These days, many of us are constantly floating between home and elsewhere, and so is our workspace. To sustain this new lifestyle, we need better hardware and gadgets more than ever before. Currently, many of the suitable options available in the market come with a hefty price tag.
For those of you who are at the beginning of your career, still in school, or simply unwilling to dedicate a large budget to hardware, it may seem like spending cash on hardware is just not a priority. Well, the good news is that with these three budget-friendly wireless Rapoo keyboard and mouse combo, you can satisfy your needs for a suitable keyboard and mouse without feeling like it will cost you an arm and a leg.
Rapoo Combo 9300MÂ
If space is at a premium on your desk, you can’t go wrong with the Rapoo 9300M keyboard and mouse combo. This metal-chassis keyboard has an ultra-slim 0.49 mm profile that would fit even the most cluttered desks. The manufacturer definitely wanted to make this keyboard as tiny as possible without skipping out on much––meaning, they even kept the number pad intact! This immediately puts this keyboard at an advantage compared to the other small form factor keyboards out there.
You even have multimedia shortcuts on this keyboard in the F row keys, but the catch is that you’d have to use the fn key to take advantage of them. Although, that is a small price for having them in such a small form factor.
The spacing between the keys is also at a comfortable degree because you wouldn’t want the typing experience to suffer just because you wanted to have a smaller keyboard, right? Trust me, I bought one of those extremely small keyboards, and it was an absolute chore to type on!
But while for some, the star of the show might be the size and the ultra-slim profile, for others, it’s the multiple device connectivity that takes the cake. The 9300M Rapoo combo can connect to up to four different devices and switch between them instantly. There is a 2.4 GHz dongle inside the mouse that can connect to Windows XP devices, and up to 3 other devices can connect to it via Bluetooth 4.0 as well as Bluetooth 3.0. There is little left to be desired in terms of wireless connectivity.
Going back to the design, this keyboard comes in 2 colors: white and black. With the white option, you would be hard-pressed not to see the similarities between this keyboard and Apple’s. How you feel about the similarity is entirely up to you, but it definitely exists. The 9300M keyboard, similar to Apple’s tenkeyless keyboards, is also extremely portable, weighing just 385 grams.
Now all of that is well and good, but the thing that perhaps matters the most to some is the actual typing experience. So, how does that fare? Well, considering the spacing between the keys is normal, and the keys themselves are classic chiclet-style, it delivers a good typing experience about what you’d expect from any well-functioning laptop keyboard as the key’s mechanism is the same as laptop keyboards.
But the ace up 9300M’s sleeve is that even though the profile of the keyboard is as slim as it is, Rapoo still managed to cram some decent travel into the keys, making the keys definitely taller than your average laptop keyboard, giving you more substantial feedback than shorter laptop keys.
If we want to talk negatives, you may be slightly bothered by the fact that there’s an auto-sleep function on both the mouse and the keyboard that kicks in (to save battery) after not using them for a while. When you start using them again, they take a second or two to register your input. It’s understandable why the feature is there, but some may find it annoying regardless of its benefit.
There are also no visual indicators of which device the combo is connected to. But at least the switching is seamless and rarely needs confirmation. Speaking of visual indicators, or lack thereof, there is also no Caps Lock or Num Lock indicator, which means you might need to use the backspace key just a tiny bit more frequently!
Have you noticed we haven’t discussed the mouse yet? Well, that’s because there’s not much to talk about––it’s just fine! The clicks are not mushy, and the scroll wheel is especially clicky. The build quality is average, and there are no rubberized grips on the sides to speak of. The sensor also has trouble picking up information on shiny surfaces, as is the case with many other mice. Other than that, there’s not much else to say about this mouse. It’s serviceable but offers nothing special. It is clear that most of the budget went into the keyboard.
In conclusion, the 9300M Rapoo combo offers great value for what it’s worth, coming with an excellent keyboard and an average but useful mouse on the side. This model is specially made for people who have a small desk where every inch counts, or who are looking for an extremely portable option. For the latter group, it is especially good news that the Numpad has remained intact. Check out the unboxing of the Rapoo 9300M combo Here.
