Viboton S1, a decent little wireless keyboard with a Russian layout

I recently posted a review of a decent TV box. I originally picked out a wireless keyboard to go with it, and even planned to include it in the TV box review, but then decided to write about it separately.
So, as usual, the classic format: photos of the outside and inside, plus my impressions of using it.

I have to say right away that I liked the keyboard at first sight, and after finishing the tests, my opinion only got stronger.
But let's take things in order and see what's good about it and what's not.

It caught my eye as soon as I opened the package, but I'll hide this part of the review under a spoiler, as usual.

The package contents are minimal: the keyboard with the battery and receiver installed, a charging cable, and a manual.
Keyboard specs.
Dimensions — 146 × 81 × 13 mm
Weight — 105 g
Operating range — up to 20 m
Current consumption: 10 mA in use, 6 mA in standby, 10 µA in sleep mode.
Operating frequency: 2.4 GHz
Package contents — keyboard, battery, USB receiver, charging cable, manual, packaging.


In my opinion, the included manual is pretty useless. It only covers the basics: how to charge it, how to turn it on, and where the controls are. I had to figure out the function keys myself.
The USB-MiniUSB cable is short, about 23 cm long, flat, and neatly made. There's not much else to say about it.


And here's the beauty herself :) It looks very neat. The case has neither a soft-touch nor a glossy finish; it feels nice in the hand and doesn't slip.


I gave the dimensions above; its thickness is about the same as a matchbox.


The specifications listed the weight as 105 grams, but it’s actually a little lighter: 99 grams without the receiver and 102 grams with it.


The first thing that stands out is the Russian layout, and especially the fact that it’s done properly, in a different color. Manufacturers often print both layouts in the same color. My own work keyboard is like that, and it can be annoying, especially if you can’t touch-type.
So, full marks for this one—no question.
It also has a touchpad, extra buttons, and status indicators.
I was a little surprised by the WWW and .COM keys. They seem unnecessary to me; those keys are probably more popular in the US.


There are two extra buttons on the top edge. They act as the right and left mouse buttons, so you can assign any familiar functions to them in games.
The buttons’ functions are labeled.
There’s also a MiniUSB port for charging and a power switch.


There’s nothing particularly interesting on the bottom, just a note saying that the USB receiver is inside.


Under the cover are the battery and USB receiver. A small piece of rubber is glued to the battery compartment cover to hold the battery in place inside the case.


The keyboard uses the “widely known in certain circles” BL-4C battery, rated at 800 mAh.
The USB signal receiver doesn’t look like anything special. I’ll just say it’s very small, so it won’t get in the way when plugged in—but most USB receivers like this look about the same.


The keys are rectangular with rounded corners and slightly convex. They have a distinct click when pressed. The keys are about 8 × 5 mm.


The key labels are clear, and as I mentioned above, the Latin layout is printed in white and the Russian one in yellow.
But the yellow lettering looks a little less well done than the white.


A few miscellaneous notes.
1. The sides of the keyboard have textured grips to make it easier to hold. They aren't rubberized, just textured plastic.
2. There are LED indicators on the left side.
The blue LED indicates charging and turns off when charging is complete.
The red LED indicates radio transmission; it blinks when there is no connection.
The other red LED is supposed to turn on when the battery is low.
3. An extra set of keys: cursor arrows, an Enter key, and buttons for volume control and launching an email client, browser, and media player (for some reason, mine launched Winamp).
4. The touchpad isn't recessed and has a clearly textured, bumpy surface.
On my previous keyboard, the recessed touchpad was sometimes a nuisance. It turns out that it's more convenient when it isn't recessed.
Moving your finger up and down along the right side of the touchpad scrolls the page.


The left and right mouse buttons are clearly designed with gaming in mind: they're highlighted in orange. They click distinctly when pressed and have very short travel.
In the photo, I tried to show the difference between a pressed and released button, but it's hard to see.
I suspect the large keys on the keyboard are also meant for gaming. They're arranged in pairs on the left and right sides.
It's just not clear yet how to use the left-hand keys, since they send a combination of key presses.


The keyboard didn't escape disassembly. But I'll probably hide that under a spoiler too, so as not to traumatize the tender hearts of the Keyboard Protection Society members :)

Since the manual didn't say a word about what the function keys do, I'll try to explain in my own words.
The Ctrl+Alt+Del, Home, End, and Del keys are self-explanatory, I think. But the keyboard has three more keys, and I've figured out exactly what two of them do:
Fn+F7 disables the touchpad.
Fn+Space switches between two cursor speeds when using the touchpad.
There's also Fn+F1, marked RF, but pressing it didn't do anything. I suspect it's for switching RF channels, which would be useful if several of these keyboards were being used in the same room.
By the way, I tested the keyboard's range. I couldn't get 20 m in my home, but it worked without any problems at about 8 m, with no direct line of sight and two reinforced-concrete walls in between. When I tried using it through three walls over a distance of 10 m, the connection dropped intermittently, but the keyboard kept trying to work and the commands got through, albeit unreliably.


Well, I think that's about it.

Pros
Neat packaging, quite suitable for a gift.
Sturdy construction, with no play, squeaks, etc.
Russian layout.
Russian letters are highlighted in a different color.
Long operating range.
Uses a standard battery, so it's easy to replace if needed.

Cons
The manual is rather skimpy.
I really wish there were software for customizing key assignments, but there's nothing on the manufacturer's website :(

My take: I think this is a pretty good keyboard. I was expecting an air mouse, of course, but it isn't listed as a feature on the keyboard itself, so that's just an error in the product description. I expect they'll fix it. Otherwise, it looks sturdy, reliable, relatively comfortable (given its small size), and even somewhat ergonomic. I was very pleased to see a Russian layout, especially with the letters highlighted in a different color.
I don't know whether they're asking too much for it, but I have no complaints about the construction itself.

I hope this review was useful and helps you make the right choice.
If you have any questions, ask away and I'll check.

The product was provided by the store for review.