Digital Trends

Logitech diNovo Edge February 13th, 2007 | by Brandon King

Testing and Use

The DiNovo Edge uses Bluetooth 2.0 to communicate with the miniature USB dongle, which translates into approximately 30 feet of wireless goodness. We topped out at around 25 feet before dropped keys became troublesome. The Edge uses the Widcomm 5.1 Bluetooth stack, which means any PC with Bluetooth can be used without the dongle. That places the Edge directly in line for use as a Media Center PC keyboard, or any other application where the CPU tower is out of sight. The keyboard does need to be recharged, though not often — once every month or so — which means that the charging stand needs to be accessible. Five minutes of charge translates into one day of use, while a full two-hour charge will keep the Edge running for two months, according to Logitech. We used the keyboard for a week, admittedly with only light usage (approximately 14 hours), and the battery level never left full charge.

The charging stand itself is six inches wide and sits the keyboard upright. But don’t worry about the appearance of a propped-up keyboard ruining your decor. Your friends will probably mistake the setup for a tasteful sculpture, provided that you clean the glossy coating after each use. Seating the keyboard in the charging dock causes all the lights to blink on and off, confirming correct insertion. There is also a built-in speaker that will give a brief beep when inserted into the charging dock, or when the device is successfully paired.

Image Courtesy of Logitech

Typing on the Edge feels like typing on a good quality laptop keyboard. Because the keyboard is so slim, there is little travel per keystroke, but Logitech seems to be very proud of the key switch technology, boasting about the PerfectStroke technology implemented in each key. We found that key strokes feel good, though no better than a Sony VAIO laptop. Still, in case it is a selling point for you, the PerfectStroke keys use 18 x 18 mm keys, with 3.2 mm travel and 60g activation force, and they should last for 10 million keystrokes. The strangest part about typing on the Edge keyboard was that we felt like we were typing on the desk surface, due to the low profile.

One major convenience of the Edge is the ability to use it as the sole input device for a media center PC. The track pad is ideally used with the right thumb, while holding the keyboard up with the left hand poised near the left click button. One oddity, though: we found the track pad very difficult to control when using our index finger, similar to a laptop track pad. Perhaps it is the comparatively diminutive size of the Edge track pad, but we kept tripping into the scrolling areas on accident. Another minor missing feature is backlit keys, which the competing Microsoft branded keyboard does feature. We have not had a chance to use both side by side, but we expect power consumption might have played a significant role in the decision not to include this feature. We hope to see it in future product revisions.

Conclusion

The Logitech DiNovo Edge keyboard represents the pinnacle in Media Center keyboards. The DiNovo Edge is undeniably chic, the range is great, and it provides every function you could ask for in a keyboard. However, we would recommend having a Bluetooth mouse, as the track pad can be a blessing for quick and dirty usage, but a curse for prolonged precision control.

Pros:

• Slim and beautiful design
• Bluetooth
• Light-up indicators
• Recharging dock

Cons:

• Keys are not backlit
• Slightly intrusive wrist rest
• Expensive