[mini review] Logitech diNovo Keyboard for Notebooks

[mrk]

I've had Logitech keyboards as far back as I can remember and the only thing that I've thought to be a gift and a curse of them is that after several months of daily usage the keys will begin to become shiny and the key-throw will stiffen a tad meaning the original soft touch of each key throw loses the soft touch feel becoming more harsh.

The good thing about this though is that every year it means i can change the keyboard for a newer model and see what features it adds and have a newer model for the a similar price I paid for the previous one when it was new.


Today I replaced my S510 with the diNovo for Notebooks. Since I'm using the keyboard for such lengths of time I'd rather have the key feedback remain constant throughout a longer lifetime and the diNovo Edge was a bit too expensive for me to budget at almost £130!

This one cost £59, double the S510 (and the update to it, the S520) but it has a keystroke feel of a laptop but with a longer throw and the keys feel more heavy duty than the S510 so should last longer. It also looks much nicer than the S520 which I was going for until I saw pictures of it and decided it doesn't look as sleek as the S510 does any more.

On to the diNovo for Notebooks then...

It's not just for notebooks of course, it comes with a USB "wedge" the same as what comes with the MX Revolution mouse (also being used) and performance seems no different to the S510 even though the receiver is under the desk behind the PC instead of on the desk.

I like the built in CAPS LOCK indicator which is an orange LED on the CAPS key itself. I also like the brushed aluminium palm rest and the whole row of keys on the SPACE bar row is raised and rounded which means it's great for gaming too.

It comes with 4x AAA Duracell batteries and Logitech say this will last 3 yrs n a set which I don't have any trouble believing since I used ot get 10-12 months out of 2xAAA on the S510.

It is 17inches long, 1inch shorter than the S510 and considerably shorter in width so is more compact too.

There are afew differences between this and normal keyboards I have noticed right away.
The "Scroll Lock" key is now missing and in place is a "Clear" key which just seems to "clear" highlighted contents and text. I also found the context menu button (next to right ALT) is replaced by the FN button - I don't have a problem with this because on this KB you hold the FN button then press one of the F keys for secondary function like load MCE/WInamp etc. I also like some of the presets on these such as WinAMP and Gmail as default.

There's an Eject button now which I have not use for so will customise this along with the others when UberOptions is updated with support for this keyboard.

I'm using this on Vista64 along with a MX Revolution mouse and have noticed no interference due t them both running FastRF 2.4GHz or the receivers being close together behind the PC.

Pics:

S510 vs diNovo:

Brushed Alu palmrest:

Glossy bezel:

Power switch and LED:

The CAPS LED:

I'd give it 9 out of 10 if this was a proper review, missing the 1 point for Logitech STILL not allowing people to customise the buttons (latest Setpoint v4.7) out of the box and instead having to use 3rd party hack uBerOptions to do this.

 

[Phenom]

That is one Sexy Keyboard

Great quality pictures what did you use to take them?

Well worded review thanks.

 

[mrk]

Thanks If you have an Antec P180 or P182 or even some Lian-Li/Silverstone cases this KB will match it perfectly, the colour combo is almost an exact match!

The camera used was a Canon 40D with 17-55 lens and 430 flashgun

 

[kingy666]

Looks nice, i also have the S510 but some of the keys are now starting to feel a little loose so i may be tempted to get one of these as a replacement. Thanks for the review

 

[GSDog]

Great review and pics. I was going to get the S510 but think I might spend the extra and go for the DiNovo now. It's the first time I've seen it and it does look very sexy.

 

[mrk]

S510 is still great if you can get hold of it in a store still but I don't think I could go back to one after the diNovo

 

[AdamEW]

Wow, that looks really nice, definitely more aesthetically pleasing than my diNovo Edge. I'd be tempted to sell mine and urr.. downgrade but I find the touchpad on my keyboard really useful for using my computer with my tv.

Is there a volume control on the keyboard?

 

[mrk]

Yup, on the 2nd to last pic you can make them out, the row above the numpad is volume control and mute - Calculator is the corner button.

Once uBerOptions is updated all the top row buttons on the whole KB should be customisable.

