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Logitech Releases Washable Keyboard

Posted by samzenpus on from the under-the-sea dept.

MrSeb writes "Logitech has released its first washable keyboard. We're not just talking about 'splash proof' either — you can take the K310, immerse it in up to 30cm of water (12in), and give it a good scrub. The only limitation is you can only use standard washing up liquid — oh, and Logitech says you should try to keep the USB connector out of the water, too. Once you've washed the keyboard, simply leave it to dry. The user guide says it takes eight hours to air dry, and that you shouldn't use a hair dryer. There are actually drainage holes on the backside of the K310, to help speed things along. This isn't the first washable keyboard — HP and Kensington have both had models on the market for a while — but the K310 does seem to be the first reasonably attractive, consumer-oriented washable keyboard. It goes on sale at the end of the month for $40."

8 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. Anyone else have good experience with Logitech? by GoodNewsJimDotCom · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm using a 20$ head set. I have a 10$ keyboard by them, and like a 15$ Optical Mouse. All my Logitech stuff works well and lasts for years. When I used Belkin, the stuff had weird errors and conflicts here and there. Logitech seems like it is the quality goto product when you're looking to be economical.

    I was wondering if other people have had a good experience with this company?

    --
    God spoke to me
    1. Re:Anyone else have good experience with Logitech? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      I bought a high-end, gaming keyboard from Logitech.
      And there are several key combinations that don't register. Key combinations that have come up in games and been integral to progress. Its left-down-z, to be specific. So, no, I would not recommend their keyboards.

    2. Re:Anyone else have good experience with Logitech? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      That's called Key-Rollover. Keys on keyboards due to the matrix layout of the switches are grouped, and you can only use one key per group simultaneously. Added to that, USB keyboards support a max KRO of 6 keys simultaneously. Many keyboards however only support a KRO of 2.

      Try holding left and right shift while typing the brown lazy fox sentence or just typing the alphabet. You will see that unless you have a pretty expensive keyboard or use PS2, that some keys just won't register.

      In any case, this problem isn't just with logitech keyboards, it's with pretty much all USB keyboards. A lot of manufacturers try to fix this by placing WASD in a separate group or changing the groups a bit so that it avoids a lot of common scenarios, but unless you shell out a lot for a mech keyboard with a thought-out key layout, you will have this problem.

  2. Been washing them for years... by BWJones · · Score: 5, Informative

    Dude... I've been washing my keyboards for years. Spill coffee in them? Run EM under the tap and dry them out. Spill beer in it, stick it in the dish washer. Air dry.

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  3. Meh by Gazzonyx · · Score: 3, Informative

    Meh. The keyboard that I'm using (Kensington, FWIW) is "water proof"; it has two holes in the bottom where liquids that are spilled into the keys can drain out. It also (in theory) dries quickly after a cleaning because of these holes. Best $15 keyboard I bought in college.

    --

    If I mod you up, it doesn't necessarily mean I agree with what you've said, sorry.

  4. Dishwasher? by jamesh · · Score: 3, Informative

    Call me when I can put my keyboard in the dishwasher. When I spilled honey on my last laptop keyboard i took the whole keyboard out, ran it under warm water for a few minutes, sat it in the drainer for 30 minutes to kind of dry, then put it back together. It outlasted the rest of the laptop. Most keyboards can take this sort of abuse.

  5. Re:Every keyboard is washable by Osgeld · · Score: 1, Informative

    computer collectors routinely take their mobo's out and run them through the dishwasher (I personally wouldn't do it without distilled water but whatever), so yea I guess the manfac's have been missing a marketing point

  6. Re:Every keyboard is washable by blackicye · · Score: 3, Informative

    Those ubiquitous black IC's are plastic packaging which is not moisture sealed. Not sure if it'd actually affect the silicon to soak it in water for a bit though and use normally. But if you ever order any parts, they come in moisture sealed bags with big warning labels saying that you must reflow solder the IC's within 24-72 hours of opening the package or else too much moisture from the air will seep into the packaging, causing them to act like popcorn when you bake them to 350C for soldering. So if you leave them out too long you're supposed to slowly bake them to get rid of all the moisture before reflow soldering.

    The main reason the moisture needs to be controlled is because of heat applied by soldering processes.
    Moisture will turn into steam rapidly and cause the PCB/chip layers to de-laminate (a.k.a. Popcorning.)

    If the electronics are going to be operating at normal room temperatures, some moisture is generally not a problem.