Tablet Wireless Keyboard Controller
3
10
1
1
Good idea, Bad performance
I decided to buy this controller as I wanted an way to control my tablet (ASUS TF700T) while it was hooked up to my TV via HDMI. I saw that it looked quite cheap, but decided to see if it was good anyways. Syncing this controller is very easy. Just go to BT settings, scan for devices, select the "GS controller/gamepad" option, and done. I've never had any issues getting this controller to work with my tablet, which is acutally quite a step up from most of the competition judging from reviews. On to the gamepad: The controller is actually quite well designed, apart from the shoulder buttons and dpad. The shoulder buttons are the only things that feel out of place, and the ergonomics of the controller is pretty good, considering the square design required by the keyboard on the back. I don't know what uses the IR blaster on the top, though. The d-pad is quite mushy, though not enought as to render it useless. The face buttons, while a tiny bit mushy, work, though the 1 button occasionally sticks. The shoulder buttons are placed curiously: You can press L2 and R2 fine with your fingers, but pressing L1 and R1 are awkward to press, especially when using the analog sticks. The buttons are also unresponsive at times, which is quite annoying. The analog sticks are ever-so-slightly cock-eyed, but not enough to make a difference when playing. While the sticks do give analog control (in the gamepad setting) they only can sense 8 directions, which makes any camera control feel very clunky. Playing a shooter with this controller simply does not work because of this. On to the keyboard: While the keys don't actually depress much, they do give a satisfying click, and are perfectly usable. The trackball, however, is not very easy to use, inaccurate, and acts strangely when moving it quickly. It is also very hard to scroll pages with this, as some strange Android behavior causes the page to often scroll extra or even backwards when releasing the mouse button. The cover of the keyboard often closes on itself while typing, but it is only a minor annoyance.
3/30/13