Review of wireless keyboard with touchpad Rapoo K2600 / Overclockers.ua

The widespread use of home electronics in the modern world, such as devices such as Smart TV (TVs or set-top boxes that partially incorporate the entertainment functions of a computer), has also given rise to a rather specific niche for peripherals. Unlike traditional mice, keyboards or headsets, which a person usually works with while sitting at a desk, Smart TV is controlled from the couch, and often from a great distance. Therefore, on the one hand, it is not possible to use a wired connection, it is simply inconvenient. All devices simply must be wireless. On the other hand, cursor control should not require a separate device. That is, you can of course impose a keyboard, mouse and remote control, but … This is also inconvenient. How inconvenient and typing in instant messengers or social networks using the limited capabilities of the remote control or on-screen keyboard. That is why a rather strange solution by the usual standards was found – a wireless keyboard with a touchpad. Several manufacturers have similar devices, but today we will consider a purely Rapoo version, a model called K2600.

Specifications

Contents of delivery

Rapoo K2600 is sold in a simple but quite nice cardboard box with color printing on the sides. There is a photo of the product in front, a description of its main advantages in seven languages ​​at the back.

Inside the keyboard is packed only in a plastic bag. There are no special dampers here, so be sure to check it for damage when buying.

Under the keyboard, in a small pocket, was found a miniature transmitter and two AA alkaline batteries.

Appearance and design

Rapoo K2600 has a nice appearance. The top panel is made of non-staining gray rough plastic, its corners are rounded. The keys and the touchpad surface are black, the buttons are completely flat, there are no ergonomic curves on them. The overall dimensions of the device are average, however, the weight reaches 450 grams, and holding it with one hand is not very convenient – it’s easier to put it on your knees or any other suitable surface.

The layout of the keyboard unit is more similar to that of a laptop. It will take time to get used to it, it will not work right away to type in the blind. The engraving on the keys is applied using a laser and additionally filled with paint. In addition to Latin letters, there are both Ukrainian and Russian symbols here. The switches, of course, are of the membrane type, and the manufacturer claims that the membrane is specially made to withstand liquid spills and resist oxidation for a long time. The buttons have a stroke of 3 mm to the stop, they are pressed very quietly and gently. Left Shift is shortened, Enter is two-row. The function keys are moved to the top row, they are shortened in height and perform multimedia functions by default. To call up the functions of the F-buttons, you will have to press them in combination with Fn. The same applies to the commands Scroll Lock, Pause Insert, calling the menu of file commands, Home, End, Page Up / Down. In order to miniaturize, you always have to sacrifice something.

There are a number of additional buttons in the upper left corner. The extreme round duplicates pressing the left mouse button, which is useful if you use the touchpad with your right hand. Next comes the search and page refresh button. I could not establish the purpose of the two central buttons, on a PC, when they are pressed, only the characters “k” and “i” are printed, perhaps they are reserved for Android. The last two buttons are responsible for locking the system and turning off the PC. They work without warning, so be careful not to press them accidentally.

The touchpad of the keyboard is quite large (its size is 76×108 mm). It is slippery and very sensitive, there are marked zones of pressing the left and right buttons at the bottom. Although the touch surface is not as precise as a mouse, it allows you to position the cursor quite accurately. You can disable or enable the touchpad by pressing the Fn + Backspace buttons.

The main advantage of this touchpad is the support for multi-touch gestures, performed in the amount of up to four simultaneous touches. Most gestures are tailored to the touch capabilities of Windows 10, so not all of them will be supported on other operating systems. Also, there is no command remapping software and it will take time and practice to memorize them to a muscle memory level.

The overall height of the keyboard is 25mm at the back and about 17mm at the front. In other words, it will seem extremely familiar to laptop users in terms of tactile sensations.

All buttons have the same height and do without unnecessary ergonomic bends. The height of the keyboard is not adjustable, there are no sliding legs.

