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Review Lenovo N5902 Multi Media Remote - Joe Kendall Lenovo N9502 September 15th, 2011
There is nothing worse than having to use a full sized keyboard on your lap and finding a place for a standard computer mouse on your couch or arm chair while navigating your computer on your projector or TV. This just is not practical and it can be an eye sore.
Lenovo addressed these issues and introduced the N5901 Home Theatre Remote which sported a full QWERTY keyboard and trackball mouse all in one handy device. Following its release it became greatly accepted in many home theatres accross the world. This remote broke away from the typical HTPC keyboard and mouse control that was on the market at the time. With being such a new design was amazing but also came with its draw back which I believe many have been addressed with the new release. Lenovo have openly expressed that they have taken on-board customer feedback and constructive criticism on the original N9501 and built upon these which I hope to share with you.  At first glance the N9502 is obviously a product of its predecessor., sporting the same unique T-shape and simple layout.
I will hold back on talking too much about the now discontinued n9501 as this review is predominantly about its younger and more refined sibling. When first receiving my item I noticed how simple and effect the packaging is. There is the typical clear moulded front to hold the remote and USB receiver while still in full view completely boxed. The whole cardboard packaging was printed in a minimalistic black and white colour scheme and the Lenovo in silver foil which complimented the styling of the remote perfectly. Nothing mind blowing here but they definitely didn't skimp out and hey presentation is just as important as the product itself with many consumers. Upon opening all the included items, Remote, Receiver, 2 AA Energizer Batteries (surprisingly included), and simple user manual are all neatly held within the internal cardboard holder.
I placed the batteries into the remote which was very easy and straight forward. Plugged the USB receiver into my laptop (running Win7) and within 10 seconds it was ready to be used. The first thing I noticed was how easily this fit into the palm of my hand and being perfectly A-Symmetrical in case design enables it to be used by both right and left handed people comfortably. It feels much smaller and lighter than one would expect from looking at the photos making this just as usable by my Aussie man hands and a petite ladies equally.
The stem of the remote is a semi smooth matt black plastic which feels nice to touch. While the left and right mouse click buttons has a highly reflective silver chrome finish. In some of the photos it looks to be gold chrome but I ensure you this is just because of the incandescent lighting when I took the photos (without a flash).
Down to businessIf you have ever used a mobile phone QWERTY keyboard then this is a good indication of what these keys are like. Definitely no touch typing is going to be possible but they did remember to include the raised notches on the F and J home keys to help with button location. The buttons do make pressing noises but this does give you some audible feedback that the key was engaged. Slightly cheaper feeling but overall nothing I didn't expect.
There are many useful keys on this keyboard which I actually wish were included in my fullsize PC keyboard. With some practise and general use it can be quite easy to memorise the location of all the regular functions you perform. Now onto the mouse. It sports an optical track pad extremely similar to the navigation pad on my New BlackBerry 9300 Curve. Even down to pressing on the pad which acts as the left mouse click to save you having to move your thumb to the dedicated left button above. I will be the first to admit it takes some getting used to to master this optical mouse but is so much better than the N9501 track ball. A tip is to turn up the speed/responsiveness in the mouse settings which makes things much easier to navigate (specially if you have a very high resolution screen). I must also add I really enjoyed the touch scroll bar below the track pad I just with a horizontal touch scroll was also included. The USB receiving is amazing! My girlfriend didn't know what it was when it was just sitting by itself on the chair. The receiver now has a dedicated storage location within the battery compartment to ensure it doesn't get lost during transit. That is if you actually remote it from your laptop. While travelling it stays plugged into my laptop as its such a low profile it does not hinder storage of the laptop and will not be damaged itself. I have used this keyboard for all sorts of tasks. Searching the internets, chatting with friends, and navigating through music and movies with these. Although I would not recommend this as a normal every day computer keyboard and mouse replacement as having to hold a small keyboard in your hands can be tiresome after a few hours. Not that I normally hold this for much longer than 5 or 10 minutes while selecting a movie to watch then placing it back down.  Another wonderful upgrade that has been included is the backlit keyboard. As you can see in the photo the lighting isn't uniform across all the buttons and I'm not quite sure why. While in a pitch black cinema room with no added light it is still effective enough to be able to use without any problem. Backlit functionality can be manually turned on with the power switch at the rear of the remote. This is to allow you to turn off this feature while daytime viewing. Personally as I have a light controlled room and projector the remote is never used without the backlight.
 My findingsHaving tested the original Lenovo N9501 and now owning the N9502 I am extremely happy. This item serves its purpose with wonderful styling while being comfortable and easy to use. No proprietry software is needed to be installed just the usual drivers (which mine installed from MS Windows update). Very light and seems to be reasonably well manufactured with the end user in mind.
The keyboard buttons seem to be a little bit squishy but overall acceptable. I can honestly recommend for the RRP of $80USD this is excellent! There are other competitors like Logitech Dinovo Mini which is nice but extremely expensive and not as comfortable, or the multitude of knock offs that come out of Asia. Yes these might be a couple of dollars cheaper but definitely do not feel of the same quality or refinement. Skip the cheaper equipment and buy something that will last you for years to come. Photos and Article by Joe Kendall
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