Logitech Releases Washable Keyboard

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."

Comments

Every keyboard is washable

[Osgeld]

just use a screw driver, still takes about 8 hours to dry and your not sitting there wondering if your not holding a blob of water under the spacebar that will fry the encoder

Re:Every keyboard is washable

[mirix]

Yeah, going by the 8 hours to dry stated in the summary - almost all electronics are washable by that standard (provided batteries are removed, etc).

And to think that motherboard manufacturers have been missing out on marketing them as "washable" all these years...

Re:Every keyboard is washable

[Anonymous Coward]

Mmmm. I find that if I use a screw driver, the orange juice leaves a sticky residue which interferes with the keyboards function.

Re:Every keyboard is washable

[mug funky]

if you just use the vodka you get a much cleaner keyboard.

Re:Every keyboard is washable

[Anonymous Coward]

if you just use the vodka you get a much cleaner keyboard.

I dunno, when I use vodka my keyboard gets blurry.

Does it come in a one handed version?

[hawks5999]

Just checking.

Re:Does it come in a one handed version?

[theshowmecanuck]

Yeah, now you can go back to sticky keys being a user access feature.

Anyone else have good experience with Logitech?

[GoodNewsJimDotCom]

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?

Re:Anyone else have good experience with Logitech?

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Been washing them for years...

[BWJones]

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.

This is perfect...

[mark-t]

... for when I'm wanting to use my computer while bathing. Accidentally dropping the keyboard won't cause catastrophe. But is it bluetooth?

Re:A possible enhancement to this keyboard

[Dogtanian]

If they can make the USB connector detachable from this keyboard, then we do not need to worry about wetting the USB connector and ruin the whole thing

Hey Slashdot? Can we please have a 'Stupid' option included in the moderator drop down list?

In this case I'm not sure whether we need a "Stupid" moderation for the OP's post, or a "Whoosh" moderation for yours...