Rapoo 9300M mouse and keyboard
Control your Mac, iPad, iPhone, tV…
Enables you to switch seamlessly between up to four different devices
£39.99 FROM Rapoo, rapoo.com FeatuRes Multi-mode Bluetooth 3.0/4.0/2.4GHz keyboard, up to 10m operating range, chiclet keys with scissor mechanism, 1300dpi optical mouse with 4 mouse buttons, 2D scroll wheel
Multi-tasking is something all of us need to do sometimes – and this 9300M super-slim keyboard and mouse from Chinese peripherals maker Rapoo appear to fit the bill perfectly. They enable you to switch seamlessly between up to four different connected devices simply by pressing the appropriate key combination – so you can flit between your Mac, iPad, iPhone and even an Apple TV without skipping a beat. Or at least that’s the theory.
The 9300M’s keyboard (dubbed the E9100M if bought separately) is a 4.9mm aluminium-framed typing deck with widely spaced chiclet keys, backed with a robust scissor-style keyboard mechanism. It looks almost Apple-like, although the plasticky feel and large Windows button where the Cmd key should be rather give the game away.
To the right of the keyboard sits a slightly cramped numeric keypad, and it has a full Function key row along the top. Pressing the Fn key at the same time as the Function keys gives you access to various media functions, enabling you to play/pause etc while watching movies or listening to music. The Fn key comes in handy again when switching between different devices with number keys 1-4, below the Function key row, doubling up as Bluetooth 1, Bluetooth 2, Bluetooth 3 and 2.4GHz; press Fn then the appropriate key to switch to the device you want to use next.
Pairing the keyboard with your Mac or iOS device is fairly straightforward. Switch the keyboard on, head to System Preferences > Bluetooth on your Mac and then press the Fn+Bluetooth key combo you want to use for at least three seconds – confusingly, the Rapoo keyboard can end up appearing in the Bluetooth > Devices pane several times. Pick one to pair that option. You can now repeat the process on your other devices.
Pairing the 9300M’s four-button optical mouse is more straightforward as there is only a single Bluetooth button on the mouse’s underside to press. Again, though, the peripheral may appear multiple times. Pick an option to complete pairing.
Reverting to type
In use, on Mac, the keyboard and mouse work well – the keyboard delivers a comfortable typing action with those widely spaced keys giving a fair amount of travel, while also not being excessively clacky. The only real issue is that the numeric keypad is simply too close to the Backspace, Return and cursor keys, making it easy to accidentally hit it during fast ’n’ furious typing sessions.
The 9300M’s mouse is more of a mixed bag – on Mac, it feels a bit cheap and plasticky with vague-feeling button presses. While it works well enough, it’s not something you’ll take particular pleasure in operating. Using the mouse in iOS was less successful – while we were able to get it to pair successfully using Bluetooth and iOS 13’s Accessibility features, it didn’t actually work as a pointing/ navigation device, leading us to revert to touch input instead. ROb Mead-gReen