Logitech - The Logical Choice (Logitech Media Keyboard)

Member Name: Deru

Product:	Logitech Media Keyboard
Date:	08/01/08 (92 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stylish, Good build quality, Programmable buttons, Media/Internet Keys, Comfortable

Disadvantages: One or two key's default functions do not work, Need to get used 'Home'/'End' key layout

I had recently bought myself a KVM Switch, a device that lets you connect more than one computer to the same keyboard, mouse and monitor and lets you switch between them. However, my old Trust keyboard was USB only and the KVM box only uses the PS/2 connection. I had a USB-to-PS/2 adapter, which I thought would solve my problems but it kept 'losing' the keyboard connection whenever I switched.

My solution was simply to buy a new keyboard with only a PS/2 connector and so this review is for the Logitech Media Keyboard which I happened to come across on eBay for £16 (inc. £6.00 delivery). The keyboard retails for £19.99 online and offline so I saved four quid! I found it on Ebuyer for just over £16 if interested but otherwise, Dixons, PC World, etc all seem to stock this keyboard.

Having used a variety of different keyboards, I have found that some keyboards can be uncomfortable and more difficult to use. Some are easier to type with, whereas others require more tapping strength. Being a touch-typist whom frequently receives comments on my being a human dictation machine, responsiveness, comfort and the 'feel' are important when it comes to keyboards.

Using certain cheaper keyboards make me more prone to typos (mistakes) leading to me spending more time doing the same thing, frustration and possibly a smashed up keyboard! I own other Logitech devices and I knew that was a good choice since their products I've seen are all top notch quality!

Now looking at the Logitech Media Keyboard, I think that the build quality is excellent. The plastic doesn't look cheap at all. It has lots of buttons at the top and the Function Keys (i.e. F1, F2, etc) are round rather than the usual cube keys.

Some keys are shaped in such a way that you'll know what they were once you're used to the keyboard so you won't have to look to see what they were. i.e. the round 'Escape' key bulges in instead of out. The cursor keys aren't perfectly shaped 'cubes' like most the other keys on this keyboard. They're slightly curved in places, which I think looks nice. The overall appearance of the keyboard looks great, with everything labelled using either icons or both text with icons.

All keys seem to be very responsive without asking for much effort to be put into my tapping. Something I've noticed is that the letter labels on the keys are in the middle of the key rather than top left/right of the key, which I thought was unusual.

An initial attraction to this keyboard for me was the media buttons. I wanted Play, Stop, Next, Previous, Volume up/down and Mute buttons and the Logitech Media Keyboard has them all as well as a 'Media' button to load up your default media player. The 'Play', 'Pause', 'Stop', volume, etc buttons can control your media player even when the media player is minimized. This is useful for me since I minimize the player and watch video through my TV. This is also useful if you've minimized your media player while it plays MP3s.

It even has one for 'Favorites' (Internet Explorer bookmarks, and yes, American spelling), 'Home' to load up your default browser, Email, Messenger, Search the web, Back and Forward for when you're surfing the web but this is only for Internet Explorer. A shame it doesn't work in Firefox. The sleep button doesn't seem to work for me. I thought the most unusual button was the Calculator button, which I think is quite useful. All of these buttons are programmable so you can assign something different to them.

If that's not enough for you, the Function Keys can also be used as to load up programs, undo, redo, save and still giving you room for four keys (labelled a, b, c, d) more to program. All you have to do is press the 'Mode' button. The Media and Internet buttons worked before installing any drivers from the supplied CD but the Enhanced buttons did not. By default, the F2, F3 and F4 keys load up Word, Excel and PowerPoint and these are labelled with the Microsoft Office icons for those applications.

It took me a couple of installs because it did not seem to detect that I had the 'Media' keyboard and would not let me install the enhanced function configuration program. This was with the keyboard plugged into my KVM box so I unplugged it and plugged it directly into the PS/2 port at the back of my computer. This worked and I was able to install everything needed. I simply plugged the keyboard back into my KVM box. Programming buttons were a cinch and can be done through the Logitech software in 3 easy steps.

If you had one too many programs you wanted to load up, you can even create a customized menu to open a program or website, so when you press the programmed button, it'll give you a menu like the ones you get when you right-click the mouse button with a list of programs or websites you add. No complaints here as it was all very straight forward to install and configure.

Once installed, the actions appear on the screen in green text. For example, when you press a programmed key to run a program, i.e. Photoshop, it will say Adobe Photoshop and the version number in big green lime green text. I think this gets in the way especially if you're watching a movie and using the Media buttons to Play the movie.

I cannot find where to turn this off. Only way I've found is to Exit the Logitech software but you lose the use of the Enhanced functions. Media and Internet buttons still work though. MusicMatch Jukebox and RealArcade (for games) are included on the software CD as well as comfort guidelines and help centre so you can use those if you wanted.

The packaging and specifications also boast a zero tilt design for added comfort. I think the keyboard does look quite flat so this must be true! Like most keyboards, you can tilt the keyboard by pulling out the two stands under the keyboard at the top to lift it slightly.

It also has a wrist rest, which you attach to the bottom of the keyboard so you can rest your hands. These seem to be included as standard with Logitech keyboards and most other brands but are optional to install. I find this keyboard very comfortable to use. The taps aren't that loud either. I can hear when I type but it's fairly quiet compared to other keyboards I've heard so would be less of a disturbance to other people. Not just that, the box says it's spill resistant! I am NOT going to test this out.

Something I don't particularly like about this keyboard is the layout of the 'Home' and 'End' keys. Directly above the cursor arrow keys, you would normally find a set of six keys. Going from top to bottom, left to right we usually have Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page up, Page down but the Logitech is Home, Delete, End, Page up, Page down. The 'Delete' key is twice the height for some reason. The Insert key has been merged with Scroll Lock on the Media Keyboard. I do feel it makes more sense to have the 'Home' and 'End' keys side by side since we type of left to right. I'm just more used to the old layout.

The 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons do not seem to be able to 'seek' in Windows Media Player or RealOne Player when the buttons are held down. This is slightly disappointing because it says "<< Seeking" or "Seeking >>" on the screen when I hold those down so it's supposed to but I can live without it. I can move to the next and previous tracks/movies with these keys so it is not all bad. However, I've found that it does increase the speed x2 when using Intervideo WinDVD player.

In conclusion, the Logitech Media Keyboard is a very good keyboard indeed. It looks good, has excellent build quality, easy to install, configure and use, has a wide variety of buttons that are also programmable, and it's comfortable and responsive. It's a shame I can't get some buttons to work and how some only work in some programs but this is just a software issue and they can be programmed to do something else. Also it's a bit annoying that I can't turn off the on screen display when I press the media, Internet keys or Enhanced keys. I can get used to the 'Home' and 'End' key layout in time so that's nothing to worry about. Oh and it's spill proof and has a 5 Year Warranty! Highly recommended!

Thanks for reading!

Summary: Logitech Media Keyboard

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