| ------------------- Review edited: May 30, 2006 ----------------------
EDIT: Downrating from 4 to 2 stars.
Reason: Durability and longevity.
Rough timeline:
P = Purchased product
P + 1 month = One key stuck, went away
P + 3 months = A few keys starting to stick
P + 5 months = One button is completely stuck
P + 6 months = Keyboard died completely. No amount of battery changes, receptor/keyboard refreshes, driver reinstallation, etc would bring it back to life. I'm starting to become disenchanted by wireless products. I've already replaced the wireless mouse with a wired one, and I'm debating doing so with the keyboard. I might give Microsoft keyboards a chance.
--------------------- Original review below -------------------------
My girlfriend gave this keyboard to me as a gift set with the HP f2105 monitor (which I have also reviewed). I ended up attaching my laptop to a dock and closing it, and generally use this logitech keyboard and mouse with the monitor.
The mouse is excellent - it is nearly the same as the MX600 laser mouse I used previously, except that it does not have the e-mail and instant messaging buttons that were on the MX600. It has also has a darker tone. The keyboard is great, though it doesn't have as nice of a "spring-back" as some other keyboards. Even so, I think it works excellently. The extra features are, once again, nice to have, though the dynamic search and zoom on the left side is very easy to activate. It is somewhat annoying to have my text zoom to 400% when I merely brush my sleeve across my keyboard. To solve this, I ended up uninstalling SetPoint. Less drivers, less headache. Nyways, who needs all those buttons? They are nice to have and use, but I believe that most people will end up forgetting about them after the first few days of excitement. The glossy black trim along the top, bottom, and left side are very attractive, and while they are fingerprint magnets, I never touch those areas much, so they stay pretty. (My sleeve also helps polish the glossly black finish on the dynamic search and zoom, so I never need to worry about that side).
All in all, a great keyboard, even though I just noticed that the volume down image is slightly off-printed on my keyboard. No biggie. Thanks Amazon Reviews, for helping me find all the previously unnoticed imperfections in my products.
Highly recommended.
| | Quality Cordless Desktop from Logitech! |
| I have been searching for some time for my perfect wireless keyboard and mouse combo. I have tried a couple, and still, I did not find what I was looking for in a good long term set. The Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 3200 Laser is an excellent choice in terms of features, usability, and quality. It does have some quibbles, but overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase.
The size of the keyboard is great. It has some nice features, and it is not too big because of them. It lays pretty flat, which is nice. I am used to always having to use the legs on the keyboard to get a good typing angle, but this is the first keyboard that I do not have to prop it up in order to type accurately. The keys are wonderfully muted. They give good tactile feedback without being too noisy. My old Logitech S510 was great in terms of features, but it was VERY noisy. The lettering on the keys are not as bold as usual, and the labels for the shortcuts are hard to see.
The LCD screen on the keyboard would have been a nice feature, but it is near impossible to see from most angles. It would have been a nice feature if it was backlit, but alas, it is pretty useless. It does have some value if you need to use it as an alarm, or if you want to count how many characters that you have typed (which most people don't care about). But if not, they they could have really done without it.
Employing the features that you use with the enhanced F keys are tricky. It took me forever to figure out how to set the clock because the "FN" key is not a "F Lock" key. In other words, you have to use it like a "shift" key to use the special features. This is counter-intuitive to many users who are used to having an F Lock feature. Worse, there is NO help documentation that gives you any clue as to how to use the advanced features. You have to figure this out all on your own. That is pretty poor for a company like Logitech. It would have cost them nothing to produce a users manual for this.
There are drains in the bottom of the keyboard, so that if you spill anything on it, it will drain away quickly. Some of my favorite buttons that I had to program into my old Logitech S510 are available built into this keyboard, like calculator, My Documents, and even a calendar. The enlargement of the delete key can be off-putting to some users, but the insert key has NOT been removed, but shifted to the spot above the end key. There is now a close button key, so you can close your favorite programs without even using the mouse. There are 3 search buttons: one for web searches, one for a PC search, and one for a picture search. If you highlight text in your browser and then hit the web search, it will search for that text online. The zoom slider is really cool. I like the touch sensitivity of it. It probably won't be a feature that appeals to everyone, but it is fine for me. This keyboard really was made for Windows Vista, and many of the features on it work best there. That seems not too wise to me, because the majority of users are going to be on Windows XP. The "Doc Flip" button is for Vista, to employ Flip 3D. In XP, it just mimics the "Alt + Tab" function in windows to switch between programs. No benefits to XP users.
It includes some nice features of VoIP. It has a button that pulls up your favorite VoIP program, and a button to dial and end calls. I LOVE the fact that this keyboard has been treated with an anti-microbial to prevent the spread of germs. That alone makes it excellent to me. It comes already connected and encrypted, so that other nearby wireless computers can't detect your keystrokes.
