What’s in the Box
The Conqueror features every key on a standard keyboard minus the numpad, page up/down, home, end, insert, and print screen. Although there are four programmable buttons that you can configure to make up for the missing keys. The feel of the keys are soft on your fingers because they’re rubber-like, but they aren’t too squishy or feel like they’re going to break. There are left and right click mouse buttons above the keyboard. Each is indented a bit making them easy to press. The controller/joypad layout is similar to the PlayStatiom 3’s, but the triggers are replaced with buttons. The bottom of the Conqueror includes the charge port and a storage area for the wireless dongle.
The bundled lithium-ion battery is relatively small and lightweight. It can power the Conqueror for about 20 hours of consistent use while taking a fraction of the time (3 – 4 hours) to charge. To charge up the Conqueror, you can use the supplied USB cable. It’s only about 3 feet long but it’s a pretty hefty 24 gauge cable. Lastly, the USB dongle is a glossy black and has a blue LED that illuminates when it is receiving data.
Setup & User Interface (UI)
Setting up the Air Keyboard Conqueror couldn’t be any easy. I plugged the wireless dongle into a USB port, Windows 7 immediately installed the drivers, I turned on the device and I could use all of the features (besides the programmable buttons). It’s awesome that the Conqueror works right out of the box, making it easy to use it on any computer without having to install drivers. Setup on the PS3 was equally as easy. Although, the programmable buttons can not be used on the PS3.
The only UI you’ll experience with the Conqueror is if you want to map keys or set the programmable buttons. The mapping software doesn’t have to be installed to use the device, but installing the software does give you a lot more control over how the Conqueror functions. For instance, I have assigned the programmable buttons to be show/hide desktop, center cursor, home, and end. You can also use the analog sticks to control the mouse cursor. Doing so will move the mouse cursor a bit slow, but it provides a lot of control over the mouse cursor. You can also have up to three custom profiles, just in case you’d like to use the Conqueror in vastly different scenarios. As a reminder, you must leave the key mapping programs open to get the desired effect. They don’t run as a service.
Were the tests done using 32 or 64-bit?
Just bought the device and I’m on Win7 Ultimate x64. I confirmed that the version numbers and device model numbers in your screenshots are the same as mine. However, the AVKapp does not allow me to set anything – all options are greyed out. The Cideko website is not helpful at all – only entertains sales queries and the driver/software downloads are outdated. I did try them out though and got the same results.
I tested everything in Win7 Pro x64. It’s been a while since I’ve used the Conqueror, but I don’t remember having to do any tricks to get AVKapp to work.
I still have the Conqueror. When I get some time, I’ll hook it back up, re-install the software and see if there are any quirks to setting keys.
Thank you for looking into this… I was able to “solve” the issue by turning off all the bluetooth devices attached to the laptop I was using the Cideko on – BT mouse, keyboard, keypad.
Once the BT devices were turned off, the AVKapp software was able to correctly detect the Cideko device and all the customization options are now available and working.
It is unfortunate that the Cideko Air Conqueror does not play nice with Bluetooth devices.
i have used this for about a year now… major downside for htpc is that the keyboard doesnt illuminate… really hard to type in the dark after a movie or show ends, or at night.. i turn off the gyro and just use the mouse simulation with the right and left stick. sometimes when typing too fast, keys dont register. if my controlleror computer goes to sleep i have to go back in the av map program and click start again… this only happens every once and a while…. also when the remote goes to sleep, when i wake it the gyro is automatically on… i have to turn it off, and again when the keyboard isnt illuminated in the dark its hard to see… it would be nice to start the controller program and run it automatically everytime i turn on my pc… another downside is that there isnt a programmable map key application for mac… my mini would make a better htpc but the remote ties everything together with interfacing, and therfore is a big deal for me…
if all of the above were added, this would kill the market.
This would conquer everything if it didn’t cut out randomly all the time. I can’t play any games with this thing at all. Horrible signal quality. Why couldn’t they have made it bluetooth? Can any genius out there hack this circuitboard and make it use a bluetooth signal for me? It’s a paperweight because of this horrible flaw.