Review: Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000

In the market for a new wireless keyboard and mouse, looking to upgrade from my Microsoft Digital Pro Keyboard, I took a look at Microsoft's Wireless Laser Desktop 7000. Keyboard and mouse response peripherals are important to all communication between the user and their computer, hoping that Microsoft got it right after mixed reviews on previous keyboard / mouse combos.

The Keyboard:
The keyboard has the Comfort Curve design keyboard that has a slight bend in the keys to make the feel of typing more comfortable to the user. The keyboard has a small 6 degree bend in the design to help improve typing from the average angle of a users shoulder to keyboard. The keyboard comes with a 2.4GHz frequency wireless technology for quick response time, with a maximum of 30 feet distance from the transceiver.

The keyboard also comes equipped with a smoked translucent border around the edges to replicate Windows Aero, found in Windows Vista and Windows 7. The keyboard also has floating My Favorite Keys that launch applications or folders by simply touching the keyboard, without buttons.

The Mouse:
The mouse has a slick new design from Microsoft with a clean black and silver finish to match the keyboard. The wireless, single rechargeable battery powered mouse also connects to the transceiver, the same one the keyboard uses, to give the user freedom to take and use the mouse from anywhere.

My Thoughts:
After a short time with the keyboard and mouse, I found my comfort zone with both of the devices, after some tweaks for the speed inside the Control Panel in Vista. The keyboard had issues at the beginning, with missing key strokes, but seems to of fixed itself after a reset of the keyboard. The keyboard was also able to perform flawlessly with the transceiver behind a desk, at a fair distance.

The mouse also had the same hiccups on getting started, much like the keyboard, by not able to properly move across diagonally, but has since fixed itself after a reset. The mouse feels comfortable in my hand, but has hard to reach back button, where I need to lose my placement on the mouse, in order to go back a page while browsing. My only issue with the mouse is the scroll wheel click button that is a lot harder to press in for quick scrolling of a page, from my previous Microsoft Notebook Optical Mouse 3000.

Keyboard Pros:

• Nice overall design, the look is much nicer compared to other keyboards
• Great functionality – performs great at distances, and excellent at keeping keystrokes
• Good Media Center Keyboard – with stop, start, play, and other media controls, it is great for controlling a media center on your living room TV.
• Programmable Keys – Like other Microsoft keyboards, the ability for programmable keys is a nice feature to have and keep.
• Light weight – great for mobility between PC's, or home theater
• Very silent keystrokes – almost makes no sound when typing

• F-keys – too close together, and not grouped up like regular keyboards, making it hard to tell what F key is which
• No light indications – Impossible to tell if Numlock, Caplock, or anything else is enabled.

• Light weight – great for sliding across a surface, without the feeling of a weight under your hand
• Stylish look and feel – has an overall great natural appearance and feel to it
• Very smooth scroll wheel – for browsing up and down pages, the click-less scroll wheel is excellent

• Hard to click scroll wheel – to be able to open another tab while browsing, it is difficult and annoying trying to click on the wheel.
• Bad back and forth button placement – The buttons are too far back, and should be moved forward. Back button is the most commonly used button, and should be directly under your thumb.

Overall I would give this keyboard a great review (in the short time using it) in performance, reliability and functionality. For the price of $143.99 (CDN) it almost seems not worth it, but if you're in the market for a new keyboard / mouse combo (untested in games) and can pick this up for a little cheaper, it seems like a great choice.