Cherry DW 8000 review

The Cherry DW 8000 wireless keyboard and mouse set looks almost like it was made by Apple, if you squint a bit. The set might look nice, but it is cheaply made. Both keyboard and mouse glisten with a plastic silver sheen, while the keyboard’s looks are spoilt by the large bezel.

The bezel gives the keyboard a big footprint, but does provide a comfortable platform to rest your palms on while typing. The keyboard also doesn’t have any feet so lies almost flat to the table, which won’t be to everyone’s taste.

The keyboard’s plastic might feel cheap, but it was a pleasure to type on. The keys had just the right amount of travel, ensuring quick typing speeds and minimal errors; among low-profile laptop-style keyboards, this one is up with Apple’s models for typing ease. The keyboard has media control buttons to control volume, as well as play and pause video and audio.

We did find some detail problems with the keyboard; although a down-pointing arrow on the Caps Lock key is common on German keyboards, UK keyboards tend to have the arrow pointing up. This is a minor problem, but we found the non-centred text on keys such home, insert and end harder to forgive.

The kit’s mouse has a resolution of 2,000 dpi, and we found it perfectly responsive. Its design mirrors that of the keyboard and its smooth shape made it comfortable to hold. There’s nothing more than a scroll wheel and left and right buttons, so people after a tilt-wheel or other programmable buttons will need to look elsewhere. Unlike with the Cherry MX 3000 we had no stuttering problems when the wireless receiver was plugged in under our desk.

The Cherry DW 8000’s keyboard and mouse are comfortable to use and look great; it’s just a shame the set doesn’t feel as classy as it looks. It’s a fair buy if you want a low-profile wireless set, but those who don’t mind wires on their keyboard would be better off buying the Apple Keyboard and Cherry MW 2300 for a similar price.