Since the founding of their company in 1999, IOGear has been committed to the environment and to creating IT solutions and products that minimize their eco-footprint. As part of their GREEN initiative, IOGear makes certain their products are free of hazardous metals and substances, such as lead, mercury and others. The attention they give to details prompted us to place their IOGear Long Range Media Center Desktop Keyboard and Mouse among the top 10 wireless keyboard and mouse combos on the market.

This IOGear wireless keyboard and mouse combo offers reliable 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity up to 33 feet away from your PC or laptop. This technology makes it possible to clean up the wire clutter around your computer, work from the comfort of your couch and transport the wireless keyboard and mouse set with you wherever you go. Each component in this set has an energy-saving function that automatically turns that piece off after a certain amount of idle time. This feature is helpful for saving battery life since there is no power switch on the mouse or keyboard. The only downside is that there is no indicator light on either to help you know whether a component is on or off. Also missing is a light on the keyboard to let you know whether the caps lock and number lock are on or off. The laser mouse is capable of precision tracking on most surfaces. It has a scroll wheel, but it doesn't have click-to-click functionality, operating in a free-scrolling manner instead.

Along the top edge of the keyboard, you'll find five silver hot keys that give you instant access to media center files such as My Music, My Video, My TV and My Pictures. These keys are not customizable, though, so if you don't think you'll use them for the purpose for which they were intended, they'll be a wasted feature.

Aesthetically speaking, the silver trim around a black background with accompanying silver accents makes this wireless keyboard and mouse look sleek. It helps that the keyboard is one of the thinnest on the market at 0.75 inches, adding to the modern appeal. The mouse matches the set perfectly with silver stripes on the sides and down the middle, with black filling in the rest. However, beauty is sometimes only skin deep and once you move beyond its cosmetic aspect, you'll find that this is a pretty basic keyboard. Ergonomics do not play a role in this keyboard’s design at all. And while that may not be important to a casual user, we think all hardcore typists should take care of their wrist and hands anytime it’s possible.

Located in Foothill Ranch, California, IOGear has several different options for contacting them. Choose from a toll-free telephone number, a support email address or a live chat function to ensure any questions are sufficiently answered. IOGear’s website also has a support tab with warranty and product registration information as well as downloadable drivers and manuals.

The IOGear keyboard and mouse are compatible with Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS X (10.2 or later). Please note that if used with a Mac, the media center hot keys are not supported and may not work correctly.