SMK-LINK Model VP6346 Review

By Chad Sullivan, WEBIT Senior Technician

Setup was a breeze on my Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate PC (this will work with XP, Vista, and Windows 7 – Best with Media Center Edition).  To install all I did was insert the USB receiver dongle into an available USB port on my pc then turn the SMK-LINK Ultra-Mini Keyboard on (switch located on the back of the keyboard).  Power switch is sunken into the plastic so you won’t accidently hit it while using the device which is nice.   After a few seconds it recognized it and installed with no added driver downloads/cd installation.

Next I tested ease of use and for as small as the device is it actually is comfortable and easy to use and very responsive.  The feel is like a game controller.  The touch pad in the middle I used with my thumbs as I left clicked the top left button that acts as the left click on a mouse.  The right button acts like the right click on a mouse.  All functions of the mouse clicks and touch pad were setup perfectly out of the box and as I stated very responsive.  The keyboard (Standard WS-English QWERTY layout) also was easy to use with its raised buttons.  Typing full sentences with punctuation, numbers, capital letters using shift, etc.. was no problem at all as I was able to use both my thumbs comfortably.

The device also has some function keys on the top and pressing the FN orange button at the top activates these.  They are mostly used in Media Center Edition and can for example launch, My Music, My Video, My Picture, My Radio, My TV, and DVD Menu application.  Other buttons on top can do the 3D Flip function, Windows Select (Alt-Tab), Zoom in and Out, Minimize, Close, and Launch WWW web browser app.  Two round buttons add more functions like Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End and for example can be used in a long word document to go up and down between pages or Home and End of a sentence for easy editing.  The other round button gives the ability to go back and forth between items previously viewed in a program such as your internet browser.

One last thing to note and probably most important is this unit is RF wireless technology but doesn’t require direct line of site.  It has a range of about 30 feet and I tested that out and sure enough was able to go about that without any issues or missed Mouse clicks or keyboard entries.  This unit is perfect for the home media center room or a nice big conference room.  All in all this unit is very well designed and seems like it will hold up for a long time.

Thanks for checking out the review!