Logitech Illuminated Keyboard

[Rob Williams]

We have a brand-new recruit, and what better way to kick off his staff-ness with a look at one of Logitech's best-looking keyboards?

Logitech's diNovo Edge is undeniably a great-looking keyboard, but it's also undeniably expensive. The new Illuminated Keyboard promises to deliver a lot of the same features, such as a thin frame, backlit keys, smooth key presses and a slick design - but for close to half the price of the Edge. Should you be getting ready to pick one up at launch?

You can read Jon's first review here and discuss it here! Welcome to the team Jon!

 

[Krazy K]

Perhaps Jon needs to think about powering the illuminated wireless keyboard a bit more before he thinks about the range that you should get with it.

It would be nice to have a cordless G15, but if I am to be running all those lights from batteries, then I'm going to build in some sort of charging stand the the Logitech MX Duo had or perhaps a receiver/charger like the G7 mouse.

Those guys are pretty smart and I'm sure they wanted to make it wireless, but it just isn't in the cards.

Oh, and welcome aboard Jon.

 

[jvargaszabo]

Krazy K, I understand what you are saying. It was just a suggestion, and since I own the DiNovo Edge, I felt that they could make a really awesome cordless backlit keyboard, with rechargeable batteries.

It *would* be a labor to power all those LEDs from a battery, but I'm sure it could be done.

And thanks for the welcome, guys. Can't wait to get more involved!

 

[Krazy K]

Krazy K, I understand what you are saying. It was just a suggestion, and since I own the DiNovo Edge, I felt that they could make a really awesome cordless backlit keyboard, with rechargeable batteries.

It *would* be a labor to power all those LEDs from a battery, but I'm sure it could be done.

And thanks for the welcome, guys. Can't wait to get more involved!

If we can put a man on the moon then I know there is a way to power a back lit cordless keyboard. But, the power issue will be the biggest complaint. My old Logitech mouse had a cradle you sent it in, so I wonder would they make a cradle or a USB plug to draw power off the 5V rail. I think a battery pack would be the way to go, versus a cadre of AA lithium rechargeable.

 

[b1lk1]

Don't give the G7 too much credit. I have one and changing the battery every 12 hours or so is getting old. Atleast there are 2 batteries, but powerin a backlit keyboard would be sure to eat up batteries far quicker than you could charge them.

 

[Krazy K]

Don't give the G7 too much credit. I have one and changing the battery every 12 hours or so is getting old. Atleast there are 2 batteries, but powerin a backlit keyboard would be sure to eat up batteries far quicker than you could charge them.

I never gave the G7 much credit, it's a nobel concept, to include a second battery and a charging station. But the three buttons and wheel seem to make up the fact that you can change the resolution quickly and the fact that the software either says 'battery good' or 'battery dead' is a not well planned out.

 

[jvargaszabo]

Right, but look at the Logitech DiNovo Edge. It's got a nifty cradle that not only charges but also functions as a display stand for the keyboard. I don't particularly like the latter function; I would have preferred a USB (or seperately powered) charger, something small I can plug the keyboard into and still use it. You can use it in the display stand/charger, but it's upright and difficult to do.

Nevertheless, it's a great multimedia keyboard. It's got a similar feel to the illuminated keyboard, without the backlighting. It's still got lights, and it's an overall very attractive product. I've got to hand it to Logitech for making such pretty peripherals.

I've also got the MX Revolution in pair with the keyboard. Also a great, comfortable, and visually appealing bit to hold in your hand, but again, you can't use it in the cradle. Also, I would have preferred a single dongle for both peripherals, instead of two separate ones (Dinovo = Bluetooth, MX Revolution = 2.4ghz)

However, both charge very quickly, and my DiNovo Edge will go for more than 2 weeks of regular use without needing a recharge, which only takes about 2 hours anyhow. I also heard that Logitech's Dinovo Notebook keyboard goes for something like 300 hours on a single charge, because of a custom interface which uses less power to transmit more info or something like that. Curious.

 

[F15pilotX]

A bit late (okay, WAY late), but I'd like to put in that I've owned/used this keyboard for more than 6 months now (with daily use, > 3 hours/day on average), and the wristguard hasn't rubbed off at all. No need to worry about that.

