It’s ironic that I’m not a hardcore Mac OS X user since I’m such a major advocate and stickler for good looking, well designed, and highly productive user interfaces. For me, the OS is only one of the many aspects of proper user interfaces. To a degree, I care more about the keyboard or mouse I’m using than the OS.

I recently decided it was time for a new keyboard. After much consideration and comparison with various other brands and models of keyboards, I decided to purchase Logitech’s diNovo Edge keyboard.

The diNovo Edge boasts a sleek design that just cannot be matched by any other keyboard. It is extremely lightweight and thin, but this doesn’t have any effect on its durability. It’s an extremely solid acrylic glass material. It’s orange lights which illuminate when the function key is pressed, or when the built in touch slider for volume control is touched, or when the TouchDisc ring is used.

(photo by saschaaa)

Even with all of this sleekness, Logitech certainly did not skip on functionality The typing experience on the diNovo Edge is by far the keyboard’s best feature and, in my opinion, can only be matched by Microsoft’s Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000. The keys are not hard to push, spaced near perfectly, and the keys are extremely silent, even when typing at high speeds.

The keyboard’s touch sensor for volume control is actually quite a nice feature. At first, I thought it would be like any other keyboard’s volume control. However, after playing with it for a few minutes, I don’t think I’ll ever use a keyboard which doesn’t have similar functionality pertaining to volume control ever again.

While the built in touch pad seems a bit excessive (and actually is unless you’re minimalist and don’t want a separate mouse), the one redeeming feature about this touch pad is its scrolling ability. Simply touch the outer rip of the touch pad and move your finger clockwise or counter-clockwise to quickly scroll through a web page or document.

As always with most newer keyboards, function keys are present. However, Logitech’s diNovo Edge keyboard takes a different approach. Rather than having all the function buttons displayed on the board, the labels are actually illuminated only when the function key is pressed, thus adding to its sleek design. At the same time, Logitech didn’t fill up the keyboard with useless buttons to launch applications you’ve probably never heard of (who seriously uses their keyboard to open their Photo folder by default), let alone have or use on a regular basis. The essentials are present with 4 extra custom functions which can be customized to carry out practically any computer function in Logitech’s easy-to-use SetPoint software.

All around, the Logitech diNovo Edge is the best keyboard I’ve ever owned. When deciding which keyboard to purchase, the only real competitor to the diNovo edge is Microsoft’s Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000. To be honest, I would have rather purchased the 8000. However, I’m just not ready to put out $300 for a keyboard at this point. I think I can get over the $150 price tag of the diNovo Edge considering it’s pure genius in terms of design, functionality, and pure sexiness.

Tags: logitech, keyboard, ergonomics