An Aging Gamer's Peripheral Gets a Facelift ! (Logitech Cordless Desktop ITouch)

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Product:	Logitech Cordless Desktop ITouch
Date:	14/06/01 (9 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: -

Disadvantages: -

Logitech has put a new interface on one of the oldest computer peripherals of all and in the process has created a game player's dream board..

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If you use a keyboard/mouse combo to play games, then you know that no specialty controller, or multi-buttoned joystick really compares to the flexibility of your keyboard, matched up with the fast and intuitive feel of a good mouse. Now Logitech has one-upped that venerable combination with the iTouch and it's advantages are so obvious that you have to wonder why no one has thought of enhancing such an integral part of the gaming experience before now.

When I need to stop in the middle of play, no longer do I have to hunt through each different game's menu for the proper way to Pause that game. When I am being called to do such mundane real word chores as say, take out the trash, I simply use the Suspend button to put my system to sleep instantly,

I used to have to alt/tab, or dig down through dreary menus to get to my volume controls, but with the iTouch I can turn up the Volume or Mute instantly with a single touch. I have a multitude of speakers hooked up through my computer, so the iTouch also allows me to play, pause, stop and move through tracks on my audio CDs with that same one touch ease of operation.

Besides the fact that it hooks up to the standard PS/2 ports, the iTouch also doubles as a dual port USB hub. I used to constantly reach around the back of my computer to hook and unhook joysticks, gamepads, etc. Now, I simply plug what I want to use into one of the very convenient USB ports on the keyboard itself and my computer recognizes the device automatically.

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The unit is a tad pricey at £80 !!!

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Another point in this keyboard's favor are the four extra buttons in the upper right hand corner of the board, which can launch any of your favorite internet applications from e-mail to sear
ch engines.

This is not a mechanical keyboard, but the keys feel quick, without any of the sponginess that can throw you off when you are trying to pop through commands in the middle of the action. The layout of the standard keys is very typical, but with nice little touches, like placing the Backslash key above the Return.

Bottom line, the Itouch is a bit pricey, but anything that does such a good job of taking the hassle out of my gameplay is worth every penny.

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