CNET editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 08/01/2006
- Released on: 08/01/2005
In addition to the typical 104-key layout, the G15 includes media control buttons, a row of 18 customizable G buttons, as well as three profile switchers, effectively expanding the number of assignable G-button commands to 54. For complicated real-time strategy games (such as Age of Empires III) or massive multiplayer online titles (World of Warcraft), players will appreciate the sheer number of customizable keys. But even nongamers will like two of the G15's more straightforward features. First, it has two USB ports (although sadly not USB 2.0) on the back. Mac users know the benefits of a keyboard that doubles as a USB hub, and it's about time that Windows users did as well. Second, the G15 has a slider that disables the Switch To Windows key (that pulls you from the app you're in back to the Windows desktop) common to most Windows-compatible keyboards. We've certainly pressed that button many times by accident, in and out of a game. In the year that we've used the G15 as our day-to-day keyboard, we've kept the slider in the off position since we first unboxed it. We've never found the need to slide it back.
The G15's LCD screen ships with a clock/calendar, CPU and system memory usage gauges, and a timer/stopwatch app. You can also interact with the screen via a small row of buttons below it. A few games support the screen, either out of the box or via a game patch, with World of Warcraft being the most notable.
To expand on the LCD's usefulness, Logitech ships the G15 with free development software. Its hope is that people will play with the software and develop cool and useful LCD mini apps. Two sites, G15 Mods and Logitech G15 Forums have a total of 25 apps between their official download sections, but most of those apps, Net speed monitors, mail notifiers, and so on, are more for general use than specifically gaming oriented. Each site has a forum where you can find more downloads (there's also a G15 forum thread over on HardOCP), but in general, the G15 modding community hasn't produced as much content as, say, that of Half-Life 2's.
Continue readingMost helpful user reviews
- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 36 reviews
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 3 of 36 user reviews
-
5 out of 5 people found this helpful
-
4 out of 5 people found this helpful
-
3 out of 3 people found this helpful
"Feature rich keyboard designed with the hardcore gamer in mind!"
- See all 36 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
