Home > Consumer Reviews > Adesso Tru form USB Touchpad Keyboard with 2btn Cirque Touchpad

I recently purchased the Adesso ekb 2150-W. This model is white and I believe is more recent than the 2150 model in the two earlier reviews showing here (I'm writing this on May 3, 2004).

I researched this a couple of months ago and initially I was hesitant to get it based on these two reviews, though I also recall finding out that the ekb 2150W model was a newer release (I believe I found this out by seeing it in some Google searches, and then calling Adesso to ask them when it came out - you can locate their site on the web and call them to check this out yourself, and please update this information if you find anything new or more specific). At any rate, I figured that perhaps they had fixed the flaws in the earlier model and that it might be worth trying.

Before doing that, I spent quite a bit of time trying to find other keyboards that had trackpads positioned below the space bar (and not far off to the side). Below the space bar is really important because then you can quickly and easily move your hands to the touchpad and then back up to the keyboard as needed. For starters, it's much shorter distance to cover.

Also, you mostly only have to move your hands and lower arms (and not your upper arms, shoulders and neck) to get to the touchpad, so there's less movement involved. It's also an up-down movement versus a side to side movement - which is also easier.

After you've done it many times, since it's such a short distance, your muscles remember the movement, and your eyes can stay on the screen. I've found that the added distance and movement to a mouse or a touchpad on the side prevents my muscles from remembering it exactly and I turn my head to the side to make sure I'm finding the mouse / touchpad correctly.

That said, I didn't find another keyboard with a touchpad below the space bar and based on the fact amazon had a money-back 30 day policy, I figured I'd give it a whirl. I also purchased an IGESTURE pad (Amazon has reviews for those also) and a CIRQUE GLIDEPOINT TOUCHPAD (which is the same touchpad as in the adesso keyboard) in case the igesture proved to be best, and in case just putting the touchpad below my regular apple keyboard worked best.

Here's what I found:

* the addeso keyboard worked best. For starters, it was solid and not flimsy, there was no creaking, popping or double-keying, and the baseplate didn't move (see the other two reviews I mentioned before). The only shortcoming that still existed is that the touchpad is a bit too far below the space bar - it would ideally be another half inch closer.

* the igesture initially seemed really cool, and yet I found it didn't pick up my hand gestures consistently enough even when I did it exactly how the diagram said, and was requiring too much effort. Another problem is the hand gestures are sometimes somewhat complex involving several fingers, and I felt more 2 or 3 finger gestures were needed. The final thing is it's pretty big compared to a touchpad and it definitely needs to be to the side of your keyboard. I realized it's actually much faster to close a window using apple W (control W if you're on a pc) than going over to the pad to do it there, and this applied to a lot of stuff.

* the glidepoint pad with the apple keyboard came close to working. The deciding factors for me were: 1) I found I actually got accustomed to the split keyboard layout and preferred it - physically easier to type on it, and less stress on my body and less effort. 2) The bottom part of my right hand brushes against / hits the touchpad a bit while I type - it's not a big thing, but a slight difference-maker. FYI, if you go this route, the best approach is to tuck the usb cord under the keyboard, and then use some of the extra slack (it's a really long cord) to put the cord under the keyboard about the same distance on the other side, and then let it come around the keyboard. That way, the touchpad can be positioned flush against the bottom of the keyboard, close to the space bar, and yet the keyboard won't tilt to one side or the other. This works fine, and you'll see what I mean by this if you get the touchpad. If having the touchpad really close to the spacebar is the most key factor for you, this option might be the way to go.

Considering the millions of people who have discovered the benefits of a touchpad below the spacebar by owning laptops, I imagine there's going to be a reasonably good market for these in the future, and hopefully we'll have many options to choose from on this front. I especially like the idea of a trackball located immediately below the space bar like the really old Mac laptops used to have. Since the trackball responds to the thumb (it's hard to work the cirque with your thumb, and the mac laptop touchpads barely respond to the thumb), it means that you never have to take your hands out of typing position - you use your right thumb to move the ball (just like you use it on the spacebar) and your left thumb to click. Productivity skyrockets with this on everything - web surfing, typing, spreadsheets, etc. I would glad pay over $100 extra for a keyboard with this feature, though touchpads and trackballs are about the same price - so it could probably be a similar price.

Also, Kensington used to make a trackball embedded in a wristpad which created the exact same effect placed alongside regular Apple keyboards, and while it only cost about $50, I would gladly pay over $100 if they were to sell them again. I would love it.

In the meantime, the Addeso EKB2150W keyboard is probably the best alternative.

And please post on the Amazon boards if you find other good stuff.

I was very disapointed with the 2150 Adesso keyboard. It's made of a very thin plastic that pops and snaps when you rest your hands on it. There are very few screws which alows the base plate to move and seem about to fall open. This movement of the case can cause letters to be typed inadvertantly. The controls for the touch pad are difficult to use. Finally, my Apple optical mouse would not work when conected to the usb port on the keyboard. I'm sending mine back.

I have used Adesso keyboards in the past with no problems but this one is a looser -- too bad.

Tim

after about two years of heavy use, i'm surprised at this flimsy-feeling keyboard's durability.. still, it now and then causes a doubled key, it creaks, the escape key fell off & stays on better upside down and the trackpad has a few problems -- it should be positioned closer to the space bar, and the "mouse" buttons are in an awkward location (so i just use a real mouse)

in comparison, i have also had a Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite, which had a better feel, but lacked a true Mac layout, and the arrow keys were clumsy.. my old Apple adjustable keyboard (with separate keypad, long out of production) had the best action and flexibility; when funds allow, i plan to replace the Adesso with a Kinesis or similar adjustable keyboard