Logitech's Illuminated Keyboard: its thinnest keyboard ever

Logitech just announced a trio of keyboards this morning starting with its thinnest keyboard ever, the 9.3-mm thin Illuminated Keyboard ($80 / October) pictured above. It features an adjustable backlight, soft-touch palm rest and dedicated multi-media keys for hot, one-handed night typing alone in the dark. Also announced is the portable, 2.4GHz wireless DiNovo Keyboard for Notebooks ($100 / October) with an unbelievable 3-year battery life followup by the Cordless Desktop S520 ($60 / September) keyboard and optical mouse combination. The latter features more of that same impressive power management capable of eking out 8 months of usage for the mouse and 15-months for the keyboard. Pictures of the other two just as soon as Logitech delivers 'em.

Gallery: Logitech's Illuminated Keyboard: it's thinnest keyboard ever

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[Luis @ Sep 2nd 2008 5:28AM]

Sexy. I don't really like the wrist rests on the front though it wont fit on any desk that has the keyboard at the edge of the table.

[Techie @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:30AM]

I wish they can make a G16 using this concept.

[bver100 @ Sep 2nd 2008 5:35AM]

I want to see the dinovo keyboard. Hopefully it's as sleek as this. Would like it to come with a mouse combo using that fantastic nano receiver!

[Ryan @ Sep 2nd 2008 5:40AM]

Is this really the thinnest keyboard? My Apple aluminum is pretty damn thin. I'm not an Apple troll btw, I'm using this keyboard with windows and re-keyed with sharpkeys. I love it :D

[aeth @ Sep 2nd 2008 5:42AM]

Yes, the Apple keyboard is thinner. However, this looks more comfortable to use than the Apple keyboard.

[Ignatius @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:25AM]

It's the thinnest keyboard that Logitech has ever made, they don't make any claims towards the thinnest keyboard ever.

[eric @ Sep 2nd 2008 2:41PM]

Seconding this!

I'm not a mac person but bought the wired aluminum apple keyboard, remapped the windows key, it's my favorite keyboard owned.

I'm not sure why people like enormous keys with huge action required to press them down, I really prefer this.

[frumpsnake @ Sep 2nd 2008 5:44AM]

I'd love to buy it, but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD/ALLAH/FSM KEYBOARD MANUFACTURERS, STOP RECONFIGURING THE INSERT/DELETE KEYS.

[BigDaddyM @ Sep 2nd 2008 5:58AM]

All I want is the standard layout and ths silliness of moving keys around is just stupid. I even been wanting an illuminated keyboard, but so far nothing good enough has surfaced, and this was so very close.

M

[Rynth @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:16AM]

The Saitek Eclipse two is backlit and standard:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-019-SK

Has been around a while, too.

Personally, the key messup thing doesn't bother me, but meh.

[Fisher @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:04PM]

http://www.deckkeyboards.com/

Best Illuminated keyboard money can buy, been around longer than the Saitek and have a much higher build quality. I own two of them and absolutely love 'em. And for the flamers: No, I'm not getting paid to say this.

[yyyeeeaaahhh @ Sep 2nd 2008 5:45AM]

Where is the INS key ?

[yyyeeeaaahhh @ Sep 2nd 2008 5:47AM]

Ok found it, its on Numpad 0...
frumpsnake I totally agree with you, by Thor !

[nxtiak @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:54AM]

There's also a normal Insert key on top of the DEL key.

[HamOnRye @ Sep 2nd 2008 2:30PM]

Okay, those keyboards where they smoosh the insert/home/pgup/etc keys together into a vertical 2 column block, those I can understand just because they do save a little width on the keyboard (assuming the arrow keys are somehow accounted for). This? this is just standard layout but decides we need to have this extra giant delete key for no reason. Do they do research on this or is it just some guy who randomly decides this might be better?

I've passed up so many new keyboards just because of weird key layouts. Tiny backspace keys with the backslash to the left, cramped insert/delete keys, arrow keys which aren't separated by space from other keys, weird bubble-shaped F-Keys (though half-height ones seem okay).

Is there any manufacturer out there who makes a nice slim-profile wireless keyboard with a completely traditional layout and a few little bells and whistles up top like a volume dial, play controls, maybe a few quick-launch keys?

[ridahgadgetguy @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:01AM]

but does it fit in a manilla enveloppe??????????

[Dr Zoidberg @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:28AM]

QUIET YOU!

[Jon Doe. @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:19PM]

Sure. it just needs to be 18 x 8 x .3

[j @ Sep 2nd 2008 9:33PM]

no, but it can cut cake. ^^

[jhoeforth @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:03AM]

The glass border look like Aero. Very sexy.

[Joel Shapiro @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:19AM]

am I the only one that noticed that the keyboard/mouse combo sells for 60 in september, while the keyboard alone sells for 100 in october?

[teh POD @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:37AM]

The Illuminated Keyboard is $80. The DiNovo Keyboard for Notebooks is $100. The $60 combo is for the Cordless Desktop S520. These are all three different animals.

[Benito @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:40AM]

I'll buy one when they put the 'insert' key back where it's supposed to be.

[nxtiak @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:55AM]

The Insert key is on top of the Del key, right next to the Print Screen and Pause/Break key.

[balu @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:25AM]

yeah i agree with you, inserters. shoot, hang and drown those who force manufacturing these long delete horrors.

