Microsoft Unveils New Mouse and Keyboard for Windows 8

Microsoft officially announced yesterday two new peripherals meant to accompany Windows 8 tablets: the Wedge Touch Mouse and the Wedge Mobile Keyboard. Both are highly compact Bluetooth devices that are optimized in certain ways for tablet use. Ars got some hands-on time with both items last week, and while their form factors and some design details are clever, some features are confusingly absent.


The ultraslim Wedge Mobile Keyboard is geared toward tablet users seeking a portable, full-size keyboard. Despite being incredibly compact and weighing next to nothing, it sports a full-size keyboard, along with Windows 8 hotkeys and built-in media keys. One of the Wedge Mobile Keyboard's niftiest features is its multifaceted cover, which includes a flexible material that can be shaped into a tablet stand whenever it's not protecting the keyboard. Moreover, removing the cover automatically powers on the Wedge Mobile Keyboard in a manner similar to that of Apple's Smart Cover . The Wedge Mobile Keyboard runs on two triple-A batteries, and the battery compartment juts out in a manner that allows it to double as a grip for holding your tablet. The Wedge Mobile Keyboard will sell for $79.95.

The Touch Mouse is neither very compact nor designed in any particular way to be packed or carried with a tablet, but it's the superior choice, functionality-wise, to the Wedge mouse. This is what makes the Wedge mouse seem like a big missed opportunity to us. One of the annoyances of using a tablet as a workstation is the need to reach up frequently and interact with the screen to perform gestures. Even desktop users might find themselves hankering for a more fluent alternative to Windows 8's hot corners. The Touch Mouse almost completely solves both issues. The Wedge mouse doesn't.


The great thing about the new Sculpt Touch Mouse and Wedge Mouse from Microsoft is that they enable users to interact with Windows 8 using the same pinching and swiping gestures they’d use if they were tapping directly on the touchscreen display of the tablet. Even from a standard desktop or laptop, having access to the touch gestures at your fingertips will make it much simpler and more efficient to navigate Windows 8.

Both Wedges (and, indeed, all four devices) depend on Bluetooth, so there are no cables to connect. The Wedge Touch Keyboard comes with its own cover that doubles as a multi-angle stand for a tablet. Take the cover off, and you can prop a tablet up on it, and adjust the angle via a joint in the center. When placed on the keyboard, however, the cover automatically powers the keyboard down.

The underside battery compartment is designed so that when it’s flipped upside down and held against a tablet surface (so that the covered keys are against the tablet screen) it grips easily in your fingers. The keypad itself, meanwhile, is delightfully compact, but doesn’t feel too cramped. It also has novel hotkeys across the top for launching new Windows 8 menu functions — the Charms that appear from the right side of the screen.