GTMax Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for Windows 7 Vista XP with USB Infrared Receiver - Silver

The remote has a good, intuitive button layout, HOWEVER, the remote's button action is very spongy, and the buttons stick a lot, which is not good, and why it doesn't get a higher star rating from me. In spite of this, it is well worth buying this remote with its included USB infra-red receiver dongle if (and only if) you want to use the dongle with a good universal remote, such as the Logitech Harmony 650 universal remote. With the Logitech series of universal remotes, you can either "teach" the Logitech the PC remote commands (using the original PC remote to do this), or you can simply enter this PC remote on your Logitech MyHarmony app as a new device with this name: Chinavision CVSB-939. This remote does work from a long distance away, as far away as anyone would ever be from a television, I think. I liked the USB dongle so much that I bought three more of these for all of the other TVs (with PC boxes and home theater PCs) in my home. A great infra-red USB dongle to use with your Logitech Harmony universal remote for only about six bucks is a great deal, and worth the price, even if you don't ever actually use the remote that came with it. The dongle and remote functions very well with typical home theater apps, such as Kodi/XBMC. The mouse cursor direction functions, left and right click buttons, arrow keys, and quick-launch shortcut keys are all very useful, and it's great to be able to control a HTPC or PC box with a remote control, rather than with a bulky keyboard. TIPS: I would recommend setting one of the quick-launch shortcut keys to open up your PC's on-screen keyboard in order to quickly type in video searches for Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc., without having to use a keyboard. Also, a shortcut key set to open Kodi (XBMC) is extremely useful.

I purchased one of these several years ago to use as a remote on my HTPC running XBMC (now KODI). Worked great and still does. Decided to buy a couple more, one for my neighbor, and one for a spare, since my old one was getting a bit beat up. Neither of them worked as well as the old one. The old one will operate from all the way across the room, about 19 feet. The new ones have to be within about 6 feet to do anything. I sit about 10 feet from the system, so they mostly won't work. Occasionally repeated presses of the buttons will get a response, but they are mostly useless for my system. They are certainly plug and play for Windows and work fine for programs that don't require a mouse. The mouse function is almost worthless on all my units. Fortunately, XBMC doesn't require the use of a mouse. I'm not sure what I'll do when my good remote dies. Try another brand I guess.

I didn't buy this simply because it's cheap. When I look at the button layout & the features I thought this one stood out above all other PC remotes. The mouse is a BIG PLUS!This remote does everything it's advertised to do, including putting my computer to sleep AND waking up from sleep by pressing the power button! Pressing the power button doesn't shut it down, but pressing the "X" button while all windows & programs are closed brings up the shut down menu. Obviously you can't turn the computer on from full power off using the remote, but what it can do is really cool. It can operate a lot of Windows functions, more than I expected.Some other reviewers mentioned they had trouble with the mouse, but I think it's fine though the mouse movement is not smooth probably because it has low resolution tracking.The "Numlock" button on the bottom left toggles the T9 keypad from Windows function > 2abc > 2ABC > 2abc (again). I think the last toggle should be numeric only. Though special software isn't needed to operate the remote it would be better to have an icon or notification in the System Tray telling you what the current toggle setting is.The 4 Hotkeys are also easy to use. You don't really program your remote, but instead you need to create Hotkeys in the Shortcuts that link to what you want to open, even iTunes. I won't explain how to set it up. Just search for it online. Instructions are posted everywhere.I'm doubtful that its range is 18 meters because I have trouble with it from more than 2 meters (6 feet). You do need a pretty much direct line of sight & that line of sight becomes narrower with greater distance. But more than 6 feet away I can barely see the mouse arrow on the screen anyways let alone read anything. This works best when your computer is connected to a large screen TV monitor. Of note, my laptop has a built-in infrared port, but the remote doesn't work with it.Most of the buttons are hard to press, but I hope it will become easier once the rubber is broken in. I like the rocker volume & page buttons, but since they are 2 buttons in 1, I think they should be longer than they are for a more tactile feel. The remote overall is lightweight, but feels durable. I just hope the electronics last.Highly recommended & dead simple to use!