Customer Reviews

Toshiba PA1390U-1NKP Slim USB Numeric Keypad with 2-Port USB Hub

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Here's a quick version of my thoughts: It has extra keys that make the plus and zero keys the size of most other keys instead of their typical double size, the keys are harder to press than your typical laptop keys, and there's a disconcerting warning about lead. However, it's thin, looks nice and simple, has keys that feel more like those on a standard keyboard, and, most importantly, is a keypad! I like it a lot, and it's worlds better than any way of entering numbers on a numpadless laptop keyboard. And now, the gory details:

All the usual keys are there, but the designer seemed to think it would be a good idea to stick in two extra keys, cutting two others down to standard size in the process. If you get used to using the new backspace key instead of flipping your hand over to the main keyboard for all your error correction needs, I think it could be quite helpful. However, it takes over the minus key's usual spot, forcing it down to where the top half of the plus key should be. This took me a bit of getting used to, but if you're used to Mac keyboards, you'll be right at home. The other new key has only two purposes: to enter three zeros with a single keystroke, and to replace the right half of the normal zero/insert key. I don't think either purpose is very good, but hey.

Next up is that lead warning that another reviewer mentioned. It was a bit disconcerting, but I'm lazily hoping it's a warning along the lines of cancerous things in California and nut-free candy made in factories that use peanuts. But if you're concerned about this sort of thing, it's probably better to save yourself the trouble and do without.

As far as the general look and feel are concerned, I really like this thing. The tops of the keys only sit about 2cm above the surface the pad's sitting on, yet they depress about as far as a full-sized keyboard's would. If you've gotten into laptop keyboard mode, they feel like they require a lot of extra effort to press, but they feel pretty good otherwise. The only real oddity with the key pressing is that the numlock key doesn't toggle unless you let go of it within half a second. I have no idea what purpose that could serve, but there you go. The whole thing feels solidly built, and it doesn't have bulky protrusions and LCD screens all over the place. The two USB ports up top (which are great for my 3-port laptop) hold on very well to the devices you feed them. I usually have a wireless mouse receiver hooked up to one, and I've had no problems after attaching a bluetooth receiver or a printer to the remaining port. Other reviewers have had power-related problems, though, so if you have really hungry devices, plug them directly into your computer instead, if you can. Finally, it is a corded device, and the cord is about two and a half feet long. Plenty long unless you intend to use it as a remote control or want to use it with a desktop computer that's not on your desktop. I usually plug it into the left side of my laptop with the cord running around the back, and there's lots of slack left in it.

That's all I can think of. If you need a keypad and want something thin and clean-looking, this should do the trick.

I bought this keypad because another person wrote that it worked fine with his Mac. I have a MacBook Pro, and the keypad doesn't fit seamlessly. I found this suggestion on the Internet:

Press and hold Num Lock key on your numeric keypad first, then connect it. You can then release the key. Press it again if the Num Lock status LED on your numeric keypad isn't on. It should work perfectly at this point.

If this doesn't work, another tip I read on some forum somewhere is to try to press the Num Lock key on your already-connected numeric keypad for more than four seconds.

It does work, but sometimes it takes a little finangling.

I bought this for my wife who has a Toshiba laptop, and she couldn't be happier with this keypad. She does a lot of data entry, and this keypad is comfortable to use, has a similar feel as her Toshiba laptop keyboard, and it's very easy to install. Just plug into a USB port and it works.

I highly recommend this keypad.

This product is pretty good. It has 2 additional USB ports (Speed is not 2.0 on the additional ports). Everything is great the only thing I found that was wrong was the feel for the keys. You kind of have to press them hard. But it takes a while to get used to when you are already used to the Laptop key board.

I bought this after reading several reviews for other numeric pads that were supposedly compatible with Apple OSX, but failed to work with Leopard. I plugged it in and it just worked. (Toshiba's website claims compatibility with Mac OS 8.6 and above).

This is a rather simple numeric pad, it doesn't have programmable keys nor does it have a calculator screen. However, it works quite well. It is sturdy built, the keys are comfortable to use, the usb hub is conveniently located out of the way as not to interfere with typing, ect. It is also thinner than I expected which is a benefit since I bought it for travel.

My only issue with this product is that the zero key is tiny. It's the same size as the other keys, instead of being wider, as on a standard keyboard. The space left is filled with a "000" key. I'm sure that new key is very useful to some people, but not for me. I find myself repeatedly hitting it instead of the zero key, and then i have to backspace twice.

As for the apparent quality of the constitution of this product, it seems great. The keys feel durable, comfortable, and responsive. It matches my Toshiba laptop perfectly, too.

My only other complaint is that the USB Hub doesn't put through enough power for my mouse, or, actually, any of the devices I've tried. I've got plenty of USB ports on my laptop, though, so I'm not too concerned about that. Some people might be very dissatisfied with that, though.

I purchased this usb keypad because the newer MacBook Pros no longer have the "hold Function + M/,/. etc. to use a numeric keypad" feature. Other reviews have stated that this keypad does not install directly but you rather have to just select the US ANSI keyboard setting to get it to work.

This method does get the keypad functioning, it may beep at you for a while the first time you use it, but just toggle NumLock and it should stop. However, not all of the keys use keypad key codes. The "Enter" button for example does not send an "Enter" code, but rather a "Return" code. This difference is negligible for people using the keypad only for data entry applications and spreadsheets. However, I use Sibelius, and "Return" on the primary keyboard, and "Enter" on the keypad have two distinct functions. If you need to specify the difference between "Return" and "Enter" on your Mac for applications like Sibelius, then go for the 18-KEY Genovation Micropad 631 USB Numeric Keypad 95/98/W2K/NT/MAC. It installs using the same indirect method as this product, but the keycodes it sends are mostly correct, I was able to get it functioning perfectly with Sibelius without sacrificing any shortcuts.

Nonetheless if you are a Windows user or a Mac user that doesn't need to differentiate between Return and Enter, this is a great product. Three stars for the general feel of the pad and its price, plus one star for the USB hub functionality.

I use windows vista, and it immediately started working when I plugged it in. Typing in numbers is not a problem, but the reason I bought this was so I can use ALT codes (alt + 0232 = è) to type in foreign accents. When I try to do this, I have to try a few times for the computer/number pad to finally recognize it, which gets really annoying, but at least it does work eventually. If you're just using this to type in numbers, though, it works perfectly.

I'm on the road a lot for work and hate entering data into spreadsheets using the number row on the laptop keyboard. I got this to enter data more easily and to get the extra usb ports. The number pad part works great but the usb ports cant support my external portable laptop harddrive which kinda defeats the purpose of having a usb hub.

Keypad was immediately recognized upon boot up. I love having this versus punching in numbers across the top of the laptop keyboard. There is one small problem - there is a "000" key that I keep hitting when I mean to hit the "." key but that's just because I'm always trying to rush things. If I had known how inexpensive it is I would have ordered it last year when I bought the computer.