Cherry stream desktop keyboard & mouse

KEYBOARD & MOUSE ❘ £36 from Staples www.snipca.com/47672

Peripheral matters

Cherry makes some of the best mechanical keyboard switches around, which it uses to great effect in its own models but are also used by other manufacturers. These tend to be at the pricier end of the scale, however, so we were keen to see how Cherry’s scissor switches fare in a budget device. This basic wireless keyboard and mouse bundle costs less than £40, so what does it sacrifice to get to such a low price?

Taken individually these peripherals aren’t exactly best in class. The keyboard has a plastic chassis that hardly shouts luxury, and its gently bevelled keycaps are nothing special. What you’re paying for here is sheer functionality, with no superfluous bells or whistles.

What you do get, however, is a full-size keyboard that includes all the basics, including a full numeric keypad. There’s an additional row of media keys at the top, that help you control music and video without having to reach for your mouse.

The design of the mouse itself is similarly without frills, but it does everything it needs to. It has a gentle ergonomic curve that should suit hands of different sizes and ambidextrous design – though there are a pair of thumb buttons located on the left-hand side that are only really accessible to right-handers.

It also has the standard left and right mouse buttons, a scroll wheel that doubles as a middle button, and a sixth button just behind the scroll wheel for switching the resolution of the optical sensor between three levels: 1000, 1600 and 2400dpi.

Because these devices come as a package, they share a 2.4GHz wireless connection via a single USB dongle, which can be tucked away in the underside of the mouse for transportation. This is the only way you can use them, with no support for Bluetooth or even wired connections.

In fact, you won’t even need a cable to charge these devices, as they use standard batteries that will need replacing. The keyboard requires two AA batteries, while the mouse needs one, with Cherry rating the battery life on each device as 12 months.

All that said, this kit really comes into its own when you sit down and start using it. While it’s light on special features, the act of typing is a joy. Cherry’s SX scissor switches are quiet, but tactile enough to provide a very pleasant experience.

It’s definitely different from typing on Cherry’s mechanical switches, but these low-profile