Ignore the picture. There is no clip on here!!! (Logitech Deluxe Access)

Member Name: andycharger

Product:	Logitech Deluxe Access
Date:	17/10/03 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Functional, Easy to use

Disadvantages: Buttons

With a fresh outlook I return to opinionating and a spring in my step as I decide to write about one of our replacement keyboards here at work.
Being in the IT department, It seems like a daunting task replacing 80 PC's since the decision was taken to replace them all.
Individual hand built units were chosen and a matching Keyboard and mouse set up meant reviewing and opting for the best possible performance at the best possible price.

It was with this concept in mind that we considered Logitech. Reknowned for its price and quality, it seemed the suitable choice.

Now Keyboards are keyboards right? Well, sort of. You need to look at several factors.

Do they come with any fancy software or drivers to make them work?

Do they come with any additional buttons or features to make it easier to use?

Does it feel comfortable to use?

Is it a price to suit your pocket?

Well, the Logitech Deluxe Access Keyboard does all the above which is not neccessarily a good thing.

Firstly, the price. At £16.99, im not going to argue. Considering the cheapest keyboards are about £8 and the most expensive (i.e. microsoft) are about £40, this seemed a suitable choice.
Being in an office environment and close together, the cordless option is ruled out due to interference from other units. This obviously beats that with a direct connection.
Also, talking of connections, this keyboard comes with an adaptor for the PS/2 connector. This enables it to slot straight into any USB port should you wish to connect it that way. Handy to make it compatible with older and newer PC's alike

I did like the idea of the built in Wrist rest too. Rather than having an annoying clip on gadget that falls off every 5 minutes (as they used to) it is now all moulded ergonomically into the design. The contour take a lot of the strain of your tired wrists and hands.

The buttons work fine without any drivers
i
nstalled. in fact, It seems to have configured itself as soon as you hook up the keyboard to the computer. It very cleverly knows that pressing the little envelope "hot key" on the top row launches your email program (i.e. Outlook). The hot keys are programmable with the additional software that comes on the disk but it is not really neccessary. The hot key buttons included are:-

Email. AS Explained above

Messenger. Seems to only launch one of my messengers (i.e. MSN Messenger) and ignore Yahoo. Annoying as I have to launch that manually.

Forwards/Backwards. Handy for flicking through pages on the web.

Mute. Good for hiding your music when someone rings up.

Webcam. Launches your webcam should you have it attached.

Media. Launches Media Player if installed.

Home. Goes directly to your home page in your internet browser.

However, it can be argued that everything you can have as a button can be added as shortcuts to the desktop or actually in the programs. I find im more likely to use the mouse to launch things and forget to use the buttons. More of a gimmick. The keyboards were chosen for price and the buttons were just an added extra. It was not mission critical when choosing them.

Now the software that comes with it makes sure it is compatible with all computers. particularly older ones that may not be used to such technology. This means adding their own little application to your computer which drains resources, no matter how small.

Im very much against having these little tools on people's desktops in the office as it encourages them to play about with settings/layouts and in the end, cause the machines to go wrong. If anything it detracts from the product.

Price? Well you cant argue for the money. This was the major selling point for such an nice looking and easy to use, functional keyboard.

Overall?
Im very pleased with it in the
office
as it gets around a lot of headaches. However, Im feeling the buttons are wasted and not used in an office environment.

Summary: