A few months ago I spent a long time researching wireless trackpad/keyboard combos, and the conclusion I reached was that there aren't many good ones. The Logitch K830 and the Corsair K83 are well-regarded, but both appear to be discontinued. The Logitech K400 seems like one of the most popular options, but its incredibly cheap-feeling and the touchpad is small and inaccurate.

Eventually I basically gave up on finding something good and just ordered the $40 Microsoft "All-in-One Media Keyboard", which is exactly as mediocre as everyone says it is. Maddeningly, despite being made by Microsoft themselves the touchpad doesn't support Windows Precision. Instead it emulates a regular USB mouse, so you can't use any Windows-specific gestures or customize any settings. You also can't move the mouse while you're pressing a key, and I struggled to click-and-drag with it at all.

I had just accepted that this was as good a solution as I'd be able to get (within reason). But a couple weeks ago I saw an article about this thing. It's a weird semi-portable all-in-one computer that HP makes. What interested me though was that it comes with a bluetooth keyboard/trackpad exactly like what I'd been looking for. The layout looked sensible, and given that it's intended as the main input device for a desktop PC, you'd expect it would be a little better quality than the junk most companies seem to be putting out in this category.

So, I emailed HP and asked if I could buy just the keyboard accessory by itself. And it turns out you can, though they certainly don't advertise it. Here's what you have to do:

• Send an email to [email protected] and tell them you want to order a replacement part for the HP Envy Move, model number 8Z7D8PA. The part number is N61392-001, aka "KEYBOARD HP 720 TP Integrated BT US".

• They'll reply to let you know if it's in stock. If so, they'll ask for a bunch of information including your shipping address and phone number. They'll also ask for a good time to call you.

• At the time you provided, a rep will call you on the phone and confirm the order details. They'll then send you an email with a link to submit your payment info. For some reason this has to be done while you're on the phone with them, I have no clue why. For me the price was $116 + $10 shipping. I assume it would be similar anywhere in the U.S. but I don't know about other countries.

• Afterwards, they'll give you an order number. I don't know what you're supposed to do with it; I tried on both the main HP site and the parts site and they both said it wasn't the correct format.

I was genuinely worried I was somehow being scammed and that nothing would ever show up. But I did eventually receive a package from FedEx, and inside was the keyboard along with the 4 AAAs that it takes.

I've been trying it out, and it's really good. It's noticeably heavier and more solid-feeling than the Microsoft one, and it's nicer to type on. Granted I still wouldn't call it a "good" keyboard, but it's more "free keyboard that came with your PC" rather than Microsoft's "TV remote from 20 years ago" vibe. More importantly for me, the touchpad is excellent. It's big, smooth, and it shows up as a real touchpad in Windows including all the fancy scrolling and gesture features. The click is weirdly heavy, but I mostly use tap-to-click anyway so it doesn't really matter.

My only real complaint so far is that there seems to be some sort of debouncing feature on the keys that prevents you from double-pressing a key too quickly. So sometimes you'll try to type "button" and end up with "buton". I don't know if that's the keyboard itself or just something Windows does with bluetooth devices; it's a little annoying but I was still able to type this whole post on it without too much trouble. For basic media PC use I think it's fine, and depending how fast you type you might not notice it at all.

Here's a picture of it next to my regular keyboard and the Microsoft one. It's pretty much full-size except that the numpad area is replaced by the touchpad.

I do think the price is a little high for what it is, but given that the K83 goes for $200+ on ebay I guess it's not totally unreasonable. Anyway, I just figured you all would want to know about it in case you're looking for something like this. I'm not sure why HP doesn't just sell it on their website as a normal product, but until then you can indeed buy it if you don't mind the slight hassle.

I’m just looking for something I can use to control the pc when I’m laying in my bed or my couch, I just can’t sit at my desk for extended periods of time anymore (yay to getting old) and have taken to gaming in bed or on the couch with an Xbox controller and my TV, but getting up to go to the desk and do whatever needs doing to continue gaming (looking at you random amd auto update popup) is rather annoying. So what’s a halfway decent wireless keyboard with a touch pad that’s not just a polished turd?