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Rapoo Combo 8200M
While the 9300M was going for a completely minimalistic design, the Rapoo 8200M combo goes in the opposite direction. It’s not overly flashy but it definitely doesn’t shy away from adding a little extra flair to the design. The flair comes in the form of Cybertruck-inspired chassis with a glossy outline in a matte, textured top layer (sidenote: the 8200M existed before the Cybertruck! Not saying Elon Musk copied Rapoo’s design, but, you never know…).
While the keyboard is more reminiscent of the industrial design of the Cybertruck, the mouse seems to be more akin to a sports car! The mouse consists of a matte plastic top layer with a glossy strip along with the scroll wheel, giving the combo a consistent look. The cherry-on-top however, is the rubberized sides which give the mouse a much better grip.
The Rapoo 8200M keyboard and mouse combo goes way beyond the 9300M in delivering features as it no longer has to be extra small and portable. So, while the comfortable typing experience, adequate key spacing, and multi-device connectivity are shared between the two combos, the 8200M Rapoo combo also offers a full row of multimedia keys, function keys, feet to adjust keyboard height, fully spaced arrow-keys, a light indicator for connected devices, higher key-travel and on top of that, spill-resistance! Perhaps the only missing feature is the lack of light indicators for Caps Lock and Num Lock keys.
The multimedia keys are especially handy in a keyboard that is not meant to be moved around too much. Should you want to connect the 8200M combo to multiple devices (or much older computers or phones) you can expect the same excellent suite of connectivity that we mentioned talking about the 9300M. That is, you still have the 2.4 GHz USB dongle hidden away in the mouse for your main device and up to three other devices can connect to the combo through Bluetooth 4.0 or 3.0. And you can switch between all four connected devices instantly by holding the fn key and pressing numbers 1–4 on the keyboard.
We didn’t talk too much about the 9300M mouse, but the 8200M Rapoo combo’s mouse has a lot more to deliver! We mentioned the design consisting of three different materials––two for looks and one for functionality.
The mouse is also taller making it more appealing to people with bigger hands. The clicks are silent but substantial and the scroll-wheel is very tactile. There are three extra buttons on this mouse: a DPI switch that changes the DPI from 800 for maximum accuracy to 1600 for maximum speed (acceleration is on by default, however) and there are two forward and back keys on the side for easier navigation through file explorers and browsers. The only shortcoming of the mouse is that it struggles a bit when it comes to shinier surfaces.
With all of that said, there are very few arguments to be made against this combo. Unless you really need to bring your mouse and keyboard everywhere with you, you can’t go wrong with the 8200M Rapoo combo, especially at this price!
Rapoo Combo X1960
While the 9300M Rapoo combo was meant for people who were looking for a compact and portable option, the Rapoo X1960 Wireless Combo is meant to remain in one place. It has a full-size keyboard that is not meant to be carried around. Also, the X1960 Rapoo keyboard and mouse combo have a traditional membrane board under the keys with long key-travels and substantial feedback. Its bigger footprint allows the keyboard to house separate media control keys on top of the ones in the function row.
The X1960 Rapoo combo’s rubber feet prevent the keyboard from moving around on the desk and there’s also the option to adjust the keyboard’s height using the retractable feet on the bottom. The frame of the keyboard is made of matte plastic with some glossy plastic cutouts that give it some much-needed style. The mouse is also made of plastic, both matte and glossy. Since the combo is made out of plastic, each piece is also really light.
Because the X1960 Rapoo combo is made to be used on one desk with one computer, it does not have Bluetooth but still comes with the same dongle that is neatly housed inside the mouse. The non-portable nature of the keyboard, however, comes with a major upside: this X1960 offers the best typing experience out of all the options mentioned in this article. The keys are spacious, the tactile and auditory feedback are substantial, and the keys have very decent travel.
All in all, you would be hard-pressed to find a better deal as this is the most budget-friendly keyboard and mouse combo on the list. While not offering the most premium look or a whole slew of features, they get the job done more than adequately. If you are looking for a decent keyboard for typing and you are not planning to move your keyboard around all that much, the X1960 Rapoo combo offers a great typing experience for the price.
If you are interested in learning more about the Rapoo combos or other products Newcom offers, be sure to check out our products page. Newcom distributes many keyboard and mouse combos from brands like Rapoo and Logitech, including some of the best Bluetooth keyboard and mouse combos. Please make sure to get in touch with us if you would like additional help from our team members.