The reverse side of the keyboard is made of black smooth plastic. He collects fingerprints quickly and willingly. In addition to the many mounting screw holes. There are five rubber feet, correctly located around the perimeter of the body and three drain holes.

The battery compartment is located under a sliding cover in the upper right corner of the keyboard base. It contains two AA batteries and a receiver in a special pocket. The batteries are connected in parallel, which means that the keyboard can successfully manage even one power source if necessary. This does not affect the quality of the wireless signal in any way. To the right of the compartment there is a power switch slider.

The nano-transmitter operates in the 2.4 GHz wireless band at a distance of up to 10 meters in the line of sight of the device. It is picked up by the computer almost instantly after connection and does not require driver installation.

Software

Much to my regret, the Rapoo K2600 keyboard does not have, as of today, software that would allow remapping its keys. The only driver that can be downloaded from the official product page is designed to re-establish communication between the keyboard and the receiver in case it fails. After installation and launch, the program will offer us a screen where you can select the type of device to be connected – keyboard, mouse or kit.

Then we simply follow the illustrated instructions: insert the receiver into the USB socket, turn off the power of the device, press the Pair button, turn on the power, hold down the Esc and Pause keys at the same time. After that, a pop-up message about a successful connection appears in the lower right corner of the window.

Ergonomics and testing

The Rapoo K2600 is ergonomic enough for desktop use, mainly due to its low profile and low profile keys, and won’t cause fatigue during extended use. By and large, it resembles a laptop keyboard in this respect, but with one caveat. Modern laptops tend to use scissor mechanisms, which guarantee good tactile feedback, while the K2600 has a classic membrane under the buttons. On the one hand, this is good, it is quiet and resistant to liquid spills, but you should not expect tactile feedback from it. For blind typing using the high-speed typing method, it will take several days to get used to the layout. The fact that the keyboard does not skip letters when typing quickly can be considered positive, which is what many wireless devices of this class suffer from.

The responsiveness of the touchpad is beyond praise. It clearly tracks all the movements of the fingers and works out multiple touches. However, some gestures can work randomly, which is annoying, because there is no way to disable or reassign them. But an ordinary user is unlikely to need all 20 types of commands; for most, a basic set of functions of 5–7 commands is enough. Therefore, the lack of software can be considered a significant disadvantage.

All in all, in a desktop application, I would rate the keyboard as capable of performing well. If you have one, then you can do without a separate desktop keyboard. At the same time, the touchpad is not able to completely replace the mouse in everyday work, and it is more suitable for Internet surfing while sitting on the couch. Luckily, it has an option to turn it off if needed.

When the Rapoo K2600 is used for its intended purpose – namely, together with Smart TV, then it is wonderful. Particularly pleased is the presence in the upper left corner of the key that duplicates the left mouse click, then the keyboard can be held with two hands, using the thumbs to move the cursor and press the LMB. In this version, you can even play some simple game.

The radius of a stable connection is indeed about 10 meters, the signal passes even through two concrete walls from this distance. However, much depends on the presence of sources of wireless interference and on which channels they work.

Anti-ghosting is at a minimum level – it is guaranteed that the user can only press two keys at the same time, although in some combinations their number increases to six. For active games, this device is clearly not suitable.

Results

Rapoo K2600 is a very simple and comfortable keyboard designed to work with Smart TV. It has a long range of stable wireless connectivity, quiet keys and a clear touchpad, and is also able to survive accidental liquid spills. The design as a whole looks nice, is relatively well assembled and, most importantly, is served at an affordable price. Of the controversial points, I would note the lack of software (not counting the application for resuming communication with the receiver) and the impossibility of reassigning key commands and gestures resulting from this.

Since the market for Smart TV peripherals is rather narrow today, Rapoo K2600 has only their own devices of a similar type – the E2710 and E9180p, and the Logitech K400 Plus keyboard. But they are all much more expensive.