- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 34 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Great Living Room Keyboard"
Pros: Excellent design (looks), contemporary and comfortable, neat glow effects, holds a charge well, space saving charging stand
Cons: Learning curve on touch pad, not all function keys are programmable (easily), scroll feature difficult to use
Summary: Overall this is a fantasic keyboard, IMO. However, it's important to note the context of my usage, which is purely as my living room HTPC computer that is hooked up to my 55" Sony LCD. Basically, I wanted a wireless keyboard to use while I lounge on the couch surfing, watching movies, and checking email. Other reviewers rate this keyboard in the context of writing long letters, testing their typing speed, or doing graphic design, etc. No why on Earth would you need an elegant looking, bluetooth enabled keyboard and touch mouse for these purposes? Clearly this keyboard is meant to be a center piece, not tucked under a desk on a keyboard tray, nor is it intended to replace full size keyboards and precision mice for serious productivity applications. Anyway, back to my living room. The charging stand is not only functional, but also creates a nice safe place to house the keyboard while displaying it like a work of art. Now, there are times that I still find the keyboard wedged between the sofa cushions, but that's only because I no longer feel compelled to dock the keyboard after each use. Meaning, it holds it's charge for a long time, so I don't always have to re-dock it each time, which is nice.
Using the keyboard is very comfortable. I don't find that the keys are awkward or similar to laptop keyboards, although it doesn't compare perhaps to full size keyboards, and it does indeed lack a numeric keypad. Again, I'm not sitting here cranking away at my Excel spreadsheets here--I'm surfing and playing.
The functions keys work well for the most part. While the glow feature is cool, I admit that I forget where most of the function keys are unless I press the Fn button first, so perhaps that slows me down sometimes. Also, the zoom buttons have some odd behavior. In most applications they work fine, zooming in and out appropriately. However, when surfing in IE, they seem to be switched--meaning the zoom in button actually zooms out, and vice-versa. Can't tell if it's hardware of software problem, and the software that comes with the device doesn't seem to allow customization of the zoom buttons. There is however some software floating around the web that apparently allows you to customize nearly ever key/button. It's hasn't bothered me enough yet to take the trouble to download that software and try it out. Another con here that I can't necessarily attribute to the device is that the sound buttons and volume control don't appear to work. I have a sneaky suspicion that it's because I'm using the digital audio out on my motherboard, instead of the audio card. At any rate, I'd like to figure that out because volume control is one thing I'd like to have.
The mouse pad is very cool, but it certainly takes some getting used to. I've gotten pretty good with it, but at times it's still challenging to use it with precision. Plus, the scrolling feature is too much of pain to engage properly to be useful. The side scrolling is nearly impossible to work, and even when I do use it, it scrolls SOOO slowly. I'm sure there's a setting in the software to correct the speed, but I haven't bothered because again it's too hard to engage properly anyway. Soneone at Logitech was smart though, and included an extra mouse button on the left hand side of the keyboard, which GREATLY improves the usability of the mouse and click operations. I use this exclusively now instead of the mouse buttons directly under the touch pad.
The responsiveness seems great most of the time, although there are times when the keyboard seems to freeze up, or the mouse disappears. It doesn't happen very often--in fact not once tonight while I've typed this. I usually remedy it by switching the kayboard off and then on again. Works like a charm, and I don't even have to get off the couch. Speaking of which, this keyboard is great to use while kicking back. It fits very comfortably on my lap since it's so flat and thin.
I can't say that my typing is a good test of the responsiveness, but I'd be willing to bet that I type at least as fast as the average user.
Overall: Great wireless keyboard solution, especially for living room / HTPC usage. Kinda pricey, but I haven't seen any other keyboards that look and function this nicely for this application. Spend the money without regret (or find a great deal on Ebay from one of those speed typists
- 1 reply to this review
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Finally, a review that speaks to "me". I have wasted so much money on sub-par wireless keyboards and mice which will not work for precisely what you describe - kicking back on the sofa and surfing and playing. Really appreciate your in depth and fair review.
Where to buy
Logitech diNovo Edge:
$134.99 - $209.99
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$134.99 | Yes |
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$189.99 | Yes |
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$134.99 | Yes |
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$164.99 | Yes |
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$166.99 | Yes |
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