Penclic Keyboard and Mouse |

Being happy and staying healthy is the name of the game on this blog, and even when I’m sat at my desk typing, I’m thinking about my wellbeing.

Did you know, on average, people spend five hours a day – around 48 weeks a year – sat at a computer typing?

But many electronic devices were never ergonomically designed for long-tern human use, which mean while we type away we are putting a strain on 27 major joints and 123 ligaments in our hands and wrists.

The result being that many people suffer from hand and wrist pain, often leading to repetitive strain injury (RSI).

There are many products out there now designed to improve RSI symptoms and help keep your hands healthy while you work. I’ve been trying the Penclic Mini Keyboard K2 and Mouse R3*…

Penclic is a Swedish company devoted to combining technology and ergonomics, enabling people to take care of their bodies while using their electronic devices.

Penclic Mini Keyboard K2 (£43.99, black, wireless. Also comes in white and a corded version)

I’ve got to say that, sadly, for the price you’re paying, I was not impressed.

I thought the design was old fashioned, clunky and cheap looking. The keyboard felt really plastic-y and when I typed, I could see the whole thing bending in the middle, even though I wasn’t typing any harder than I normally would.

Set up was simple enough. Once the keyboard was charged, I just plugged the USB that came with it into the back of my computer and it synced up straight away.

Problem was, I couldn’t get some of the functions on the keyboard to work. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to get the @ sign to appear in screen – I tried everything and the manual that came with the keyboard was no help at all, it had very basic set up information and a table on ‘special function’ keys, but that was about all.

I was so frustrated that I gave up using it after the second day.

Penclic Mouse R3 (£59.99, black, wireless. Also comes in white and a corded version)

Oh dear, this was even worse! No matter what I tried, I only got this working once.

This may look a little nicer – it’s sleek and takes up no room at all – but, again, it didn’t feel like I was getting the quality of build I’d expect from something of this price. As you will see from the picture, there was a small wire poking out the side which I am sure after repeated clicking would have become damaged if I hadn’t tried to poke it back in myself.

Then it came to trying to use the mouse.

Firstly, I couldn’t figure out if the mouse was charging or charged, the light indicator was highly temperamental.

Again, this came with a USB you plugged into the back of your computer to sync it up. It took me three attempts to get it finally working the first time, but I’ve no idea why.

When I did use it I could see how it could be a much more comfortable way for people to use a mouse and it did everything I needed it to do, once I’d got used to the new hand position.

However, I could not get it to work again after that first go and I’ve still no idea why. Again, the manual had minimal information, so I would probably have had to have gone searching on forums and the internet – not what you want to be doing when there’s work to be done! I can only wonder if I had a faulty mouse?

This talks the talk – the press info warns of the pain, stiffness and even permanent damage that using a traditional mouse can cause and how this mouse can help combat that – but it only left me with a headache!

All in all, I’ve got to say I was far from blown away by these products, especially for the amount you’re paying. Sorry to say that I would give these a miss.

Until next time, stay happy and healthy… text-2