The laser mouse that comes with this keyboard is okay, but it is not fabulous. It is really light, almost to the point of feeling cheap. The battery door is somewhat loose and shaky. For the money that you pay for the set, they could have given a better mouse. It has several programmable buttons on it. It has "forward" and "back" buttons, and they are nice except for the fact that they don't work in every program. It also has "zoom" and "search" buttons on it. The sides of the mouse are rubberized, and it has a contour to fit you hand more comfortably, even though it may not be best for some users. It is a nice mouse, but I am not sure it is hardy mouse for gaming or intense usage.
The Set Point software installed without a problem, although it took awhile to finish. And for some strange reason, even though the batteries are brand new, the status indicator keeps telling me that they are in good condition, but not completely full. I think this has something to do with the last Logitech set that I was using carrying over the settings. There is one good thing about the batteries for this set; the combo uses the same size for both the mouse and the keyboard. Also, the mouse can run on one battery. They keyboard keeps your LCD settings as long as you change them one at a time. I really like this set. I highly recommend it, if you can afford to spend the amount of money on it. It has some issues to be aware of, but overall, it is great!!!
| | I would encourage anyone running Windows Vista to check the Logitech Support Forums or customer FAQ before purchasing. After purchasing this product and installing on a brand new Vista-ready PC I found that the Logitech software disabled system sound. Returning to Amazon, I found this issue documented by another Amazon reviewer. If I had noted this earlier I would have purchased something else or at least held off until this issue was resolved.
I tried to resolve the issue with Logitech Customer Support for almost three weeks with no luck. The other reviewer (Scott Solanik) experienced the same result after working with them for over three weeks. I am assuming that a significant number of the favorable reviews here refer to Windows XP. - Although the keyboard and mouse are nice, I would encourage anyone using Vista to hold off on their purchase until they can confirm that Logitech has a solution for this known issue.
In my case, I simply returned the keyboard.
| | Great keyboard/mouse combo. Some annoyances. |
| The Logitech MX 3200 Cordless Desktop is a very nice keyboard plus mouse combo that is much sturdier and refined than prior mainstream desktop combos from Logitech.
The keyboard battery claims of eighteen months, time/month display on the keyboard, sleep and calculator shortcut keys, and touch-sensitive scroll bar on the keyboard are small, but collectively great appointments.
Away goes the recharging mouse cradle of my trusty MX 700, leaving a USB radio no bigger than a flash memory stick. The mouse ergonomics feel comfortable even for large hands like mine. The mouse also comes in a left-handed version, which is great if you suffer from RSI and need to switch hands often.
Pros
* Virtually silent typing. The keys landing is soft and the click muted.
* The ergonomics are great. The palm rest slopes at the base of the hand, so no pressure on the bony part between the hand and wrist.
* Large surface keys. The edge is also raise slightly, and towards the sides rather than towards the typist. Typing lands on the key center every time for me, where other keyboards tend to hit the edge raised instead.
* Shorter keys travel. Not quite scissor (laptop) keys, but very good for a standard keyboard.
* Multimedia buttons work in Windows XP without installing additional software. This is great at work as most companies do not allow installing non-approved software.
* Time and date display on the keyboard is convenient.
Cons
* The Escape key is small, and so are the function keys. They are half the standard height.
* The Delete key is over-sized, and the Insert key is next to F12. Ditto if you are acostumed to copy/paste text using Ctrl/Shift plus Insert.
* Lefty beware: Location of scroll strip. This is the keyboard equivalent of the scroll wheel on the mouse is at the left spine of the keyboard. If you are lefty or switch hands, and rest your hand on the edge of the keyboard when not mousing, get ready to watch the screen scroll when least expected.
* Time and date display readable only (about forty-five degrees viewing angle) in front of the keyboard.
One additional note is that Logitech stands behind their products. This set replaces my defective four-year old MX Duo, and the company sent me a brand new set.
Four stars for the product, plus one for great Logitech Support. Recommended.
| | Very pleased despite a few issues |
| This is by far the most advanced keyboard I have ever had. I am usually against things like this with all the fancy buttons and extras but I like the way this is set up and find them to be useful here. It is rather complicated to get it all set up but, as I said, I'm not used to keyboards with all the bells and whistles that this one has. The keyboard itself is very nice. I find it very comfortable and very quiet. It is unlike any keyboard I've had with how quiet it is and if you are used to a keyboard that came with your computer then you'll find it amazing.
I do have a couple of issues that I don't like though. First, the LED display is almost worthless. It is almost impossible to see at the angle you will be viewing it at. Unless you are viewing it straight on, which you will never be doing as you type, then it is awful. You would think that everyone would know how to produce a good LED by now.
The second issue, and most significant one for me, is I still haven't found an f-lock key and must press the FN button in unison with the F key to get the advanced features I programmed into it. I haven't owned this for more than a day and I may be looking in the wrong place but it isn't easy to find if there is an f-lock. I almost never use the F keys on a keyboard so this is bothersome.
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