This $40 keyboard solved my greatest good TV annoyance

In my work as a tech reviewer, I’ve had many alternatives to check $300 keyboards with uber-advanced tech options and mice able to monitoring refined actions so nicely as to be horrifying.

However as a lot as I really like the final word tech equipment—give me that 8,000Hz polling fee, adjustable actuation depth, plush wrist relaxation, heavy steel base—there are many occasions when such gear isn’t mandatory. That’s the place this low cost Arteck keyboard-trackpad combo is a winner.

The Arteck HW197 is flexible, combining a trackpad and keyboard into one nifty accent. It plugs in to USB-A with a 2.4GHz dongle, or you should utilize it with Bluetooth. Three keys on the high proper of the keyboard make switching between connections fast and straightforward. It’s a compact mannequin—about 85% the scale of an ordinary full-size—with a perform row and a trackpad the place the quantity pad would often go. 

I acquired the Arteck HW197 on the finish of 2023 for $26 and it’s been a staple of my front room since. It has since gone as much as about $40, little doubt as a result of it’s getting extra standard. I exploit it with my good TV as a result of I hate typing with the distant’s arrow buttons to navigate an on-screen keyboard. I additionally just like the built-in trackpad, which turns out to be useful in sure good TV apps that help cursors (like the online browser). It additionally works nicely with house theater PCs, streaming containers, gaming consoles, and even Raspberry Pi and Arduino initiatives.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

It’s a stable worth for a easy wi-fi keyboard, not to mention one which has a built-in trackpad (you don’t see that fairly often). And let’s be actual: a easy TV keyboard doesn’t want all types of bells and whistles, nor does it want additional longevity or sturdiness. Whereas I’d fortunately splurge on a premium keyboard for my PC—the place I’d be hitting thousands and thousands of keystrokes per yr—that simply isn’t wanted for a media middle keyboard. It’s simply there for fast searches and the occasional logins.

So, why purchase this keyboard over every other low cost keyboard? Nicely, there’s an enormous gulf between a “good low cost” keyboard and a “unhealthy low cost” one. The Arteck HW197 will get the steadiness proper for the cash. It’s a low-profile membrane keyboard with scissor switches, and the keycaps have a useful contour that keep away from awkward binding and keep out of the best way as you sort. In actual fact, I’m capable of hit 116 phrases per minute with 98% accuracy in Monkeytype, which is a robust consequence for a “low cost” keyboard.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

The trackpad is much less spectacular, with tender bodily buttons on the backside and a far-from-smooth plastic floor. It typically struggles to trace persistently when the keyboard is much from its wi-fi USB receiver. (Bluetooth works somewhat higher, surprisingly.) However in a house media middle atmosphere, mousing round is an rare exercise—and it’s simply extra handy to have a subpar trackpad within the keyboard than it’s to purchase and maintain observe of a separate “low cost” mouse.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Does the Arteck HW197 have any flaws? In fact. It has printed keycap legends that fade. It expenses through old-school Micro USB. It lacks backlighting, which might be nice once you’ve turned out all of the lights. However all of these are minor trade-offs for the comfort of a keyboard-trackpad combo at this worth, plus it infrequently must be recharged.

When you want an all-in-one keyboard-and-mouse answer on your good TV or house theater, the Arteck HW197 is what I’d suggest.