[Chip @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:36AM]

So close, but IMO, fail.
Where's the Bluetooth love? In the article, Logitech touts their "advanced 2.4Ghz technology that reduces interference". Why not just work WITH existing frequencies and technologies ala Bluetooth, than try to work AROUND other 2.4Ghz devices?

I've got the original DiNovo keyboard and mouse for Bluetooth. It looks like I may be keeping it for a long time.

[dennis @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:49AM]

Does the surface of the keys for Logitech's back-lit keyboards still get easily destroyed, like on the original G15?

[Mobius_1 @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:56AM]

Very cool, looks great, I want one :)

But it makes me feel very fat :P

[Michael Jackson @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:56AM]

If I ever bought that keyboard, i would end up subconsciously folding it into an airplane.

[PCIV @ Sep 2nd 2008 8:07AM]

Pair it with MX1100, sell it for a hundred, and I'll snag it when I get the money...

[avester @ Sep 2nd 2008 9:19AM]

Fat keyboard > Slow typing speed.

[Mike C @ Sep 2nd 2008 9:42AM]

Looks like a Razer Lycosa copy to me. Hopefully this trend of high end keyboards without all those useless multimedia keys continues. The main reason I purchased the Lycosa was for the fact that it was a high quality keyboard with a solid feel to it, with no extra crap jammed into it. Plus they did not screw with the keyboard layout or change any of the button sizes. Another nice perk, I was able to use the software to disable the caps lock key ;)

My previous keyboard was from Microsoft, while the typing was great I could not stand the size of it anymore. The keyboard was so wide that it hardly fit on my keyboard tray, and if I happened to bump it forward half a inch the feet would drop off the back of the tray. Every time you booted the PC up, the keyboard would set all the F keys to some alt functions by default, with no way to change this setting. It had all the useless shortcuts such as copy and paste, outlook, wordpad, IE ect. The only shortcut I ever used was the calc one, but it sems just as fast to hit windows+R and type calc, followed by the enter key. So in the end, I was set on the quest to find the highest end keyboard with no extra keys. For about a year or so, every time I went to a electronics store I would browse the keyboard isle loosely looking. Earlier this year I stumbled across the Lycosa, read some reviews and purchased one later that week.

[xValentine @ Sep 2nd 2008 9:46AM]

HOT.

Now I'll just have to wait for the reviews and I might give my Razer Lycosa to my sister.

I love slim-illuminated keyboards.

[Meridimus @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:13AM]

Totally not into the use of BankGothic font for the letters. Looks so 1999 to me.

Couldn't they just use Helvetica? Thay way — I'd buy one, two, three.

[tealfixie @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:34AM]

"dedicated multi-media keys for hot, one-handed night typing alone in the dark"

Thanks, Engadget... that brightened my day.

[happy_penguin @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:05AM]

I have a Logitech wireless for my PC. I like it. I have older and current bluetooth Apple keyboards for my Mac. I prefer the older thicker design. But the most comfortable keyboard for me is a plain old cheap Microsoft brand keyboard. None of that ergo design for me either.

[mvp @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:55AM]

Looks extremely similar to my s510 keyboard, hopefully the awesomeness is also similar as well.

[Richard Glitter @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:14PM]

Besides looking svelte, is there really a reason for thinner keyboards? It doesn't take up any less desk space... And I think they are annoying to type on. Sure if you're used to using a laptop as your primary PC then it might be normal, but to me, it's easier to type on a regular keyboard. Oh and moving around the Del, Ins, etc keys is really annoying.

[Darren @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:19PM]

Thin keyboards were a great idea.

[AlphaTeam @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:49PM]

What happened to tactile feedback and clicky keys?!

[elninyo @ Sep 2nd 2008 3:45PM]

the Insert key, second only to the Caps Lock key, is the most annoying thing on any keyboard. learn how to use Shift+Home, Shift+End, Ctrl+Shift + L/R Arrow-- its A LOT faster..

[Michelle @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:12PM]

if you want to see a different layout, take a look at this http://www.trulyergonomic.com/

[Greg @ Sep 2nd 2008 8:55PM]

The better for me to crush it!

[jogeneer @ Sep 3rd 2008 2:56AM]

you can cut cakes with it!

[Cassini @ Sep 3rd 2008 6:35AM]

I like the illuminated keyboard, but I wish they'd make a wireless version. A bit of backlighting can't use that much power (no one here knows exactly how much, except for Logitech), but I don't care if I had to use extra AA's to have it. Considering that the backlighting could be designed to be turned on and off, and that it wouldn't be used during the day in most environments, and that the keyboard may be equipped with an ambient light sensor, making it wireless shouldn't present a problem. I desire a Logitech keyboard with backlighting AND wireless functionality.

[dragonkin_7 @ Sep 4th 2008 1:36PM]

When will they come out with bluetooth and not wireless??? :'(

[Jason @ Sep 19th 2008 1:42PM]

Just and FYI, this keyboard has "key locking" on the following sequence of keys:

N
apostrophe
T

So whenever you type a contraction, such as: don't, can't, won't, etc - the letter "t" will always get dropped from the word. This is a serious design flaw, and anyone who is a fast typer won't be able to accurately type of this keyboard. Until logitech releases a new hardware iteration of this keyboard, stay away!

[Kabuki_Jo @ Oct 14th 2008 2:47AM]

I actually just bought this keyboard from Best Buy and I have no trouble typing the words you have mentioned even while trying to type them as fast as I possibly can. See: don't can't won't... Works fine. Perhaps you have a faulty board.