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Reviewed by: oof_ow
07-23-06
Duration of ownership:
Strengths: One of the best-designed keyboards on the market, well-placed keys, bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, easier to use than a standard USB keyboard, accounting-style keypad
Weaknesses:Not bundled in a standalone keyboard only version, uses 4 AA batteries on the keyboard (not keypad) alone, slow wakeup response time, difficulties when using certain keyboard shortcuts
Overall Evaluation: I bought the diNovo soley for its design and its great fit for compact working areas (keyboard only), and I have never since had such a great visual complement to my workstation. I currently use a Razer Copperhead (blue) mouse along with it.I didn't even bother looking at the instructions and installed it. It was a different experience than installing wired keyboards because you need to press the 'connect key' to make the keyboard communicate with the receiver. Once you figure out how it's done, though, it beomes much easier to install than a wired USB keyboard. I did not even insert the CD to install the software and did not need to.Again I have to emphasize that I bought the diNovo soley for the keyboard portion; I have no interest in wireless mice and I did not need to use the keypad because I wanted to save room for workspace.If you have bluetooth devices, such as the RAZR V3/V3i this would be a nice option if you want to avoid using wires.For work, multimedia, and even extreme gaming, the bluetooth 2.0 allows you to do what you need to without delay. The only issue with the keyboard is that it takes time to wake up (e.g. when you turn on your computer and you press a key for the first time).The tactile feel of the diNovo is a bit over-rated.. when you first try it on in the store it feels great, but it feels still much like a traditional "meaty" keys. I've always been accustomed to laptop-style keys that required less inpute pressure. I would say the diNovo is 75% still retains the rigid touch of a traditional keyboard and only 25% laptop, rather than a hybrid of traditional and mainly laptop (because the keys look flat, you would expect them to feel like laptop keys).The only significant problem I encountered when using the keyboard was when I had to use certain keyboard shortcuts, such as copy (ctrl+c) and paste (ctrl+v) .. sometimes they wouldn't work and it's like the keyboard had a mind of its own. Other keycuts may be affected as well.It is ironic that the Media Desktop model of the Logitech diNovo received worse ratings than the Cordless desktop model, which had much poorer range, and a mouse that fell short of modern standards. The Media Desktop, however, outdoes all of its predecessors, and should be a benchmark for future varients of diNovos.Perhaps in a future version as another reviewer mentioned, they should either allow hot-swappable batteries because of the unpredicatable nature of not knowing when your keyboard will run out of batteries, but also maybe using a lithium-ion alternative that uses fewer batteries of smaller size, and lasts longer. The keycut recongition must have higher precision standards. A future version could use backlit keys or backlit lettering (maybe a blue colour) that can be turned on and off. And finally, Logitech will learn to realize from its marketing mistake that its bundled wireless mice are inferior and sell a standalone keyboard version as well too; letting the user choose what mouse to pair it with, whether it be from another brand or Logitech.
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Reviewed by: spongy
06-02-06
Duration of ownership:
20
Days
Strengths: Design, typing feeling, coreless, nice mouse
Weaknesses:battery, keyboard is unsafe
Overall Evaluation: this is my 2nd dinovo. i used previous verion dinovo, and i bought this one again! because, keyboard upgraded, and mouse is new laser one. i love this product, because the Dinovo always show me great design. Most of my friedns loved design. Also when i type the keyboard keys, feeling is great! but, there is one problem. Battery is very unpredictable. anyway great!
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Reviewed by: Printer Guy
05-17-06
Duration of ownership:
3
Days
Strengths: Stylish, nice keys, MX1000 mouse is great
Weaknesses:Buggy software
Overall Evaluation: I have been looking at this desktop since it originally came out a few years ago. Now that the price dropped to $100 after rebate, I decided to go for it, especially with the addition of the MX1000 laser mouse. Here are my impressions: Installation of the hardware was incredibly easy. Just put batteries in the keyboard and media pad, plug the bluetooth adapter into a USB port on your computer, and within seconds everything just works on its own. I was pretty impressed with the functionality of the desktop without having installed any software. After all, most of the advanced keyboard functions worked (internet, mail, sleep, and media playback controls). The mouse worked well, too (left/middle/right clicking, scroll wheel, back/forward). Only the application switch and side-to-side scrolling didn't work and the "cruise control" (clicking above or below the wheel) didn't exactly work; it moved the screen somewhere between using the page up/down and regular up/down keys. As for the media pad, the basic keys worked, but the multimedia keys (which are the same ones as on the keyboard) did not. Also, predictably, the display only gave you the time rather than additional information such as the current track you're listening to. After a day of running the desktop like this, I caved and decided to install the latest Logitech software to see what all the extra features were about. Normally I don't like installing software when I don't have to, especially memory-resident software (programs that are always on), but I was curious to see what such an expensive peripheral could do. So I downloaded the latest version of SetPoint (2.6) from Logitech's site as it was newer than the version on the included CD. As a side note, during installation you are asked whether you want to continue using the existing Windows Bluetooth driver or install the Logitech version. I decided to stick with the existing driver since it had been working just fine and I had heard about connectivity issues with the Logitech drivers. Once installed, it took a few minutes for the software to discover all three wireless devices, but after that everything seemed to work. The added features weren't that useful for me (info displayed on the media pad, side-scrolling with the mouse, and application switcher for example) but I did appreciate the battery level indicator (for the media pad and keyboard, that is, since the mouse has its own indicator). Then I started having some issues with the keyboard not connecting after the computer came out of standby mode. Later I noticed certain key presses wouldn't register, or sometimes when I wanted to scroll through a document with the mouse wheel, the first few clicks of the wheel wouldn't register either. At this point I decide to just disable the software. I knew that there were issues with the dinovo and that I might be able to solve my problem by googling around a bit, but honestly I don't think it's worth it since most of the functions I wanted to use worked without the software anyway. I have not had any connectivity issues since disabling the software. So other than that, the only thing I can say about the desktop is that it has a sleek design, which you already knew, and that I like the keys. They are laptop-style keys, basically flatter with a sharp response to them. I find that I can type much quicker and more comfortably on them, but some people hate laptop keyboards so this may not be for them. My only minor complaint with the keys is that the keys on the media pad are slightly smaller for reasons I don't fully understand. The laser mouse is great as it's able to track on many surfaces my old optical mouse could not. Also the charging dock for the mouse is a much cooler one than what you would get if you bought the MX1000 mouse separately. Overall, the keyboard was as expected. Very stylish, with a great mouse, laptop-like keys, and buggy software. I'm glad I waited until the price came down a bit because I would have been significantly angrier had I paid twice as much for this. Maybe I'll try the software again when a new version comes out, but for now it's just not worth it.
