Rii X8 RGB TV/HTPC Keyboard Shown at CES

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Over the past 20 years, I’ve been on a personal crusade to find the ideal HTPC/living room keyboard/mouse combo to use with my HTPC. Of course, the quest waned around 7 years ago when I gave up and traded my HTPCs and Windows MCE Extenders (running cable card tuners) throughout the house for Roku boxes while cutting the cord. Over the years, I tried the ATi Remote Wonder, ATi Remote Wonder II, Gyration 3101US, Microsoft MCE Remotes and Lenovo N5902 of which none were able to shiver my timbers in a way that felt like the ultimate solution to my HTPC on a TV screen control needs. I recall the remotes not being cheap, but then again, it was also a long time ago.

Enter CES 2020 as I’m wandering the Las Vegas Convention Center and I happen upon the Rii booth. The tossing of a bag with a free mouse pad in it draws me into conversation and my eyes immediately focused on the Rii X8 keyboard that they had set up as a demo. I picked it up and gave it a try – it functioned as any other keyboard and touch pad mouse would have and it brought back memories of my pre-Roku HTPC ambitions. I spoke with their representative and learned that it came with its own USB receiver and would work by default with most smart TVs on the market as well as HTPCs – a win win sort of situation in my mind. The keyboard has an integrated rechargeable lithium ion battery and some RGB bling that everyone expects out of new kit these days.

I was interested at that point, and then he mentioned that they e-tail on Amazon for a whopping $25.99, I knew it could be a useful gadget for our readers. Upon further investigation, I saw a $4 coupon that could be clipped bringing it down to $21.99 – something perfect for the occasional use with your Smart TVs, Playstations, XBoxes and/or HTPCs.

Palm Size Reference Picture. Image: The FPS Review

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David Schroth
David is a computer hardware enthusiast that has been tinkering with computer hardware for the past 25 years and writing reviews for more than ten years. He's the Founder and Editor in Chief of The FPS Review.

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