Bluetooth Keyboard - Why is it so hard to find a good one for PC?

meong on 10/05/2018 - 15:32
Last edited 11/05/2018 - 20:09

Hi guys,

I have 2 laptops at home. One is a personal laptop and one is work laptop.

I usually have these laptops connected to the only monitor i have at home and use a mouse and keyboard separately.

At the moment I'm using a crappy wireless keyboard and mouse using a USB receiver which I have to unplug and plug to the other laptop each time which at the same time I will need to plug the HDMI cable as well.

So, there are a number solutions I can potentially do:

  1. Get a bluetooth keyboard (i already have a bluetooth mouse)
  2. Get a USB3/Thunderbolt dock (which can be more expensive than bluetooth keyboard)

So, what are your suggestions of a bluetooth keyboard that has the number pad as well?

Most bluetooth keyboards are made for portable devices hence they don't have the number pads.

Also, I'm looking for bluetooth cause I don't want to use a USB port for the wireless receiver unless I got with option 2.

I have found 3 so far:
https://www.logitech.com/en-au/product/k780-multi-device-wir… - Which has these weird circular keys but has the ability to switch devices with the press of a button…

https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-us/products/keyboar… - Which has uncomfortable mouse, but I might buy this just for the keyboard as I already have a bluetooth mouse…

https://www.logitech.com/en-au/product/mk850-wireless-keyboa… - Good sized keyboard and good sized mouse…

Any other suggestions?

Thanks guys!

Computing Bluetooth Laptop Keyboard

Comments

  • dogboy on 10/05/2018 - 15:44

    Personally I like this one (it comes in non-ergo as well) but it is quite expensive unless you can get it on special: https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/surface/accessories/surface-…

    • scrimshaw on 10/05/2018 - 16:01

      that's $169 from the Good Guys. Still pricey, but that's roughly how much a high end keyboard usually costs.

      However, you ONLY need one keyboard if both your PC's are on the same network, since software like Synergy
      lets you seamlessly use one input device on several systems.

      • meong on 10/05/2018 - 16:23

        I thought Synergy only works with both laptops are turned on?

        • scrimshaw on 10/05/2018 - 16:29

          yeah. Synegy's use case is for people who are using multiple PC's at once when they are working.

  • Ryanek on 10/05/2018 - 15:51
    +1

    Why not use software to share a keyboard and mouse between your laptops? Another option is a physical switch.

  • myusername on 10/05/2018 - 16:26

    KVM?

    • meong on 10/05/2018 - 17:16

      Any recommendation for KVMs? Ones I see with HDMI and audio can be more expensive than the 2 bluetooth keyboards I mentioned above. Docks are expensive too…

      • Richardc on 10/05/2018 - 18:01

        Just use a USB hub

        • meong on 10/05/2018 - 18:26

          USB hub still takes up USB slot…

          What can work would be a Thunderbolt/USB3 slot which can even connect monitors as well…

  • LaScrooge on 10/05/2018 - 17:16
    +1

    I had the Designer Keyboard Combo and the keyboard whilst feeling amazing to type on, kept disconnecting after several hours of idle. It would only come right with a restart of the computer. Is a common problem when you look online.

    • waterbottled on 11/05/2018 - 14:07

      I have that keyboard too. absolute delight to type on.

  • FoxJump on 10/05/2018 - 17:20

    I bought something like a KVM but without the V

    It's basically a four port USB3 hub on one end and on the other you plug 2 computers in and switch between them with a button.

  • Splashtash on 10/05/2018 - 18:17

    i love the microsoft 5000 keyboard and mouse. sad they dont really make them anymore… im still using my 2nd set now that i bought for like $69 5 years back

    • meong on 10/05/2018 - 18:25

      I thought 5000 was 2.4ghz connection as in it requires a receiver?

  • soc on 10/05/2018 - 18:30

    I'd love to give the logitech craft a try, but at $299 it's out of my reach.

  • bargss on 11/05/2018 - 09:21
    +1

    Not sure If I am answering your question. I recently bought a logitech MK850. It is awesome. It connects to 3 devices. you can get them for about $110. Two devices are connected via bluetooth and one with the USB receiver. It is easy to switch devices (three buttons on each device). You can use the mouse on one device and the keyboard on the other (if you want. The quality of the keyboard and mouse is great too. There seems to be a feature that allows you to copy stuff from one device to another using the mouse; although I have not used this - so not sure how well it works.

    • meong on 11/05/2018 - 16:19

      Sounds like a good candidate… thanks!

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