Minix NEO K2: Slim as slim can be
The Minix NEO K2, a slim wireless keyboard with touchpad, gives you freedom to move away from a computer’s monitor without leaving what you’re doing. It has all the keys you need from a conventional keyboard and some other nifty additions that can make some typing works easier.
What’s inside the box:
Minix boxed the NEO K2 with a USB cord that has a built-in female USB Type-A port and a User Manual that has all the necessary things you need to know about the NEO K2.
The included female USB Type-A port ensures that you still have a usable USB port when you’re charging the device via USB.
The User Manual has all the basic things you need to know about the NEO K2. It will guide you through the setup process and show you the touchpad functions, Fn key combinations, sleep modes, and re-pairing; which we will dive into later on.
It’s small and slim, but packs a lot of features:
The NEO K2 is slim and stylish. Its has a brushed aluminum base plate in gunmetal color that houses the keys and touchpad. At the back is a black bar that elevates the NEO K2 by about 23 millimeters, and there are five rubber feet that prevent slipping. The back bar also serves as the compartment for the USB receiver.
The keys of NEO K2 are small in size so it takes time to get used to and since its keys are of chiclet design–its actuation force and feedback are similar to chiclet keys of most laptops out in the market. If you’re the person who does a lot of copying and pasting, you’ll be amazed and will surely fall in love with its copy, cut, and paste keys which will surely cut out your workload. Also, there are dedicated keys for opening your email, internet browser home page, file explorer, emails, and web browser.
Some wireless keyboards use Fn combinations to enable Multimedia functions but the NEO K2 has this on reverse. Multimedia functions occupy the keys where the F-keys should be, F-keys(F1-F12) are enabled through the use of Fn combinations.
Its touchpad is quite large for the whole package of the keyboard, so you won’t have any problems when navigating over the screen. Just like the NEO K1, its Left mouse function is enabled with a tap of a finger and the Right mouse function with two. Additionally, if you’re not used to tapping the touchpad or you want to prolong its life even more, there are Left mouse and Right mouse buttons at the lower left corner of the NEO K2. (Heads up: If the battery goes low the touchpad will be disabled automatically.)
Carry, pair, go, repeat:
An on-the-go person would really appreciate the size and weight of the NEO K2 (and K1). Its compact size lets NEO K2 fit easily inside any regular-sized bag and be carried anywhere you might need a keyboard, be it in the office, at home, to a friends house, or for IT guys — to the server room.
Out of the box, the NEO K2 comes pre-paired with the receiver and will definitely work on any computer running Windows 10, Windows 8 (8.1), Windows 7, Vista, XP, Windows 2000, and even on Android-based computers.
And since it’s plug-and-play, you can take it with you anywhere you might need a working keyboard. However, if it gets unpaired, you’ll only need to re-pair it, just follow these steps:
- Turn Off the NEO K2
- Press and hold the F1 key
- Turn On the NEO K2, release the F1 key
- Insert the USB Receiver to a USB port
The Blue LED will will start to blink when pairing is in process and will stay illuminated once pairing is done, however if you encounter no response after pairing, you’ll just have to power-cycle the NEO K2 while the receiver is inserted to a USB port. Once the you’ve power-cycle the NEO K2, the blue LED light will stay illuminated.
Battery first:
To ensure that you get the most of the NEO K2’s battery, MINIX has built it with a Sleep mode, which comes in two modes. The first mode is a three minutes limit, if the NEO K2 is left idle for three minutes, it will enter sleep mode. The other mode has a 2 hour time limit. When the NEO K2 is in Sleep mode, all LED indicators will remain unlit. You just need to press any key to wake it up.
Take it with you wherever you go:
If you’re the kind of person who keeps on moving around and needs a keyboard that can keep up with your fast paced environment, then the NEO K2 will surely be a great addition to your keyboard arsenal.