A Closer Look

The VidaBox keyboard has a charcoal-gray color to the body, with medium gray and dark gray keys. The keyboard is very compact, as shown compared to the size of a CD. It is even more compact than the keyboards on either of the two laptops I have access to, but not by much. This can either be a positive or negative, depending on the user. Some may need a compact alternative that won't take up too much space, while others may have issues using a smaller laptop-style keyboard.


The Premium Wireless Keyboard uses an RF signal to communicate with the PC. There is an RF transmitter located in the middle of the top edge of the keyboard, and this is covered by a plastic film that helps protect it during shipping.


Along the top edge of the keyboard are 13 silver buttons. The two located on the far left are for mouse clicks (left and right), and the rest of the buttons are Hot Keys for media and program functions. From left to right they are: Keyboard Sync, default media player, Mute, Volume Down, Volume Up, Pause/Play, Stop, Previous (track or playlist item), Next (track or playlist item), default email program, and default web browser. On the far right top corner is a metal optical trackball that glows red when moved.


The keyboard is very similar to one used by a laptop, as has a numeric keypad overlayed on the regular keys. To activate the numeric keypad, press the blue "Num Lock" key at the top right, and press it a second time to deactivate it. There is an extra "\ & |" key to the left of the spacebar, and the "Page Up," "Page Down," "Home" and "End" keys are located vertically along the right side, just like a laptop keyboard. There is even a "Fn" (function) key located at the bottom left, but it is not currently in use for this keyboard. Typically on a laptop this key is used to activate features or programs. According to VidaBox, "the keyboard can be customized in its firmware, so if we had a special application that needs to have a custom hotkey, the Fn key in conjunction with another can provide that function. It serves no particular purpose in this particular revision, but has been left in for future designs."


There are four rubber feet located on the bottom of the keyboard which will help stabilize it and keep it from sliding around when placed on a flat surface. In the middle of the back side is the battery compartment where the three included batteries will be installed.