I bought this remote to control my PC when I use it to watch videos, to control my smart tv (Sony R520A), and my NAS box. Basically, you need one today, as you have more and more computers around you performing various tasks and fewer and fewer "dumb" devices, since in most cases you are going to use one or more of the following:
-type inside of the search box
-type paths and / or commands
-use mouse to navigate the GUI buttons
Lenovo makes three models of this remote: The old, the new and the new with backlight. I am not going to discuss the new model without backlighting, because I do not see the point of doing so.
The old and the new models have largely cosmetic differences and two main differences: the type of mouse control and the backlight. The old remote has the scroll-ball mouse, the type that you'd have on a blackberry, and the newer one has a mouse control that is just like a tiny touchpad, which can also be pressed to click.
The problem of choosing the model comes from the fact that both implementations of the mouse are horribly bad on Lenovo remote.
the type of a mouse present on this newer model is horribly inconvenient.
-For the older model, as everyone mentions the problem is that the mouse ball is too loose in it's socket and therefore it moves every time there is a slightest movement of the remote itself, such as if you move on your couch, and as a result the mouse becomes active on the screen and the your video player switches to control skin. How would you like that happening every time your dog itches?
-For the newer model, the touchpad is not sensitive to the movement of the remote itself at all, which is great, however, the mouse control is a pain to use. This is hard to explain, but everyone I know says that the ball mouse is far far more superior and precise than the touchpad. You can try the feeling if you cover your laptop touchpad with a piece of cardboard leaving only a small round hole in the middle, about 1/4 inch in diameter. Do this, and try to use the mouse. You will find that it is possible, but much much less precise!
So, instead of simply fixing the ball mouse by making it a tiny bit stiffer, Lenovo decided to make another mistake by going with the touchpad sensor type of mouse control, which as it turns out has it's own problems.
I was sure that I could open the older model and tighten the ball, however, I decided to buy the newer model because the older one lacks backlighting, and that is simply unforgivable in 2013.
After using this newer model for a bit, I can tell you that the idea itself is great and the device is truly irreplaceable. Lenovo made it fairly tough, reasonably convenient to use and very good looking. There are few problems with it, which I am going to mention below, but I'd like to note that even with that said, this is still a very capable device.
-If you are not 16 year old, and no longer have a laser cut vision, you will discover with great disappointment that just like many other devices these days, the manufacturer did not give a single thought to the ergonomics of the device. The size of the printed characters on the keys is about 1/9 of the total available key surface area, meaning that the character could easily be printed three times larger, but it wasn't. You will find yourself looking at a key, say 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch, but the character will be printed the size of a character in a small print disclosure text. And no, of course it is not even bold.
-the backlight is designed to save your battery power, and not to be convenient, as if the batteries price was your main concern here. It times out in about a second, and light up again as soon as you press a key, but the point is that if you are trying to find a key in the dark, you will most likely not be able to find it that quick!
-the remote has two "click" buttons, just like the laptop touchpads, one for the right-click and one for the left-click. Well, the designers positioned those right above the mouse sensor, thus the following will happen: If you need to scroll the screen, you will want to position the mouse on a scroll bar and then hold it there by holding the left-click button. At this point, you will find it very awkward, because the button you're holding is right above and very close to the mouse sensor, so your right thumb is trying to move almost underneath of your left one!. This is the worst possible location of the click buttons for a thumb operated keyboard.
-finally, I haven't found yet a way to customize the keys for my particular TV. In my opinion, such a device as a mini remote keyboard must have this as a feature. There should be, say, a couple of customized layouts remembered, so that you could easily switch from one device to another.
Failures. My remote came with a defect, - the number one key is not functioning. After testing all they keys, I have found that this is not a hardware problem, as the "1" key functions just fine in an upper register mode ("shift" pressed). Thus, I will be returning this remote for exchange. I expect this to be super smooth, as I am dealing with Amazon here and not with Lenovo.
I would still love to have this remote, provided I can obtain one with all keys functioning.... keeping my fingers crossed.
Similar items that may ship from close to you
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Climate Pledge FriendlyProducts with trusted sustainability certification(s). Learn moreProduct Certification (1)
Carbon Neutral Certified by SCS Global Services means the product’s carbon emissions have been measured and reduced, with any remaining emissions offset.
Compare with similar items
Discover similar items
& Up
Color: Black
Color: Grey
Operating System: Chrome OS
Operating System: Linux
More Filters
No results available. Please adjust the filters and try again.
$179
$25List:$49.99
$19
Prime Big Deal
$27$45.99
$30
$32
Prime Big Deal
$23$38.99
$10
$31
$28List:$32.99
$10
$76
Reviews with images
Submit a report
A few common reasons customers report reviews:
- Harassment, profanity
- Spam, advertisement, promotions
- Given in exchange for cash, discounts
When we get your report, we'll check if the review meets our Community guidelines. If it doesn't, we'll remove it.
