new iMac with or without wireless keyboard

[carlosbutler]

I know this might be a bit of a stupid thread, but today i went to the apple store in kingston and for once had seen the wireless apple keyboard. very impressed but not so impressed that it doesnt have a numeric keypad or any sort of USB (although the USB makes plenty of sense - battery life importance > one extra USB importance) but no number pad just felt and looked strange.

for anyone who uses one, is it annoying not having a number pad?
also does it connect to the mac though the macs bluetooth and how long is the battery life (i dont normally believe the battery life of apple stuff after the iPhone, mine doesnt ever last over 3 days)

in terms of mouse ive got a logitech revolution i think, so im not chaging after the price i paid...

 

[dwright1974]

I know this might be a bit of a stupid thread, but today i went to the apple store in kingston and for once had seen the wireless apple keyboard. very impressed but not so impressed that it doesnt have a numeric keypad or any sort of USB (although the USB makes plenty of sense - battery life importance > one extra USB importance) but no number pad just felt and looked strange.

for anyone who uses one, is it annoying not having a number pad?
also does it connect to the mac though the macs bluetooth and how long is the battery life (i dont normally believe the battery life of apple stuff after the iPhone, mine doesnt ever last over 3 days)

in terms of mouse ive got a logitech revolution i think, so im not chaging after the price i paid...

They're great, honestly!

I don't miss the numerical keypad because I use laptops most of the time so never miss it. It sits on your lap perfectly, (I have my MacBook on a stand and put my feet up with the keyboard on my lap!

Battery life is fine - I've had mine 4-months so far and the batteries are showing 85% through iStat.

HTH

D

 

[soberbrain]

I don't have the wireless keyboard, but my PowerBook doesn't come with a number pad and I don't miss it at all.

It uses Bluetooth.

For battery life, check out other threads. Seems to be 1-3 months depending on use.

BTW, regarding the iPhone 2 days is good battery life in my opinion.

I get about 14-16 hours on mine. Which is fine considering my previous cell phone died after 24-48 hours or so and my previous iPod only lasted about 6 hours. With the large, bright display and all the wireless connections, I think the iPhone battery is good. Hopefully, 2.1 will boost it more.

 

[pointycollars]

The only reason i'd go with the wired keyboard is the additional USB ports. Especially if you have a USB mouse (which I do as well), you don't want to be annoyed by having to unplug it or decide which device to plug in at any given time. I have a MacBook Pro and find it inconvenient that I only have 1 USB port open at any given time

 

[Batt]

Wireless keyboard is great, numeric keypad is not missed, batteries last seemingly forever.

 

[carlosbutler]

yeah thanks for feedback

i think i may get the wireless keyboard if i can convince them to give me a deal since im buying the top end iMac and a mid range macbook (cant be bothered for update, dont know how long until appears)

one last thing, the current mouse i have is a top of the range logitech mouse as i mentioned in my first post, and it works with a USB dongle, either blutetooth or 2.4ghz, im not sure. will either work with the macs built in bluetooth?

 

[soberbrain]

Bluetooth works with built-in Bluetooth

2.4 GHz RF needs dongle

They are 2 different technologies.

 

[carlosbutler]

dammit its 2.4ghz, o well. thats the first USB i will need to use then

 

[Batt]

The wireless kit, which includes the keyboard and wireless Mighty Mouse, are only 50 bucks when bought with the iMac. That's less than it will cost you to buy just the keyboard, and they can do it in-store in addition to online.

 

[ishopukisfake]

I know this might be a bit of a stupid thread, but today i went to the apple store in kingston and for once had seen the wireless apple keyboard. very impressed but not so impressed that it doesnt have a numeric keypad or any sort of USB (although the USB makes plenty of sense - battery life importance > one extra USB importance) but no number pad just felt and looked strange.

for anyone who uses one, is it annoying not having a number pad?
also does it connect to the mac though the macs bluetooth and how long is the battery life (i dont normally believe the battery life of apple stuff after the iPhone, mine doesnt ever last over 3 days)

in terms of mouse ive got a logitech revolution i think, so im not chaging after the price i paid...

I've never really used the number pad in the past and don't miss it on laptops. I've always thought it superfluous anyway having two sets of numbers, I think in the future the number pad will be removed from all keyboards, it creates imbalance in the design.
I've been considering the apple wireless, but I have a keysonic wireless keyboard without number pad, its great and has a built in touchpad so you don't need a mouse. I have the apple wireless mightymouse, but don't use it much, the trackball becomes dysfunctional very quickly and the shape is a bit too flat to support the arch of your hand imo.

 

[gehrbox]

for anyone who uses one, is it annoying not having a number pad?
also does it connect to the mac though the macs bluetooth and how long is the battery life (i dont normally believe the battery life of apple stuff after the iPhone, mine doesnt ever last over 3 days

Don't miss the number pad. I get about 2 months on the keyboard batteries and a month to a month and a half on the mouse. The computer is on 24/7 though, so that might explain lower life. The batteries that come with the devices are digital alkalines and appeared to last a couple of weeks longer then regular alkaline batteries.

 

[Quocy]

i ordered my iMac yesterday with both a wired keyboard and mouse, the reason why is because i wanted the usb ports on the side of the keyboard e.g. for the iphone or if i need to plug in any peripherals i don't need to go to the back of the iMac, and also i prefer to have the numeric keypad.

for the wired mighty mouse over the wireless, if i wanted to right click i would first have to lift up my left finger for the mouse to reconized that i clicked using my right finger. to be honest i couldn't be asked to that... shows you how lazy i am! so i decided to get the wired.

however in the future i may decided to buy the wireless mighty mouse...