One other thing I love about this is how silent key presses are. The old keyboard had that click-clack noise form each key being pressed especially the space bar but this is just like a laptop but with the keys going a bit deeper than standard laptop keys

 

[AdamEW]

Oh yeah, I see them. I agree, The dinovo keys are really nice to use. It looks like they've put much more time into designing this new keyboard than the edge. For example the caps-lock light, the location of the power swich etc.

I like the idea of not having to recharge the keyboard also, one problem with the edge is you have to use the stand, making the keyboard unusable during charging.

 

[howthe]

OOO my boss was thinking about getting one of these. Printing this off for him

Thanks

 

[mrk]

One of the things I disliked with previous Logitech boards was the sleep/power button on the KB itself. Whilst you could disable it or remap it using uBerOptions I felt it was a waste of a button and an accident waiting to happen for those unaware of uberoptions if you miss-pressed a key and shut down your machine!

The Edge charging stand would not have bothered me much i suppose but I didn't like the idea of not having a numpad! I need a numpad for fast number work and especially in Calc.exe when needed!

I do like the power switch now though, there's a number of times I'd like to power it down without having to take the batteries out like when going away for a few days or when you're not at home and don't want people pressing keys randomly (power switch is not obvious or even marked so won't stand out to average Joe).

I've also found scroll lock and the context menu button just now, you hold FN and press Pause or Print Screen! a tidier way to put 2 buttons away that are virtually never used.

 

[Doohickey]

Ahh that looks so nice, but I'm a bit :-\ at how Logitech seem to have gradually phased out full size Enter keys on their keyboards. I guess I'm being fussy, I'm sure it wouldn't take much time to get used to a smaller return key? I dunno. So I'm sticking to my trusty Ultra-X for now I guess.

 

[mrk]

I've not had any issues with the smaller enter key, it's actually really only smaller by maybe half a cm at most.

Also uBerOptions has been updated to support the new models. I got an email from Richard @ uberOptions and can confirm it works very well

Now I feel much better being able to customise as I please

 

[Doohickey]

Waaaaait a minute... I've noticed something strange. You know how I said I didn't like smaller enter keys, well more specifically it's the long horizontal Enter keys I don't like, but I was just looking through your pics in your original post and the pic I quote below shows a 'normal' looking Enter key, which is perfect. BUT- the pic on the Logitech website shows the keyboard with a long horizontal Enter key??? i.e. same kinda shape as the right hand Shift key. And furthermore, everything I google comes up with the same Am I going mad?!

 

[mrk]

Ah I see now! I think Logitech have a different key layout (enter key etc) for non UK markets, all the UK boards I've had have had either a slightly smaller version of the normal ENTER key or a normal sized one

 

[Doohickey]

Ahh, brilliant, god bless the UK! I'm definitely interested in getting one of these now then, one more question for you mrk?

iirc you used to have Dell 2007WFP or 2407WFPs before you got your nice Hazro? If so, well, you know there are a couple of USB ports round the back of the screen, I currently have my MX Revolution receiver plugged into one, do you think it would be fine to have this keyboard's receiver plugged in right next to it? I'd prefer not to use the wedge thing!

Oh and also, is the aluminium wrist rest detachable at all?

Thanks

 

[mrk]

The only means of connection to the PC is the USB "wedge" really so you have to use it

The Wedges are fine connected to the USB hub on your monitor since it is adequately powered. Just make sure the monitor USB downstream cable is connected to the mobo USB header and not the ones on the front of the case as these usually aren't as stable. Also remember with Dell when you turn off the monitor the USB hub powers down too so all connected devices will be disconnected when the monitor is off.

Both MX Revolution and diNovo wedges are plugged in next to each other on the back of the PC and I have not noticed any problems at all

I'm still adapting to the low profileness of the keys, it's really nice to type with!

 

[Doohickey]

Thanks a lot

Also, (I made a late edit to my last post) is the wrist rest detachable or not?

 

[mrk]

Nope the wrist pad is all a part of the KB itself

 

[mrk]

Just and update. I lifted off some keys and found why the keypresses feel so soft, there is a rubber 'underlay' that each key rests on when de-pressed! Looks pretty High quality too and not likely to lose feel after extended usage: