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Logitech Desktop Combo Reviewed
Aluminum writes "Logitech, who is always trying to push the input device envelope, has recently released their MX5000 desktop combo. This product not only has a cool touch-sensitive set of media controls, but has a built-in 102x42 pixel LCD screen. The LCD can be used for all sorts of tasks, like viewing media information, as a calculator, or learning about your programmable smart keys. If this was all not enough, the keyboard and included mouse use Bluetooth 2.0 Enhanced Data Rate technology which can transfer up to 2.1 Mbit/s (that's a lot of keystrokes!) and has a range of up to 60 feet."
The increased range of this thing will be great my biggest complaint about my current logitech desktop is the limited range once the batteries start to go.
Ars Technica did an interesting roundup of some wireless desktop devices back in August. If you're interested in this new model, you might want to have a look at their roundup, too.
I don't know about you, but my servers run on the power of cotton candy and happy thoughts. -Anonymous Coward
Too bad they (like Microsoft) decided to place the Insert key in a goofy place.
Karma: Neutered
"Logitech, who is always trying to push the input device envelope, will no longer be shown on FOX."
Finally!! I always wanted to lie in my garden typing away while my laptop sits in the bedroom!
But on a more serious note: the range is cool, but how is this newsworthy?? Bluetooth keyboard and mice are on the market already for a longer period. Are times that bad for /. to consider it news if a manufacturer takes some of its products, and puts them into a single box to sell them? I can see it already:
And yes, for once we already know the ??? step in beforehand.
Windows is like decaf - it tastes like the real thing, but it won't get you through the day.
The review looks like a rehashed product brochure.
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No measurements at ALL of mouse accuracy. No measurements of keyboard responsiveness. My experience with Bluetooth products is that it goes to sleep every once in a while if you're not constantly moving the mouse or typing, and sometimes it doesn't wake up! This makes browsing the web or programming a chore. This article does NOT address this at all, which tells me that the reviewer spent a few minutes with this product at best and proceded to type the report on a laptop. Also, pairing a new device is also a chore for the uninitiated, also no mention here
That said, the Ars Technica article is no more worthwhile to me than it was then. There are NO BlueTooth combos in there at all. RF is generally quite useless when you get more than 5 ft away from the receiver. This means that RF devices are useless for a Media Center PC, unless you are sitting 5 ft away from your PC, in which case, there is no real need for wireless!