Summary: Good HTPC keyboard for limited-time usage. It's best features are its range and touchpad, the 2 only reasons I bought this keyboard (and the only reasons I'm not returning it). Keep this purpose in mind, it is NOT meant as a regular-use keyboard. It's flaws would annoy you to no end if you tried to use it as a regular-use one.
Pros:
- lightweight
- great range, even with some interfering objects b/w the receiver and keyboard
- on/off switch
- arrow keys are not compacted
- no proprietary battery (AAs are easy and cheap to replace)
- touchpad
Cons:
- TOO compact
- commonly used keys (specifically backspace, enter, and right shift) are WAY too small
- key depth a bit too deep
- touchpad could be a bit taller
- touchpad buttons are a bit too stiff
- native touchpad sensitivity is a bit too sensitive
Explanation of cons:
As always, I think it's important to justify the cons, otherwise they're not worth listing. First, the keyboard is actually TOO compact. It could easily be at least an extra 25% bigger in width and length and still be considered compact. It's current size makes it feel very cramped to comfortably type on for more than a few seconds at a time. And unless you're a petite woman or smaller-framed guy, it's small size makes it sit awkwardly on your lap. Plus, the extra space would help solve some of the issues with my 2nd con.
My 2nd con, commonly used keys are WAY too small, specifically the backspace, enter, and right shift key. I can't even count how many times I've accidentally hit the = key when going to hit backspace, ' key when going to hit enter, and the up arrow when going to press the right shift. You could say "oh you'll adjust with time", but if you're regularly using a full-size keyboard, you'll never really adjust to this keyboard. If the keyboard was bigger, this could partially be solved. If the current size was kept, the backspace could be slightly widened by making the - key and = key smaller like the ` key. And to widen the enter and right shift keys (while keeping the QWERTY key ratio), the lesser used tab, caps lock, and left shift should have been made smaller. Now why Logitech chose to make more commonly used keys so small is beyond me, and if they did any form of user testing before producing the final design, this problem would have quickly been observed.
Third, the key depth is a bit too deep that it hinders quick typing (and makes typing a bit loud). When you combine this fact with the compact size, it makes typing for more than a few seconds at a time a very uncomfortable experience. It's worse than even most laptop keyboards. Again, if Logitech had done any product testing during the development phase, they would have noticed this. And if they did do product testing, they should think about cleaning house in that department.
Fourth, the touchpad could be increased in length. Look at all that empty space below the toouchpad on the keyboard! Again, what was Logitech thinking? Fifth, the touchpad keys are a bit too stiff to comfortably press repeatedly. I hate to sound like a broken record, but this would've come up in user testing. Sometimes I need to press the left click button twice to get it to register once. Hopefully it'll loosen with use.
Fnally, the last con is based a bit more on personal preference, but I've found the native touchpad sensitivity to be a bit too sensitive. I found it a bit too easy to accidentally left click with the touchpad that I had to turn off the touch to tap feature. From what I read, you can't configure this even if you install the software.
