Uniquely, the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 includes a standard Bluetooth USB minireceiver that actually connects to a USB port in the bottom of the charging station. The somewhat sloppy result is two cables coming off the back of the charger, one to your PC, the other for power. You can also connect the Bluetooth receiver directly to your PC. That method gives you more flexibility in where you put the charging station, although by not plugging it in to your PC directly, you miss out on the charger's spare USB ports.
We certainly appreciate the added USB ports, but when you consider the Logitech diNovo Edge and its simple, display-style charger (which lacks any kind of data connection, USB or otherwise), you can't help but wonder if Microsoft could have tweaked the fit and finish of its charging dock to make it less visually bland.
As the only other rechargeable wireless keyboard on the market, Logitech's diNovo Edge remains the main competitor to the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000. When it came out in December 2006, the diNovo Edge cost $200. Now it retails for as low as $140. It doesn't come with a mouse, and its media keys are far inferior to those on the Microsoft keyboard, but it also has a much more polished look and feel, at least to our taste. Perhaps you're willing to pay $100 to $150 more for a workaday wireless mouse and better media controls, but Logitech's keyboard gives you most of the functionality of the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 for significantly less. Any missing features you can likely make up for with a separate mouse or a PC remote control. We even suspect you could pick up one of each, along with the Logitech board, and still keep the price below $300.
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