£79.95 FROM Rapoo, rapoo.com FEATURES Multi-mode Bluetooth 3.0/4.0/2.4GHz
keyboard, sensor adjustable from 600 to 3200dpi, rechargeable mouse batteryA keyboard and
mouse combo that
fails to live up to its
easy-switch promise.++++++
Connect to up
to four devices
Keyboard and mouse
comfortable to use
Initial syncing issues
Difficulty with
automatic pairingVERDICT
The keyboard
and mousecan be synced
with up to four
devices86 | MACFORMAT | APRIL 2020 Image credit: Rapoo CorporationRapoo 9900M
mouse and keyboard
comfortable to use even over long durations,
though left-handed users might not get on
with it so well. The mouse also comes with
a cable for recharging its built-in battery,
which is more eco-friendly than having
to use single-use cell batteries.Syncing issues
Syncing the keyboard for the first time
proved to be a challenge. It took a while for
the keyboard to be recognised by our iMac.
The keyboard then appeared in the System
Preferences > Bluetooth Devices pane multiple
times – this is because it has Bluetooth 3.0,
Bluetooth 4.0 and 2.4GHz radios on board,
which is a bit confusing. Rapoo recommends
connecting via Bluetooth 4.0, which uses
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
Unfortunately, switching between devices
is not a seamless process. There is a switch at
the back of the keyboard, but it shifts between
the radios and not between paired devices. So
we were forced to fiddle with the Bluetooth
settings on iOS/macOS to connect both the
keyboard and mouse. The mouse has a handy
device switch button with a digital indicator
showing the device it’s connected to – which
we wish the keyboard had – but even then the
mouse wouldn’t always automatically connect
to the device we were working with.
Overall the keyboard and mouse are
comfortable to use, and the concept is good,
but we found that the initial syncing and
device-switching feature did not work
as expected. SRIVATS LAKSHMANT
he big selling point of the Rapoo
9900M keyboard and mouse
combo is the ability to switch
between up to four different devices.
The peripherals are, in theory supposed to
be able to intelligently connect to the working
device. Great for switching seamlessly
between a Mac and an iPad then? Well, in
practice, the transition is not so smooth...
Let’s take a look at the keyboard first.
The aluminium finish is smart and it sits
well with the iMac aesthetic. The keyboard
is functional with a fully f ledged numeric
keypad on the right-hand side. It’s a bit bigger
than the average keyboard, but not too large.
It is, however, missing both ƒ and ç keys
(there’s a Windows key instead), which makes
it a little more difficult to use, especially when
switching devices. The keyboard would also
benefit from a light on the Caps Lock key to
indicate when this is enabled.
Using the keyboard is a pleasant
experience though; the keys have a good
amount of travel, without making too much
noise, and the space between the keys is
comfortable for typing.
The mouse is rather large and heavy, and
its dual plastic finish looks awkward next to
the aluminium finish of the keyboard, but we
like the rubberised sides, which makes it easy
to grip. The mouse boasts five buttons and
two scroll wheels, which is great if you are a
designer or gamer, as it gives plenty of control.
The buttons are also well placed if you’re
right-handed, and we found the mouse wasThe aluminium finish of the Rapoo
keyboard is stylish, but the
plasticky mouse isn’t.Control your Mac, iPad, iPhone, TV...