 

[Rob Williams]

A bit late (okay, WAY late), but I'd like to put in that I've owned/used this keyboard for more than 6 months now (with daily use, > 3 hours/day on average), and the wristguard hasn't rubbed off at all. No need to worry about that.

Good to hear! I hate it when things like that aren't taken into consideration, and are made cheaply.

 

[Unregistered]

Logitch Illuminated keyboard problems

I bought and attempted to install the keyboard without success. The kb will illuminated and function in boot mode until Windows starts to load. Then keyboard goes off line. No lights and no kb key function. Called Tech support. They advised me to uninstall Set point s/w from my lx700 wireless keyboard and mouse. Bad move. This wipes all drivers and PS2 support. I questioned same and was advise to continue to restart Windows. Now no longer able to give password and startup profile in Windows. I requested repeated help and was told by level two support a Product Specialist would call me back. That was two weeks ago with no call back. My case number is 091201-000496. Last person was level 2 tech named Jonar. This is not cool. I called their Tech support in order to avoid being in this position. This is my work computer and windows XP Pro not able to login and logitech support guys have left me holding the bag, after giving me wrong install support. Shame on them.

 

[Rob Williams]

Ugh, that sounds horrible. You don't have any control over the OS at all? If you do, you might want to uninstall whatever is related to Logitech, and then re-install the motherboard drivers (chipset, primarily, and USB if there are some). You might also want to do a System Restore to revert the machine back to before you first installed this keyboard, so that you can at least use the machine properly.

My mother uses this same keyboard and has never experienced an issue with it, certainly not like this.

 

[b1lk1]

Uninstalling drivers does not remove PS/2 support. There is another issue here. Even with no drivers, my LX700 Logitech setup will work fine. You need to try to start in safemode and then reinstall chipset drivers. USB keyboards, no matter the extra features, should work without installing drivers. Same goes for any PS/2 hardware. They do not require drivers to function. Make sure you have USB Keynoard/Mouse enabled in BIOS as well. There is a chance that could be the problem.

 

[Unregistered]

Cool keyboard but one suggestion...

I didnt want a super huge multimedia/gamer keyboard with many buttons that would clutter but I definitely wanted a backlight keyboard. I do a bit of typing at night cause thats when i get creative

This keyboard works great even without drivers installed. Im equally impressed with the fact that it displays on the monitor what Fn buttons you press without a driver (hardware?). My only single gripe is that they would make an "on/off" Fn key instead of pressing two buttons. I use the F keys alot for my web design/programming work so the swap Fn option doesnt really work for me.

Other than that its a sweet keyboard to type on although i still need to get used to the flat A,W,S,D keys when I play games. My fingers tend to slip off of them easily. But easily fixed with rigorous conditioning!!

 

[Rob Williams]

This keyboard works great even without drivers installed. Im equally impressed with the fact that it displays on the monitor what Fn buttons you press without a driver (hardware?). My only single gripe is that they would make an "on/off" Fn key instead of pressing two buttons. I use the F keys alot for my web design/programming work so the swap Fn option doesnt really work for me.

Glad you like the keyboard! What do you mean by displaying the Fn key on the screen, exactly? I have never seen anything like that, but if you're using an OS that has visual cues on screen for turning the volume up and down, and other things like that, then the keyboard should still cue it fine without a driver. In Linux, my Logitech keyboard still works great without a driver. If I pause my music, I get a visual cue, and likewise for volume. That depends more on the OS than the driver (unless the driver actually adds this of course).

I agree on the Fn key lock as well. It's a bit strange how some of Logitech's keyboards use either of the two methods. I suppose as this Illuminated KB is more reminscent of a laptop keyboard, Logitech figured it'd be more natural to use an Fn key rather than an Fn lock.

 

[Unregistered]

Visual Display

Cheers, Im running Vista. I had a multimedia keyboard previously and never saw any
of these visual displays like volume level appear. My monitor definitely doesnt have
a volume level display. I was surprised to see this right after rebooting with keyboard straight out of the box.