Home Theater Keyboards?

Meeper writes "I've been commissioned to build a Home Theater Computer system, but there is a distinct lack of keyboards that are suitable. The keyboard needs to be equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, compact, and include a built-in mouse or touchpad. The keyboard will be used on couches, so a solution such as the Logitech diNovo Media Desktop is unsuitable due to the normal freestanding mouse. Have any Slashdot readers used a keyboard which fufills my requirements?" Or, on the other hand, what best-compromise solutions have you come up with for melding ease of use with sufficient control?

Comments

Try a PDA?

[BlightThePower]

Its not quite what you are asking for, but I've good results in that area using an iPAQ and writing my own little apps to allow the functionality I require. It can also double-up as a universal remote control for parts of the system that aren't necessarily under computer control. If its a dedicated home theater system I would have thought this would make more sense actually; an PDA is a smaller, handier size and it would be a pain to have the cat hit "CTRL-ALT-DEL" on a keyboard half way through a feature.

Re:Gyration

[sydlexic]

I have one of these sitting next to me. I purchased it for my HTPC home theater. First, it does have excellent range. The keyboard is small which is nice for infrequent use, but a pain for anything else. The mouse takes some getting used to, but the 'gyroscopic' air waving thingy is cool. BUT. And there's always a but. I've had two of the RF receivers die on me. Gyration has been good about replacing them, but I'm dead in the water until the new one arrives. The syptoms are usually that the mouse "stops working". What's happened is the receiver no longer wants to talk to the mouse and won't re-learn the connection. I'm in this situation again tonight: the mouse isn't working and 30 minutes of poking and it's not coming back. Time to call tech support.

Anyway. Aside from this and the price, it's a decent setup for HTPC.

My solution

[vondo]

I wanted to do this too. I settled on a Logitech RF keyboard and a RF trackball. The trackball isn't integrated, but it sits nicely on a knee or arm of the couch. These aren't bluetooth, but maybe by now they are (mine are several years old).

Another benefit for me is that the PC hooked to the HT system is my main PC, so the keyboard moves easily between the desk and the couch; they trackball and a wireless mouse are both hooked up via USB and I just grab whatever one I want.