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Reviewed by: trifactoria
05-13-06
Duration of ownership:
48
Days
Strengths: 1) Does not interfere with 2.4Ghz Wireless internet2) Seperate keyapd operates as a media player remote3) Mouse is superbly precise4) Design is modern and sleek5) Small keyboard footprint
Weaknesses:1) Long battery charging time for mouse2) Non-user-replaceable mouse batteries3) Mouse range is not as advertised (roughly 25ft vs. claimed 60ft)
Overall Evaluation: Anyone who purchases the Logitech DiNovo Media Desktop Laser is usually attracted for the primary reason being that it is, in my opinion, the sleekest looking keyboard and mouse combo available on the market today. Ever since the first original release of the the DiNovo, I have always wanted to own this set just for the way it looks alone because it complements any new modern designed home and looks so sophisticated.Of course there was another reason for purchasing this set and that was because of the bluetooth connectivity. I run a wireless internet connection on a wireless home network that uses the 2.4Ghz frequency which all the latest wireless devices seem to want to share. In previous cases, those products cause frequent network connection drops which can be extremely frustrating. Henceforth, my choice of bluetooth.Before I was unable to set up a new computer with bluetooth wireless keyboard/mouse combos but quickly learned that you have to activate the motherboard's bios setting to allow for legacy USB devices. Otherwise, you can't use this keyboard through the installation screens when setting up Windows XP, nor can you enter or configure the BIOS without a PS/2 or wired USB keyboard.With regards to performance, they keyboard functions superbly with nice tactile touch. It's not noisy and has a solid resistance feel when typing. The seperate media pad is such an ingenious feature. It not only operates as a media player remote which can also control iTunes, but it can also notify you of e-mails and instant messages. I keep this right by my bed. For some reason this device has a better range than the laser mouse.Speaking of the mouse, the tracking is incredible. I'm used to the old optical mice which of course was always a huge improvement over the old rolling ball, but Laser just steps into a whole new ballpark. With a high resolution laser, the tracking is perfect for first person shooters and fine detailed photoshop work. I know there's a lot of people who thumb their noses at wireless devices for gaming, but Logitech really outdid themselves on this one. On the downside, the range on the mouse is not so hot. I wanted to use the mouse for presentations and also surfing from my bed since I have a plasma TV that hooks up to the computer. And at around 25 ft, the mouse sometimes gets jittery because its losing the connection. So if you're thinking you're gonna get the 60ft they claim, think again.Also, I must object to Logitech's insistance on having an integrated battery in the mouse. It takes up to 6 hours to fully charge the device and I have a firm belief in letting the battery fully discharge before charging. So sometimes, I have to revert back to my old mouse while letting this device charge. I prefer to have removeable batteries that I can recharge myself to swap immediately during an intense session of gaming... think about it for the next revision Logitech!
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Reviewed by: TitanLH
05-04-06
Duration of ownership:
7
Days
Strengths: Very sleek and contemporary design on keyboard, keypad, and mouse.
Weaknesses:Setting up was a bit of a hassle. The bluetooth drivers that come with the keyboard set created an issue for me until new drivers were downloaded from the Logitech website.
Overall Evaluation: I decided to buy the Logitech Dinovo set because I wanted a wireless keyboard and mouse and I figured this had a lot of built-in features that I could use. For example, it has a charger dock for the mouse and it acts as a Bluetooth hub for any other Bluetooth device to connect to. The keyboard itself is very nice; if you like laptop keyboards, then this keyboard feels like just one. The extra feature/buttons on the keyboard is very helpful in loading applications and the LCD screen on the keypad is a nice little addon feature. The keypad works nicely as a remote for volume control when I'm watching a movie on the PC. Overall, I'm pleased with my experience with the Dinovo set.
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