LogitechWirelessSolarKeyboardK750
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TUAW Best of 2011: Vote for best Mac peripheral or accessory of the year
The nominations are in, and the poll is ready to go! The TUAW Best of 2011 awards are all about you -- the readers -- and what you think is the cream of the crop of Apple or third-party products and software. To vote, select one entry from the top nominations made by readers. We'll be announcing the winner in just a few days. Vote early and often! Today TUAW is asking for your vote for the best Mac peripheral or accessory of 2011. Unfortunately, a lot of readers apparently didn't see the word "Mac" in the call for nominations, so we had quite a few iPad and iPhone accessories that had to be thrown out. Don't worry -- we'll get to those soon enough. The nominations that did make it through were varied. OWC's innovative Data Doubler received kudos from TUAW readers, as did one of my personal favorites, the Blue Yeti Pro microphone. OWC also received a thumbs-up for their Mercury 6G solid-state drives. TwelveSouth's PlugBug is a great accessory for both MacBook and iOS devices, and Logitech's Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac led the pack in battery-free capabilities. Only one of these items will win TUAW's top honor for Mac peripheral or accessory of 2011. Naming the winner is all up to you. %Poll-71716%
Logitech solar-powered wireless Mac keyboard loves the sun, shuns Bluetooth
Logitech has announced the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac. It's the company's first solar-powered keyboard, for environmentally conscious Mac users. The K750 offers the standard Mac layout, with the addition of brightness and music controls, eject keys, and command keys. It also offers a full numeric keypad. Along the top of the K750 you can see the solar cells that keep the keyboard charged. They work off of both sunlight and indoor light. The keyboards come in five colors: all-silver, all-black, or silver with pink, green, or red solar strips at the top. Overall, the K750 has a nice design and form factor. Not having to keep buying batteries is always a plus, and its 1/3 of an inch thinness is appreciated. However, the big drawback of the K750 is that it doesn't connect via Bluetooth. Instead it uses a proprietary Logitech dongle known as the Logitech Unifying receiver that needs to stay plugged in to your Mac in order for the keyboard to stay connected. Also, while Logitech says the keyboard itself works with your Mac right out of the box without requiring software, the Unifying dongle does need software to be compatible. I like my wireless accessories to use Bluetooth, but if the environmental aspects of the keyboard are more important to you than the connection technology it uses, the K750 is a fine choice for you. The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac costs US$59.99 and ships later this month. [via MacWorld]
Logitech's Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac brings Appletastic keys, pastel hues
Yearning for the ideal keyboard to pair with your suddenly revitalized Bondi Blue iMac? Good thing you've the patience of Job. Windows users were treated to a K750 solar keyboard of their own last fall, and it's taken nearly a full year for Logi to crank out a Mac-specific edition. The Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac features the same amenities as found on the Wintel-favoring variant, but you'll find this one boasting a standard Mac key layout and a concave key cap design. Naturally, no extra drivers are required to work with your existing Apple rig, and once charged, it's capable of living it up for at least three solid months in complete darkness. You'll find onboard solar cells that power the keyboard using ambient light, and prospective buyers will be gifted with four exclusive hues (five in total). It'll ship in the US and Europe later this month for $59.99, and yes, that 2.4GHz module ensures that no wires will be needed for connectivity.
Logitech unveils wireless solar keyboard K750, does away with batteries for good
When Logitech first introduced wireless peripherals, we'd be lucky if our alkaline cells lasted a week, but these days the firm's low-power mice can go months on a charge. Now, the company's taken the next logical step, and made a solar keyboard. With an ultra-slim 1/3-inch profile and a full slate of laptop-style chiclet keys, the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 isn't your average rack of buttons to begin with, but the ambient light solar panels installed on the top of either side should mean you'll never need to plug it in to recharge. That's not a claim we'll be able to test easily, of course, as the company tells us its low-power integrated circuits can theoretically run for three months even if you leave it in a dark desk drawer. It uses the same 2.4GHz Nano Unifying receiver as several other Logitech wireless products, too, meaning you'll only need a single one of your netbook or set-top-boxes' precious USB ports. That's often a concern on MacBooks as well, though you can see from the prominent Windows key this particular product doesn't quite have a Mac-friendly setup. Though we're obviously far away from being able to tell you how the solar panels fare in normal use, we're typing up this article on one of the boards right now. So far, we're loving the flat, firm feel of the slab and rounded finger-friendly indents on each key, though the QWERTY layout's actually a little cramped for our tastes. We'll let you know how it holds up over the long haul. Find it next month for $80, though, if you're already sold. %Gallery-106335%
