Logitech diNovo Media Desktop review

9 December 2003 16:36 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Whoever said style costs is still right. The latest keyboard from Logitech costs a whopping £200, but for a brief moment you might just think it’s worth paying for once you get your hands on it.

For starters it sports Bluetooth. Coming with a docking station/hub that then doubles up as a “mouse trap” as in the Desktop MX version, the unit also acts as a charging bay for the mouse and means that the days of replacing the batteries every month are well behind us.

The mouse itself - also found in the Desktop MX version - is a right handed mouse and filled with buttons - almost too many - and offers some nifty features like Cruise Up and Down buttons as well as Quick Switch to do just that between programmes. On the surface this all sounds wonderful, but in practice will soon make your index finger ache as the new buttons are centred on the central scroll wheel and you’ll find you’ll have to do a lot of stretching to get the full benefit.

Moving onto the keyboard - this has a zero degree tilt and therefore akin to writing on a laptop. Well styled and well laid out, it doesn’t suffer from the over zealous attempt to throw multiple buttons and switches at you like other boards in the Logitech range. In fact the extra buttons - home, mail and search almost look like rivets in the side rather than looking like they launch anything. On the right hand side is a volume and mute control, again three rivets to match up with those of the left hand side. At the bottom right is a media D-pad allowing you to control Logitech’s media desktop. Luckily all the keys are can be reprogrammed and this is certainly a wise choice when it comes to the media desktop. Also like the MX, Logitech has once again adopted the f-lock option and this offers everything from opening my documents folder to replying to an email. The other main difference you’ll notice to the keyboard is the lack of a number pad. This is because Logitech has had the great idea of breaking this off to make it its own unit within the box.

The unit as expected is a number pad. What is not expected is the three line LCD display that offers a host of information to you. The main use is to turn this device into a calculator. And switching the mode (there are three) you can use the unit as you would a standard office calculator. This is a great idea as while the computer itself is probably the most powerful calculator you own how many of us still have one on our desk simply because it’s easier? When it’s not calculating, the device happily displays the date and time. When it’s not doing that it displays music information when you use Windows Media Player. Other features include a beep when you get new mail using Outlook and notification if someone signs in to Instant Messenger. Like the keyboard the unit also has media and volume controls making this great for breaking away from the confines of the desk.

Verdict

If it wasn't for the price this would be fantastic product, however is Logitech really expecting people to pay £200 for really is a keyboard and mouse combo. It's all very nice and if money were no object then we would recommend you get one of these to not only tidy up your desk but purely for the lovely use of it. Most will be priced out of the market or prefer to spend that kind of cash on internal upgrades. In addition, the company's cheaper models are already moulded in black.

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Review Recap

Made by: Logitech
Price as reviewed: £200
The good: The Quality; Bluetooth
The bad: The Price; Mouse only right-handed
Quick verdict: If the budget is limitless then this can go with your Cray supercomputer. The rest of you, stick to the cheaper cord/less models also in black.
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