klickity-klack

My new keyboard has arrived today. This blog is half an early review, half a test of how easy it is to utilize the keyboard. The keyboard is unique in appearance, layout, and design concept. It'll be interesting to see how extended use of the board will turn out.

But, starting with the basics...

Initial impressions: The 'board
The keys are totally membrane-esk, even more so than any previous keyboard I've used; while nothing can beat the old IBM "Classic" keyboards, which had a distinctive "clack" with each key press, making it quite obvious when one had actually depressed a key. The classic IBM keyboards where where I founded most of my typing skills (I actually started on a Mac SE keyboard as well as a standard membrane keyboard that I utilized on my Packard Bell 486dx back in the day; so I adapted well to membrane keyboards later on).

The closest I've come to the feel of the EX110 is some of the more "modern" Dell keyboards, the ones with the odd shape. Their keys have a similar feel, almost as if one isn't typing at all... They keys move in a more solid motion on the EX110 however, decreasing the plastic-on-plastic sound, however, they still have the "gooey" feel of a well-designed membrane keyboard.

The biggest, and most noticeable features of the keyboard are the new layout for the secondary keys. There is a large space between keys F8 and F9, it focuses one on the Logitech logo, but there doesn't seem to be much more of a reason for the space than that. There is also a new "F-Mode" button, which toggles the function keys from being their standard, "F1, F2, F3... F12" to launcher keys, such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint and so on. I'm not a huge fan of MS Office programs having their logo white-washed on my keyboard, but at least it's in a dark blue color, which is hardly noticeable.

The board has also been "relieved" of two keys: "Right-Windows" and "Scroll Lock," two keys that are not commonly used. However, the Windows key has become more and more of a short-cut-enabler key, similar to Alt, and removing it from the left side of the keyboard may cause some people quite an inconvenience.

There has also been a slight layout change of the "Home/End/Page-Up..." key arrangement, which is usually in a 3x2 arrangement. They have changed this area of the keyboard dramatically. Insert has been moved up next to Print Screen, on the same row as the function keys, but further to the right. The "Home/End/Page-Up..." area of the keyboard has also been re-designed to function in a 2x3 arrangement, and Logitech has also elongated the delete key, so it is similar in size and shape to the "+" and "Enter" keys on the number pad.

Other than that, there are even more specialized keys now than there were on my iTouch, not only do I now have extensive media keys: "Play/Pause, Stop, FF, RW, Vol+, Vol-, Mute," but Logitech has added in "Web-Browser-Stop" and "Go-Back," and like my old iTouch, there is still the hot-keys for "Email," "Home," and "Calc." Fortunately, these keys fit well into the design of the keyboard.

I've also noticed that the keyboard font seems to be something a little block-esk for such a newly designed board. It reminds me a lot of the good-ol' Windows system font. At least the key-markings are centered (they used to be in the upper left of each key) and non-italic (commonly used on Mac keyboards until recently, and some PC keyboards).

So far, my most common mis-typed key is "Insert," frequently when pasting in URLs, I'll do "Shift + Insert" instead of "CTRL + V", it utilizes both hands for doing an Insert instead of a paste, which I have to rely entirely on my left hand to do. It simplifies things for me, but with insert being move nearly two inches on this new deign, I keep heading over to the "Home" key, which is in the position that "Insert" used to be on my old keyboards.

However, it is a nice board. The design seems to be based mostly on symmetry instead of standard QWERTY-extra-keys layout that has been common in the tech industry for nearly a decade. Non-standard keyboard layouts are starting to make a come-back on desktop units, as can be seen with the Apple Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard, which doesn't implement a number pad and uses a "Fn" key to emulate some keys that otherwise are not available.

The one remaining comment I have on the keyboard is it's over-all sleek-style. The keyboard is quite thin, light, and it contours well to the touch. Lesser used keys (such as the function keys) are thinner, to decrease the keyboard area they take up, while more commonly used keys, such as the spacebar are over-sized, making them easier to hit. The black keyboard with glossy-highlights and silver accents and white text is really quite beautiful.

Now comes the true test of this keyboard... Active operation and use. I've kept all my documentation and even the box with the foam peanuts in it at work, just in case it doesn't turn out the way I want.

Initial Impressions: The Mouse
The mouse is rather quite unremarkable. It's designed to be the usual Logitech uni-handed mouse. It is black with glossy-highlights and silver accents and white text, just like the keyboard is, and is quite sensitive, for the same performance settings as my old Logitech USB ball mouse, this guy really zips across the screen. My only concern is what everyone else is complaining about, without having an off button on a "AA battery" powered optical mouse, the batteries could easily drain. That can only be revealed over time. There is a slight "cheap-ness" feel to the scroll wheel on the mouse, but it functions well, and make just take some getting used to.

Remaining Concerns
There are a few reservations I have about the keyboard and mouse of EX110... And that is just that there are signs that this might have been an open box. On the back of the keyboard, there is some writing that is worn off, which to me looks like it may have stemmed from use over time. The mouse also is showing some extensive wear on the glide-pads. These could both easily be due to the manufacturing of the components, but there is also a possibility that this EX110 combo was once returned to NewEgg. But, NewEgg has always been very good about clearly labeling returned items as "open box," which makes me doubt that it is a returned product... However, it is still a concern that'll be in the back of my mind for a long time to come.

For this guy, only time will tell if it is a ripe cherry, or a rotting lemon.