small slanted rest for your...wrists I'd assume--I don't know. Now that I think about it, I wonder if this keyboard was designed for someone with either small hands, short fingers, or hulk-hands. Just be aware that the rest cannot be removed--the entire keyboard is one single unit, the only adjustable features being the two retractable flaps for propping the keyboard at a slightly higher angle. For gamers who use the [Space] bar frequently, and are used to flat keyboards in which a simple swipe of the thumb will apply enough pressure to use the Space key, you may find it difficult now that there's a plastic bar effectively holding your thumb up over-top the space key. You'll have to exert some motion to use it now.

Function Keys and Macro/Shortcut Keys
- The keyboard comes equipped with standard function keys, F1 through F12, along with 22 non-standard keys with functions ranging from opening the Documents folder, Windows Media Player, Media Player Pause/Play/Stop/Next/Previous keys, Volume Up/Down/Mute keys, and even an Open Calculator key just above the number pad. The major problem with these Function and Macro keys however, is their size: they're tiny! Small, rectangular tabs with their function displayed in the form of a small white picture, that may or may not have any bearing on what you're doing. Now, here's where the first of several major issues come in: the function keys themselves are not function keys, they're macro keys. In order to use them as actual function keys (in programs aside from Microsoft Word, Messenger, etcetera), you must utilize a "Function Lock" key, placed right of the F12 Key. For example, if you are in a program and attempt to use the "F2" key, the keyboard will instead perform "Ctrl + Z", since F2 is set to a "Undo" macro by default. Fortunately however, this issue can be bypassed using the Keyboard Properties > Key Settings menu, which we'll look at in the next section.

Aside from the function keys, you have 13 more keys that are hot-linked to different functions. To the left of the keyboard you have "Documents" and "My Pictures" shortcut keys. Above the [Esc] key you have four keys set for "Mail", "Internet", "Windows Messenger", and "Windows Media Player". All six of these keys can be customized. Next however, we have "Favorites" keys, 1 through 5, with a sixth key called "Show Favorites", which basically tells you what you've bound to the 1 through 5 keys, and allows you to access those shortcuts on-screen. These six keys cannot have macros attached, however--they can only be hot-linked to shortcuts. As a warning however, I wouldn't recommend pressing any of these six keys until you've disabled them or hot-linked them. Nothing bad will happen, but they'll make a loud and annoyingly cheerful dinging sound, and pop up a window asking you to add a shortcut to the key.

The remaining keys include the Windows Media Player control keys, a Calculator shortcut key, Zoom/Scroll keys, and the volume keys. The volume keys adjust your system volume however, so unless you're using headphones or speakers that don't have a volume knob or something, it's fairly useless unless you need a quick mute-button for whatever reason. The Zoom/Scroll keys are useless unless your mouse doesn't have a scroll wheel. However, the Calculator shortcut key is in my opinion one of the best keys this keyboard comes supplied with. This is the only case in which I think the size is appropriate, its function useful, and it's position perfect. Situated right above the [Number Lock] key, it serves as easy access to a handy program.

As my coup de grâce however, let's point out that there are no lights on the keyboard aside from the Battery Power light. Thus, unless you have the "Display <on/off> On Screen" setting switched to "On", you'll have no idea whether you've got Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, Number Lock, even that blasted "Function Lock" etcetera, turned on or off. This just adds more clutter to the screen, that a single glance could have averted. As a very last comment, it's worth mentioning the right Windows key isn't a Windows key anymore. The Left one still is, but the right one is now basically an [Alt] + [Tab] shortcut key. For those users used to quickly locking their computer with only their right forefinger and thumb, it may be slightly detrimental.
In order to fully describe the function keys, let's take a brief look at the Software that allows you to customize the keys...

The Software
- Is annoying. It works well enough, but there are some restrictions that are brilliantly irksome. For starters, you can't customize the Zoom In/Out, Volume, or the Favorites Keys (1-5 and the star key). The volume keys will always provide volume, and the Zoom keys will always zoom or scroll. The Favorites Keys can only be hot-linked to shortcuts, such as Folders or Internet Favorites. The Star Key next to the 1 - 5 keys can only be enabled or disabled. Next, while you can disable the Function Key shortcuts by over-writing them with macros, if you try to use the Function Lock feature to switch between normal Function Keys and Microsoft Program Shortcuts, you'll have to remember when the last time you turned it on or off was, since there aren't any lights to indicate its status. Other than that, the rest of the non-standard keys can mostly be configured to use one of the following four functions:
1) The Default action for that key--for example, [F2]'s default function is "Undo", that when pressed, performs a "[Ctrl] + [Z]" macro.
2) Custom: "Choose from a list of commands" that include starting up Microsoft programs (Word, Excel, Messenger), Copying and Pasting, Exiting, Internet Navigation, Vista features, User folder Shortcuts, Media Player Shortcuts, etcetera)
3) Custom: "Start a program, Web page, or file", which allows you to hot-link a shortcut to that key
4) Custom: "Disable the use of this key", which disables the key entirely. Surprise!

Now, most of these same keys can also be assigned macros. When the "Assign/Manage Macro" buttons pressed, you are given an easy-to-use window that allows you to create new macros, copy macros, delete macros, and customize the ones you're making or editing with a name and if necessary, insert "special" keys (such as mouse-button clicks and DPI buttons).

Life
- So far I've had this keyboard one full day, and I'm still getting used to it. All together, I'd say it's a decent keyboard, but only if you're using Microsoft programs 24/7. For gamers, artists, and even casual computer users, you may find it uncomfortable to start with, and perhaps more complicated than necessary to deal with. I recommend taking a good hard look at the images, before making up your mind.

Worth
- In total, I'd say this keyboard is worth $19.99 at most. It's wireless, and it has some special features, but it just doesn't feel organized.

Conclusion
- This keyboard was definitely designed by Microsoft, for Microsoft products. I'm sure it'll be a great keyboard for anyone getting started with using Microsoft Office, but for everyone else, it may be better to look for something different.


**Update, 2011**
Well, after using this keyboard for a goodish while, I can state that I have adapted to this keyboard relatively well.
I still have to take a wild guess when I'm pressing Function keys, and I still occasionally accidentally activate the Function Lock from time to time, which slows me down a bit in simulation games like FSX and ARMA II, where I need all those keys often. The calculator key is useful still, but it saddens me that it's programed only to open the Calculator program, not to switch to it. For example, I open calculator, switch to a window and put in the math, and instead of just pressing the calculator key again to switch back to it, pressing it opens another calculator program. But Alt-Tabbing still works so that's all groovy.

It's rather weird, but right now I'm facing a bizarre issue where, when I hold my [Spacebar] key, keys "QWE and ASD" don't work. I can press any other key while holding the spacebar, and it works fine, but not those keys--which are the important keys in video gaming;... Read more ›