Pros: Many features for the price. Nice key movement feel. LCD has lots of potential.
Cons: Dimly lit if user sits more than 4-5 inches back from board.
The Bottom Line: Great bang-for-the-buck! Since I have yet to experience paint loss from my keycaps, I'm happy with mine so far. Great board for modders, too!
epined's Full Review: Logitech G15 (920-000379) Keyboard
Backlit key characters!
18 customizeable macro keys!
Flip-up LCD display!
Built-in USB ports!
Reasonable price!
What's not to like?!
Well, unfortunately, there are a few things I don't like about this keyboard:
1) The USB ports are not 2.0 (come ON, Logitech, get with the program).
2) Growing, but still minimal support for the LCD.
3) The key characters are not fully illuminated unless the user's face is hovering directly above them (does anyone type like that??). At the angle I normally sit to type, many keys fade dramatically, even with the built-in "booster" legs raising the board's angle.
And now, for some nitpicking:
4) Unless the user's head is moved 3-4 inches to the side of them, some keys have areas that are so dimly lit one cannot see them even with the brightness set high. The worst offenders are Page Up and Page Down -- if you move way over to the right and view them from a 45 deg. angle, you can then see the little arrows on the keys. No, you don't really need those arrows, but Logitech bothered putting them on there, so one should be able to see them during normal use, right? The second worst keys are Caps Lock and Num Lock -- they have little parallelogram icons on the bottom right of the keys which match the Caps Lock and Num Lock lit icons at the upper right of the keyboard. No, you don't really need to see those, either, but if they're gonna bother putting them on the keys, they should make it so the user can see them from a normal typing position. Interestingly, there is no icon on the Scroll Lock key -- this key is shorter (front to back; as are the F and Esc keys) than the others, so I guess Logitech didn't think there was room enough, even for a shrunken icon.
5) The left and right arrow keys are brighter than the up and down arrows -- the down arrow is dimmest of all these.
6) There isn't that much difference between low and high illumination levels.
But, there are definitely things I like about the G15, too!
1) All key chars ARE backlit, affordably so -- my G15 was only $65 including tax at Best Buy on sale.
2) The spaces between the caps don't seem as brightly lit as with the Saitek Eclipse series. I find this more aesthetically pleasing, as I don't want the background drowning out the characters themselves. I don't have the Saitek to do a side-by-side here, but that's the way it seems from the pics online and with in-store lighting.
3) Key travel/movement has a pleasant feel to it. You can find the specs on the gram force required, etc., as I forget offhand.
4) LCD support IS growing steadily, and there are already loads of useful plug-ins online which I've been experimenting with. However, I somehow doubt most existing software titles will have patches released just to please G15 users.
5) The silver/black paint scheme goes well with the rest of my system.
6) It's easily modded -- well, relatively easily.
7) With the booster legs down, the LCD panel JUST fits snugly under the control panel of my space-hogging NEC FP2141SB monitor (see my review of the NEC) -- big keyboard, big monitor, big desk, but no keyboard drawer underneath. Unfortunately, this means I won't be able to increase the keyboard angle with the LCD up, and that means the illumination will remain dimmer than it should be, unless I perform major mods on my desk.
Just remember, if you want the best illumination viewable, you are going to have to either sit directly above the keys or raise the back up much higher than the booster legs provide.
Finally, as to the deservedly bad publicity this board has gotten due to paint quickly wearing off the keycaps:
I've had my G15 for 3 weeks and have put about 110-120 hours on it so far. There are no signs of cap wear. Because I had read of Logitech's no-hassle replacement policy regarding this problem, I purposely left my fingernails longer than usual and played BF2 hard, just to see if the caps would scratch and let light through. Using a magnifying glass, I can say that they didn't.
I pulled one of the caps and examined it under a magnifying lamp as well. While it's clear [pardon pun] they are still using black paint on a clear plastic form, what I cannot determine for certain is whether Logitech is applying an additional clear coat over the black. But, if a user wanted to venture a preventative measure, s/he could pull all the caps and spray them down with epoxy flat clear or Datakoat(TM) flat, assuming these coatings are compatible with Logitech's paint -- I don't know what Logitech uses on the caps, so I can't guarantee compatibility; do this at your own risk!
A logitech rep asserted online that the keycap problem has been resolved. Perhaps my G15 is from the latest, corrected batch. I do have a black (or very dark grey) text on white background LCD panel, whereas the earlier batches have blue tint panels I believe.
I'll post an update if and when my caps begin to wear.
_________
Update:
I know I said "if and when" they start wearing, but considering all the users having problems with this, I felt compelled to update anyway.
Nearly four months later (6-02-07) and around a thousand hours of hard use -- many of those hammering out code (lots of typing there) -- and there is no paint loss yet. This is despite countless fingernail strikes as well.
This issue, at least as far as I'm concerned, is a dead one. Logitech has evidently fixed this problem.
If, however, I do ever see light leaking thru where it shouldn't, I'll post it.
But for now, I have to say well done, Logitech!
Good intel and the proper gear are the keys to victory, even in gaming. The Logitech® G15 keyboard keeps you informed and outfitted to win.More at TigerDirect.com
"B&H is a top rated - authoriozed Logitech store" - G15 Gaming Keyboard, Gaming Keyboard, LCD Display, Illuminated Controls, Programmable Hot Keys & M...More at B&H Photo Video Pro Audio
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