I have occasionally mentioned that I am disabled and as a result have to spend a lot of time in bed so I have a real hard time getting up to play games and write reviews of them once I finish. So anytime I get the opportunity to test some gear that will help me continue gaming and reviewing from bed I jump at the opportunity. One of the most difficult things for me while laid up is typing. Game controls can be manageable especially if a controller is involved but when it comes to typing I am awkward at best. So a special thanks to Rapoo for not just sending me one keyboard to try out but two, one that will help in bed and one that will help when I am traveling, which tends to lay me up too. So I will start with the Rapoo E6100 Wireless Keyboard.
Hands On:
When it comes to wireless keyboards comfort, portability and latency are the key factors to consider and the order of importance is solely dependent on your usage. Writers won’t care about latency but portability and comfort are key. Gamers will care about comfort and to a small degree portability but latency will decide whether or not it sits on a shelf gathering dust or all the letters rub off from constant use.
From the point of view of comfort the E6100 is near perfect in design, extremely lightweight and low profile it can be used for just about any task, whether live blogging during a press conference or writing a story or review in the comfort of a bed or favorite chair. There are no heat issues causing lap burns or the need for space under the keyboard, the thickest section is only slightly larger than the AAA batteries it houses and creates a natural keyboard slant and the keys are the same size as a standard laptop so no worrying about big fingers losing their place too much. The spaces between the keys are a little narrow so that takes a little getting used to but this is to help with portability.
It’s hard to get much more portable and still be a real keyboard with full size keys. The keyboard section is thinner than my iPad 2 without a case and the battery section only tacks on about 1/2 inch. The batteries should last you a couple months so you don’t need to pack tons of batteries and you don’t need any cords. It is less than 11.5″ long which means you are getting a nice size but with absolutely no wasted space. This will slip into any backpack and even some purses. I have had it sitting next to my tablet, decided I wanted to type something on it real quick and instead of dealing with the popup screen I turn on the keyboard, type with one hand while holding it in the other then turned it off and put it back down. Once you pair it with a device through Bluetooth you simply fire it up, type and can shut it right back off and pairing only takes seconds. You cannot get a more compact keyboard without sacrificing key size so it is the most portable you could hope for.
This pretty much leaves latency which for a gamer is make or break and with wireless keyboards can be a pretty decent issue. My last wireless keyboard was designed into an iPad case so the keys were a little small for my giant bear paws and there was a bit of latency. I would use it when I had to because it still beat the screen keyboard on a tablet but I was sloppy as hell on it and couldn’t use it for gaming. So this was an exciting moment of truth to test latency on this one. I was stunned at the lack of lag, whether it was typing or playing a game using it the response seemed as fast as a standard keyboard. I imagine full on Star Craft players with massive keystrokes per second would probably have problems with it but I doubt many folks would be using a wireless keyboard for such purposes, when it comes to casual gaming it will do the job just fine.
Last Call:
The Rapoo E6100 is one of the most compact wireless keyboards on the market that still gives you great performance and a decent key size. For players or writers on the go this is definitely a keyboard you can toss in your bag and use on a moment’s notice or in my case have next to the bed and use when you are too disabled to get out. The lightweight no heat design makes it perfect for use anywhere and especially for the infirmed and weakened.
[easyreview title=”Rapoo E6100 Wireless Keyboard Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]
