Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard

CNET editors' review

CNET Editors' ChoiceJan 08

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Design : 10.0
  Features : 8.0
  Performance : 8.0
  Overall score: 8.7 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Rich Brown
• Reviewed on: 01/05/2008
• Released on: 02/28/2008

Logitech's diNovo Mini does for home theater PC keyboards what Apple's iPod did to the MP3 player. Granted, there are many more digital music listeners than HTPC owners out there, but if you are a member of the latter category, you'll love the diNovo Mini because it solves one of the main dilemmas of HTPC ownership: how to take full control of your PC and its media functions without relying on multiple or clunky input devices. The price of the diNovo Mini is $150, which admittedly is steep for what's essentially a BlackBerry keyboard with a control pad and a Bluetooth connection. We'd pay it, though, when the diNovo Mini comes out at the end of February, because the tiny keyboard so effectively addresses what's been a nagging issue for an entire product category.

Like the iPod, the Logitech diNovo Mini boasts a pleasing visual aesthetic that seems inseparable from its functionality. The clamshell design feels right in your hand, and it would look as at home on your coffee table as any remote control. It weighs only 0.4 pound and is roughly three-quarters of an inch high and six inches long. Open it up and you're treated to a small-scale, 61-key keyboard, backlit in either orange or green, depending on the mode of the control pad.

The control pad itself lets you change from analog, touch-pad-style control, to directional up-down-left-right controls by sliding a small switch. The idea is that you'd want it in touch pad mode for navigating a Web page or the Windows desktop, but that the directional controls are better for working your way through a set of linear menus, such as those in Windows Media Center. The middle of the pad acts like your main mouse button, and you hold down one of the function buttons and a menu button on the keyboard for right-clicking. It's more intuitive than it sounds, and our only complaint is that the d-pad mode was sometimes not as responsive as we'd like. The analog mode is fine though, and consistent with the quality of Logitech's MX Air mouse, itself a major improvement over the touch pad on the old diNovo Edge keyboard.

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Where to buy

Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard: $119.99 - $143.97

store	price	in stock?	rating
	$119.99	See Site
	$139.99	Yes
	$119.99	Yes
Amazon.com Marketplace	$135.59	Yes
	$142.49	Yes

see prices from 7 stores

Compare prices for Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard

	Amazon.com	$119.99
	Newegg.com	$139.99
	Dell Home & Home Office	$119.99
	Amazon.com Marketplace	$135.59
	Abt Electronics	$142.49

Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 30 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars Write review

• Showing 3 of 30 user reviews

• 0.5 stars

  "NOT FULLY FUNCTIONAL WITH PS3"

  by dubulup on January 28, 2010

• 2.5 stars

  "It makes me sad, In therory it was everything i wanted"

  by dpcassil on December 3, 2009

• 0.5 stars

  "Keyboard sometimes not recognized after reboot."

  on November 25, 2009

• See all 30 user reviews Write review

Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

• alaTest.com

  Editors' rating: 96

  Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 337 reviews of Logitech diNovo Mini from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 74/100 and users 82/100. Comparing these reviews to 48151 other Keyboards reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 96/100 = Excellent.

  Read full review

• computershopper.com

  Editors' rating: 82

  Summary: Designed for the living room, not the desk, the tiny Logitech diNovo Mini keyboard will thrill entertainment-PC users who are looking to ditch their clunky full-size keyboards. As long as your typing needs are minimal, we recommend it.

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• techgage.com

  Editors' rating: 80

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• techradar.com

  Editors' rating: 100

  Summary: Writing a short email using the Mini was enough to confirm that quick and easy typing is a far-off dream, and those users and would be much better served by the Microsoft Entertainment Desktop 7000

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• news.com.au

  Editors' rating: 50

  Summary: A tiny Bluetooth keyboard to control your media centre is a cool idea. However, the diNovo Mini is hard to recommend, particularly given its relatively steep price. If you're paying $200 for a keyboard it better be damned good and the diNovo Mini isn ...

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• pocketnow.com

  Editors' rating: 90

  Summary:     This is a well-done product that I think the growing number of people using their computer as a multimedia center will appreciate. The diNovo Mini is easy to use, made of high quality materials, and is an excellent alternative to using a bulky ...

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