Digital Trends

Logitech G15 Keyboard

December 11th, 2005 | by Brandon King

Features and Use

There has been a recent barrage of keyboards and mice from all the major players. Most of these new input devices are geared toward gamers and media center users. The choices run the gamut:  From wireless to ergonomic, from Bluetooth enabled to pointer integrated Frankenstein-like keyboards. Logitech leads the pack, having introduced more new input devices in the past few months than in the previous three years combined. One that will no doubt catch everyone's attention is the gamer-geared G15 keyboard. The glowing behemoth of a device is a force to be reckoned with. While it is not wireless, nor does it sport the remarkably useless keyboard mounted scroll wheel, it does contain the first multi-line programmable LCD screen. Intrigued? We were.

Out of the box, you get the keyboard, removable wrist rest, install CD and quick start guide. The G15 is wider than most keyboards in order to accommodate a number of programmable buttons along the left side. The top edge sports what look like handles, though why these are necessary is a mystery. Close to the center of the top edge are two USB ports, along with grooves in the bottom surface for running wires. The housing is a metallic light blue, which matches the backlight well. All tolled, the G15 looks mammoth on a desk, but elegantly technical, and not awkward.

Gaming keyboards are nothing new, and neither are backlit keyboards. But the G15 is the first offering from one of the major input device players that has breached this niche market. What makes a gaming keyboard? From what we could tell, backlighting. That's pretty much all. The G15 delivers with a soft blue backlighting that makes the edges and characters on the keys glow. The spacing of the LEDs under the keys is nearly perfect, but we did note a couple of keys that had very slight distortion (the ? key looks more like a :). The backlight can be turned off for a more professional look, should the owner decide to switch from 1337 to l@m3 mode.

Even though the keyboard is large, there is little wasted space. The G15 oozes with functionality and features. Most notable is the large, blue backlit LCD screen at the top. The LCD can be flipped down, again for a more professional look, or opened to expose the screen and media keys below. The LCD can be programmed to display different information by game developers, such as ammo, chat, etc. The default use while navigating through Windows is to cycle between displaying one screen with the date, time and an analog clock, and a display of CPU and memory usage. We didn't realize how useful this was until we had a chance to experience it. As of the time of publication, there is a small community of G15 fanatics that is still in its infancy and assembled around G15forums.com. There is a program called LCDHype that can be used to create scripts for added LCD screen functionality. How truly useful the LCD will be is yet to be determined, but the prospects are great.