Genius KB-29e Calculator

When one considers that computers are, at their very heart, simply very complicated calculators it might seem a little strange that Genius have decided to incorporate one into a keyboard. Indeed, it may seem a little daft when you consider that aside from calculators built into operating systems you can even enter complicated mathematical sums into Google which will duly spit you out an answer.

Luckily for us however the KB-29e does not rely solely upon its extraneous calculator in order to justify its existence. The keyboard is not lacking in hotkeys, media controls and even the (also) extraneous scroll wheel which we've seen on its LuxeMate brother.

There's 29 of them in total, as the name rather cryptically suggests, all fitted in across the top and down the left-hand side. The media controls are particularly well laid out in an oval surrounding the Genius logo in the centre-top of the keyboard. They're easy to access both when working and simply sitting back to relax. To the right of this oval are the office shortcuts for opening, from left to right, your internet browser, email client and finally My Computer.

To the left of the media oval, from right to left, is the media-player shortcut and then browser controls. Forward, back, stop, refresh and search are all included. Working down the left-hand side from top to bottom is the computer sleep shortcut and the extraneous scroll-wheel.

The calculator itself occupies the top-right hand corner of the keyboard. The screen stands above a row of calculator function buttons, and the operation of the calculator itself runs through the numpad. The only disadvantage to this arraignment is that it ties down the numpad to operating the calculator.

Whether or not the calculator is useful or not might depend upon personal circumstances and preferences. We found it easier, particularly with more complicated sums, to simply pop into Google and either type or copy-and-paste the equation into the search bar. We also then had an answer which can be copied and pasted into documents and so forth.

The keyboard itself is well constructed, being of the traditional rather than laptop design. The sturdy plastic is rounded at the edges to give the keyboard a sleeker look to it. However we don't think that the KB-29e is particularly attractive, and for whatever its faults the Illuminated Metal Keyboard from Speed-Link is a far more polished offering which you wouldn't mind others seeing on your desk. The KB-29e on the other hand is just another bland looking office keyboard.

The keys themselves are normally spaced and responsive to the touch. Purely as a keyboard the KB-29e lives up to expectations, and if you're in the market for something with plenty of hotkeys and media controls the KB-29e stands up. We're not so sure about the calculator however, but its inclusion doesn't add exponentially to the size or cost of the keyboard and so its inclusion can be excused by most and might even prove useful to some.

The keyboard is available in either USB or PS/2 varieties.