By Chris Scott Barr
Last month we told you about a new keyboard and mouse set from Logitech called the MK700. At first glance it seemed like any other wireless combo, but under the surface there were a few things to note. Namely the new “Incurve keys” and an amazing battery life. Well I’ve spent a couple of weeks with this pair of peripherals, and today I’ll share my thoughts.
Features
The second-most notable feature are the new Incurve keys, which are concave keys with rounded edges. These are supposed to be more comfortable than your average keyboard. The battery life is definitely the number one feature, as the mouse can go a year and the keyboard a full three years before either needs a new set of AA’s. An LCD dashboard tells you the status of things like your battery, Caps Lock and Num Lock. Hyper-fast scrolling and a 2.4GHz wireless transmitter round out the main features of this duo.
First Look
The keyboard isn’t going to win any awards in the looks department, as it simply looks about like any other out there. It’s not a bad thing, as keyboards really don’t need to be flashy. The low-profile keys are definitely noticeable, giving it almost a cleaner look. The LCD dashboard is a bit disappointing, as it’s not very easy to see from an angle. It only tells you about battery life and the status of a few keys, which isn’t generally all that interesting. The mouse looks reminiscent of its cousin, the Performance MX. It doesn’t have a 3-LED battery indicator (just one that tells you when its low), and a few other noticeable differences.
Comfort
One of the aims of this set is to be more comfortable that your current keyboard and mouse. I’m coming from a Logitech MX 3200 set, and I can say that both are much more enjoyable to use. I was skeptical about the Incurve keys, however, I soon came to love them. It is rather difficult to describe the keys themselves, but when moving my fingers across them, it seems like much more of a smooth action. Does it actually improve my typing at all? No. I’ve taken several speed tests both before using it, and just before typing this up. All of them were almost identical, regardless of what keyboard I was using. I will say that the biggest difference in comfort can be noted when switching back to the old one.
The mouse is good, but isn’t anything to really write home about. Logitech has found a good design and rolled with it. It is almost identical to the older MX 3200 as far as shape goes. The one-touch search button is more comfortable to strike than the older one, and the zoom buttons have been removed entirely. The biggest improvement to the mouse is the new Hyper-fast scrolling feature. I’m seriously addicted to this, and really don’t want to go back to a mouse that doesn’t have it. My only complaint with the execution in this particular mouse is that it’s rather inconvenient to turn off Hyper-fast scrolling. You have to actually flip the mouse over and flip a switch to get your old clicky wheel back. It’s not a deal-breaker by any means, but I liked being able to just click down on the wheel to change it on my Anywhere Mouse MX.
Performance
There’s really not much to talk about in the way of performance. Both the keyboard and mouse work great, and I didn’t experience any dropped signals. I have two other keyboard/mouse sets operating in the same room, and not a drop of interference was experienced, thanks to the 2.4GHz wireless technology. I’d love to rave about the battery life, but it’s just something that I can’t really test. According to Logitech’s software, my mouse still has 321 days of power remaining, while the keyboard simply says the batteries are full. I use my computer more than a lot of people, so it will be interesting to see how long it will really take to drain the batteries. I’ll try to check back in on this when I do end up changing them. (See you late 2010 and again in 2012 I hope!)
Verdict
Logitech has always been king in my book when it comes to keyboards and mice. They have delivered another solid combo, with enough new features to really give you an incentive to upgrade. The Incurve keys really do make a difference, and really, who doesn’t want to measure battery life in years? If you’re in the market for a new keyboard and mouse, Your $100 would be well spent on the MK700 combo.
[ Logitech ]
