Let me just start by saying that as a gamer, I was never a big fan of wireless peripherals. With the Cordless Desktop EX 100, I'm having to rethink that. In summary, it's brilliant but I guess that's not enough. First of all, the wireless technology used, radio frequency, is very responsive and no apparent lag was detected when I typed or used the mouse.
The best feature of this technology was its range. Using an extreme case, I went to the opposite side of the house and I can confirm everything I typed responded. This is ideal for people using it for multimedia purposes as they can access their music and videos from a distance. I managed to control Windows Media Player from one floor down. Mouse movements even registered. The only thing I'd like to point out is that to guarantee that all commands responded, the mouse and keyboard had to point towards the receiver. This isn't a problem at close range.
The keyboard is a joy to type on. Its keys are soft to press and fairly quiet. They feel like laptop keys but since they are raised and slightly further apart, you don't accidentally press several keys at once. When typing, all they keys feel naturally placed. Overall it was a very comfortable keyboard to use, even on your lap if you're away from your desk. The multimedia keys are all labelled so it makes for easy control of all your favourite programs and media player. By default, the media player is set to Windows Media Player but this can be changed to Winamp or Windows Media Classic. What stood out the most about the keyboard was that it was more enjoyable to type on than my own Logitech G15! The only downside was the lack of backlights but normally, that's just an added extra on most other keyboards, so it's no major loss. The keyboard is advertised as spill proof against water. I wasn't ready to test this myself but I'd take their words for it (this doesn't mean you should dip it in water, guidelines says it's been tested with 60ml of water).
The mouse is 1000dpi so it makes for fairly accurate movement on screen. Being optical also means it doesn't suffer from issues attributed to laser based mice in terms of tracking. It's fairly generic but despite being wireless, it was great to use on desktop. The keys offer just the right resistance when pressed and the scroll wheel has notches to give you a better idea of how much you're scrolling by. Although it's not an ergonomic mouse, it fits nicely in your hands with with your palms resting nicely on the curved back. It takes next to no time to get used to it. It also means left handed people can use it just as well. I found that the optical sensor tracked better on my desk than on a cloth mat, so it's worth considering this when buying. Generally, it worked on all surfaces. The downside of the wireless technology is that mouse movement were sometimes jolty when being used quickly. In Paint.Net, it made for fairly accurate positioning but sometimes did miss the odd pixel.
Gaming
It wouldn't be a proper review if I didn't mention gaming. While the Cordless Desktop EX 100 was not designed for gaming, it did work rather well. I played Battlefield 2 which combines fast paced movements, when running about as a medic, with the need to be deadly accurate as a sniper. At the end of the game, I ranked second in my team, not too shabby for a non-gaming oriented combo. As a medic, I was required to do quick paced turns and the mouse generally tracked as I hoped it to. It would skip at certain points but overall it did well. As a sniper, the 1000dpi was able to allow for slower accurate movements. The only problem was when I had to get up and run, where the mouse would lag before responding to a quick turn.
The keyboard on the other hand was excellent and cannot be faulted. All the keys were in the right positions so I could access them easily and without looking. Since Battlefield 2 does make use of a lot of keys, being able to get to them quickly without having to look down every time is crucial. In that department, the keyboard excelled. All the keys were very responsive.
The best feature of this technology was its range. Using an extreme case, I went to the opposite side of the house and I can confirm everything I typed responded. This is ideal for people using it for multimedia purposes as they can access their music and videos from a distance. I managed to control Windows Media Player from one floor down. Mouse movements even registered. The only thing I'd like to point out is that to guarantee that all commands responded, the mouse and keyboard had to point towards the receiver. This isn't a problem at close range.
The keyboard is a joy to type on. Its keys are soft to press and fairly quiet. They feel like laptop keys but since they are raised and slightly further apart, you don't accidentally press several keys at once. When typing, all they keys feel naturally placed. Overall it was a very comfortable keyboard to use, even on your lap if you're away from your desk. The multimedia keys are all labelled so it makes for easy control of all your favourite programs and media player. By default, the media player is set to Windows Media Player but this can be changed to Winamp or Windows Media Classic. What stood out the most about the keyboard was that it was more enjoyable to type on than my own Logitech G15! The only downside was the lack of backlights but normally, that's just an added extra on most other keyboards, so it's no major loss. The keyboard is advertised as spill proof against water. I wasn't ready to test this myself but I'd take their words for it (this doesn't mean you should dip it in water, guidelines says it's been tested with 60ml of water).
The mouse is 1000dpi so it makes for fairly accurate movement on screen. Being optical also means it doesn't suffer from issues attributed to laser based mice in terms of tracking. It's fairly generic but despite being wireless, it was great to use on desktop. The keys offer just the right resistance when pressed and the scroll wheel has notches to give you a better idea of how much you're scrolling by. Although it's not an ergonomic mouse, it fits nicely in your hands with with your palms resting nicely on the curved back. It takes next to no time to get used to it. It also means left handed people can use it just as well. I found that the optical sensor tracked better on my desk than on a cloth mat, so it's worth considering this when buying. Generally, it worked on all surfaces. The downside of the wireless technology is that mouse movement were sometimes jolty when being used quickly. In Paint.Net, it made for fairly accurate positioning but sometimes did miss the odd pixel.
Gaming
It wouldn't be a proper review if I didn't mention gaming. While the Cordless Desktop EX 100 was not designed for gaming, it did work rather well. I played Battlefield 2 which combines fast paced movements, when running about as a medic, with the need to be deadly accurate as a sniper. At the end of the game, I ranked second in my team, not too shabby for a non-gaming oriented combo. As a medic, I was required to do quick paced turns and the mouse generally tracked as I hoped it to. It would skip at certain points but overall it did well. As a sniper, the 1000dpi was able to allow for slower accurate movements. The only problem was when I had to get up and run, where the mouse would lag before responding to a quick turn.
The keyboard on the other hand was excellent and cannot be faulted. All the keys were in the right positions so I could access them easily and without looking. Since Battlefield 2 does make use of a lot of keys, being able to get to them quickly without having to look down every time is crucial. In that department, the keyboard excelled. All the keys were very responsive.
