Sometimes it’s nice to have a full QWERTY keyboard. This can be especially true when it comes to controlling any home entertainment device. Even though there are some multimedia remotes on the market, few come with the full and responsive keyboard most people want. Fewer still come with a trackball. Ever since Lenovo released the Multimedia Remote With Keyboard, this company is ahead of the multimedia remote game.
Don’t get me wrong, the Lenovo Multimedia Remote With Keyboard isn’t perfect – far from it. But, this is an innovative idea from an innovative company. What’s more, Lenovo released this product worldwide, though few tech blogs have picked up on it. This could be due to Lenovo’s silent release of the product, or maybe consumers just aren’t all that into what Lenovo has to offer this time around.
Purposeful and Useful
There’s no denying the fact that the Lenovo Multimedia remote is useful. After all, how many times have you wanted to control a device using a trackball or search term instead of relying on poorly placed device buttons? The Lenovo remote makes this possible. If you want to search for something, all you really have to do is type that term using the full keyboard.
Speaking of the keyboard, the QWERTY keyboard that Lenovo has included with this remote is a great idea. Not only are most people used to this type of keyboard, but going the tactile keyboard route is a nice change of pace. If you get to test out this remote (and I recommend that you do put it through a test or two prior to purchase), you’ll note how easy the keyboard is to use. Did I mention that this remote fits nicely into the palm of your hand as well? It does.
This Remote Could Be Better If…
There’s always room for improvement, and the Lenovo Multimedia remote doesn’t escape this hard and fast rule. On the improvement side of things, Lenovo might have sold more of these remotes of that amazing keyboard were backlit. It’s clear that some consumers may have a hard time using a keyboard that’s not backlit in the dark. Lighting aside, the Lenovo remote could also come with Bluetooth connectivity.
Bluetooth is the name of the game these days, and I’m somewhat surprised that Lenovo didn’t consider this option. Or, maybe the company wanted to keep the remote under $100. In fact, this remote is well under $100 retailing for around $30 (at the time of this writing) on Lenovo’s site.
Lastly, there have been some complaints that the trackball becomes stuck and is relatively unresponsive. This is a big problem, since the remote’s main selling point is the trackball (and keyboard). Then again, trackballs are always finicky creatures, and it’s safe to assume that even this trackball will become slower with time.
A nice addition to the Lenovo remote is the fact that this remote is powered by two AAA batteries. So, you don’t have to worry about throwing your money away on a remote that contains an integrated battery (an annoying trend that many companies are currently adopting). All things considered, this multimedia remote by Lenovo is a pretty decent buy for the price.