Geared toward controlling a living-room PC connected to a large display or HDTV from across the room, the Microsoft All-in-One Media Keyboard ($39.95) has a lot to offer. This slim and light keyboard feels sturdy, provides a smooth typing experience, and has a good set of media-oriented function keys and hotkeys. It integrates a touchpad with mouse buttons that support gestures (including ones for Windows 8).

The Media Keyboard ($28.80 at Amazon) measures a compact 0.8 by 5.2 by 14.4 inches (HWD) and weighs 15.3 ounces. It's black, with chiclet-style keys that have rounded corners. The keys are fairly closely spaced (the keys span just 10 inches), though not as closely as those on the Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400r ($39.99 at Logitech) . The keys have a good spring to them, and I found the typing experience smoother.

There's an on-off switch on the side. A green indicator light glows for 10 seconds after you turn the keyboard on, but otherwise the keyboard remains unlit. There's no backlighting, making the keys hard to read in a darkened room.

At the left-hand edge are three hotkeys: a left mouse button; a volume up/down rocker; and a mute button. Three more hotkeys reside above the touchpad. Each is marked with an icon: a house, which opens your default browser to its home page; headphones, which opens Windows Media Player; and a file folder, which opens Windows Explorer.

As for the function keys, F1 through F3 are fast-backward, play/pause, and fast-forward, respectively. The F4 key, with a crescent moon icon, puts the computer to sleep. The F5 key, marked with a magnifying glass, calls up a search form in Windows Explorer in Windows 7, and the Search screen in Windows 8. The F6, F7, and F8 keys open the Search, Share (which sends a screenshot of your desktop to Fresh Paint, Mail, or OneNote), and Devices pages in Windows 8, respectively, but do nothing in Windows 7. The F9 key lets you duplicate your computer's screen on a second display or a projector, or extend it across two displays. The F10 key takes you to your desktop, and F11 and F12 correspond to page-up and page-down, respectively. Should you want to reprogram your keys, you can do so by downloading and running Microsoft's free Mouse and Keyboard Center software.

The touchpad measures 3 by 3.2 inches, which is larger than the one found on the Logitech K400r. It supports gestures, and it works for functions such as Left-Click, Right-Click, Move the Cursor, Zoom, Scroll, Show Charm Bar, and Previous Application. Although a vertical line near the pad's bottom indicates left and right mouse buttons, it's really a clickpad, with the entire left side of the pad (except the very top) acting as a left mouse button and the right side as a right mouse button. It requires enough pressure to click in these zones that you're not likely to do so accidentally.

The Media Keyboard connects via a wireless adapter that fits into a computer's USB port. Microsoft gives its range at up to 33 feet; in my testing, it worked at more than 50 feet. The wireless dongle can be stored in the battery compartment that houses two AAA batteries at the bottom of the keyboard. It's compatible with Windows 7 and Windows 8.

The Microsoft All-in-One Media keyboard is a light, compact device with good wireless range. It's an economical choice for your living-room or home-theater PC setup. Although it's more expensive, the Logitech TK820 Wireless All-in-One Keyboard ($227.06 at Amazon) is a better overall wireless media keyboard, given its bigger, more comfortable dimensions and much bigger touchpad. The spacious, backlit Logitech Wireless Illuminated Keyboard K800 offers a great typing experience and remains our Editors' Choice as a wireless keyboard, although it lacks a touchpad.

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• How to Control Multiple Computers With One Keyboard and Mouse
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• Snag Apple's Wireless Magic Keyboard for Less Than $70