Not so nice on long term
Written: Jun 12 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Wireless, split design, quality mouse
Cons: Short wireless range, poor drivers, unusual arrangement of del/home/end/ins keys
The Bottom Line: This would be nice package however long term usage revealed a number of small annoyances.
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| imreasztar's Full Review: Logitech Desktop Pro (967031-0403) Keyboard and Mo... |
I have bought this combo because I wanted an all in one solution, that offers good quality hardware, wireless freedom, descent mouse and ergonomic split design.
Summary
I have been using this keyboard-mouse combo for over a year, but finally, I have decided to sell it. It is an excellent piece of hardware, but it has a number of small annoyances that motivated me to sell it on eBay.
In the Box
The Ergonomic Wireless Keyboard
Removable Palm Rest
Three Button Mouse
Wireless Receiver with USB->PS/2 adapters
Driver CD
Booklet for ergonomics use
Installation
I have used the keyboard and the mouse on the PS/2 ports. Windows immediately recognized the keyboard as a standard keyboard and mouse. The included CD contained only outdated drivers. So I had to download the drivers for both keyboard and the mouse. After installation of the drivers and a reboot, all the functions were easily accessible.
However, on the USB ports, I never managed these stuff working. I don't know why, because other mouses and keyboards worked without problem on the USB port. Strange.
The ergonomics of the keyboard
This keyboard really has been designed with the user in mind. It fits perfectly under my hands, stays stable on the table, no fiddling around. The key travel is perfect, I loved the touch of the keys, even after a year of heavy use, I found it very good.
However, the Home, End, PgDn, PgUp, Del, Ins keys are placed vertically, instead of the usual horizontal way. This resulted in a regular mis-typing, I really hated to discover I have pressed Del instead of Home.
I have found the Internet buttons quite useless, because I always had to look onto the keyboard to locate them (nightmare of a touch typer).
The palm rest was really comfortable, but after a month use I have removed it, because it occupied a huge amount of working space on my table. With the palm rest removed, this is one of the smallest footprint keyboards on the market, and this is a real bonus in small office like ours.
Split design of the keyboard
Well, this is a mixed feeling. First, I loved the split of the keys as I was a fresh starter for touch typing, and the gap allowed me to clearly separate keys for my left and right hand, especially in the top rows.
However, I have found that it takes a lot of energy to adjust my typing habits when I move from split to regular and vica versa. I think it is good to use such an "ergonomic" design, if you type only on the same keyboard all day long.
The mouse
This is a usual mouse that you can buy separately. The quality of the scroll wheel is one of the best I have ever put my finger on. The body of the mouse fits very well in my palm, sometimes I felt, too well. However, the mouse is quite heavy because of the batteries, I personally prefer a lighter version.
Wireless freedom and battery life
It is nice to have a cable free desktop, however, the range is very short. In free space, it is only about 1 m, if you had the receive under the table or behind the monitor, you only get 0.5 m. And as you increase distance, or reduce reception by hiding the receiver, battery life decreases exponentially. I have used 2000 mAh rechargeable batteries, and with the receiver under the table, I was able to use them only for a week.
What you can see in the ads, that you sit in your sofa and control your computer away from you, is not true. This is a very short range wireless.
Drivers
The built in Logitech drivers were very inefficient and memory Hungry, and slow responsive to button touches. For example, pressing play on the keyboard only starts playing music 2 seconds later. Also, the on screen display of the buttons (like volume settings) are very ugly. Programming of the 4 Internet keys were also very questionable, as the software often forgets what you set.
Instead, I have used the Microsoft Intellitype drivers. It took a little time to figure out how buttons of the Logitech keyboard correspond to Microsoft's software, but finally I got a much faster response to the special buttons.
What I liked:
- good quality of the keyboard
- wireless freedom
- good key travel
What I did not like:
- short wireless range
- short battery life
- poor Logitech drivers
Should you buy it or not:
Well, I think this is only a 95% finished product and the missing 5% of polish makes it annoying to use on long term and you'd be better with a plain simple regular keyboard.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 100
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Epinions.com ID:
imreasztar
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Location: Budapest, Hungary
Reviews written: 28
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me:
Bio/chemical engineer who loves mobile tech
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