Keyboards and mice are, probably, the most used, abused and underappreciated computer accessories yet, without a keyboard and/or mouse you cannot control a computer screen! If you are in the market for both a full size keyboard and mouse set that isn't too fancy nor basic, the Cherry DW 9000 SLIM is worth checking out.
Both the DW 9000 SLIM keyboard and mouse integrate non-removable lithium-ion batteries; hence you can recharge them via the USB port of a desktop computer. Both the keyboard and mouse feature a micro USB port that you use to connect the included micro USB to USB-A charging cable. The keyboard has a 650mAh lithium ion battery, while the mouse integrates a 550mAh battery.
In terms of power consumption, a wireless mouse is always going to be more power hungry than a wireless keyboard because of the optical sensor in the mouse, which is constantly active. You can expect the DW 9000 SLIM to run out of battery sooner than the keyboard. It takes 3.5 hours to fully charge the keyboard and 2.5 hours to fully charge the mouse.
The mouse and keyboard also have led indicators so, you can check how much battery there is left and when battery is running out. It's neat that the leds will flash slower or faster, depending on how low the battery is.
The battery led status indicator on the keyboard is located on the back, next to the RF led, which is also the same led that indicates RF transmission (blue light) and Bluetooth (red light). Next to that led, there is the RF/Bluetooth switch. The middle position of the switch manually powers off the DW 9000 SLIM keyboard. The micro USB port is right next to the bluetooth pairing button.
On the DW 9000 SLIM mouse, the led indicator is located on top, right behind the scroll wheel, which has a rubberized, textured grip finish. The mouse led indicator is built-in to the DPI button, which has a flat, lowkey profile that doesn't interfere with your fingers when scrolling.
On the front of the mouse, you find the micro USB port and, on the base of the mouse, you find the RF receiver housing, which is magnetized, preventing the receiver from falling out. The switch button is also located on the base and controls power, bluetooth (BT) and wireless (RF) modes. The push button beneath this button lets you manually initiate the bluetooth pairing connection.
As far as usability, the DW 9000 SLIM mouse feels nice in the hand. It has a flat right side and a curved left side designed to house your thumb. The sides of the mouse are softly rubberized with a scaly finish. The rest of the mouse is made of hard matte plastic, including the bottom, which features a long rubber glide strip around the base.
The DW 9000 SLIM mouse measures 10cm long, 6.5cm wide, 3cm tall and weighs 73 grams. If you have small hands, you will be able to use the mouse comfortably in palm grip. Large hands can still use the mouse in claw grip. All mouse buttons are responsive, providing an audible but subtle click. The scroll-wheel also integrates a clickable button.
The DW 9000 SLIM mouse has adjustable DPI resolution via a dedicated DPI button on top of the mouse that allows you to adjust DPI resolution from 600 DPI, 1000 DPI and 1600 DPI. A mouse with adjustable DPI resolution is always more versatile that a non-adjustable DPI mouse because you can control the sensitivity of the mouse. This, essentially, means that you can move the mouse pointer faster or slower on the screen.
When setting the DPI on the SLIM mouse, the built-in led on the mouse will flash according to the DPI setting you are in. For instance, one flash indicates 600DPI, two flashes 1000DPI and three flashes indicates 1600DPI. Whichever DPI setting you choose, it will be remembered by the mouse when switched off, which is handy.
For general use and non-serious gaming, both the keyboard and mouse have no noticeable lag in bluetooth and RF transmission but, to the trained eye some lag/latency will be noticeable. If you are a hardcore gamer, it's best picking up a wired mouse and wired keyboard such as the MX-Board mechanical keyboard and Gentix mouse
The DW 9000 SLIM RF transmission is slightly more stable and has less latency than bluetooth connection, mainly because of the dedicated RF receiver. That said, the DW 9000 SLIM keyboard and mouse combo use Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, which has better power consumption and less lag than previous bluetooth versions. RF transmission is, overall, better at managing power consumption since RF transmission doesn't need to stay on to maintain a connection like bluetooth does..
In terms of interference, there is not much between Bluetooth and RF transmission since they both use the same 2.4Ghz frequency, which is the same radio frequency used by most wireless peripherals. The main difference between Bluetooth and RF transmission it's that RF uses an RF receiver, which comes handy to use if your laptop does not have bluetooth built-in.
The RF receiver must be inserted into a USB 2.0 port as it will not work in a USB 3.0 port. Once the DW 9000 SLIM keyboard and mouse are connected via bluetooth to one computer, you cannot connect them to another computer unless you disconnect the first one. The RF receiver has a 2 meter wireless range.
The DW 9000 SLIM keyboard has a slimline design so, it's thin, measuring 13mm tall, 44cm long, 13cm wide and weighs 635 grams. The bottom of the keyboard features eight anti-slip pads located on the top and bottom of the keyboard.
The bottom panel of the keyboard has a recess design and no feet extensions. That said, you can raise the angle of the keyboard via the included rubber feet, which can be attached to the back of the keyboard via 3M adhesive. The rubber feet are designed to go over the anti-slip pads and elevate the keyboard 2cm off the desk.
The construction of the DW 9000 SLIM keyboard is entirely plastic, including the bottom panel, which has a rose-gold metal-like finish. The keycaps are also made of plastic with laser lettering; hence the letters (legends) on the keycaps are engraved with ink and permanently bonded to the plastic material.
The keys on the DW 9000 SLIM keyboard have a chiclet design with butterfly switches that have a tactile feel similar to those on an old MacBook Pro (pre-2015). The keys provide a soft-touch and typing experience without hurting your hands. The metal backplate behind the keys has a rose-gold color finish that gives the background of the keys a rose gold accent.
There is a full numerical keypad, directional buttons and some media keys (volume up/down buttons, and mute button), as well as a calculator button and a lock button that locks all keys on the keyboard. The CAPS LOCK key, NUM key and Scroll key have a tiny and very discreet round led on the bottom right corner of the keys.