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Logisys KB602BK EL Keyboard |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Sunday, 01 July 2007 |
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Page 1 of 2
Thanks to Logisys Computer for the product sample.
Over the past year or so we've had our share of keyboards. Most were typical, boring, feature-less models, but a few stood out in the crowd such as the Zippy EL-610. Logisys' KB602BK is the second EL (electroluminescent) keyboard to find its way here. Almost 2 years have passed since our Zippy review and several improvements have been made since then. Logisys is still a youngster in this market, but after several evaluations of their products we can attest to their quality.
The keyboard comes in the retail package shown. No drivers are included (none are needed); all you get is the keyboard and cable. Dimensions measure in at 15.5" (L) x 7.75" (W) x 0.75" (H). It's difficult to judge whether it's a normal or extended keyboard. On the one hand, it has a separate numeric keypad. However, the main keys are condensed and downsized. Perhaps the best description is a miniature extended keyboard.
There are a total of 99 keys (with 18 somewhat useful hotkeys on the top row). The frame is black and the keys are supposedly clear to allow for the EL light to shine through. Unfortunately they're not really clear; they're closer to solid white like the hotkeys above them. In contrast, the letters are black. In the top middle is the Logisys logo. The bottom has 5 rubbery feet to keep the keyboard from sliding on slick surfaces, but because these feet have very little in the way of surface area, it still manages to slip a good deal. On either side is a pair of extending feet used for elevating the unit (which will further reduce traction since these feet don't have rubber grips).
The preset hotkeys from left to right (on the left side) are: Home Page, Email, Back, Forward, Search, Refresh, Favorites, a button that looks like a pizza whose function remains unknown, and another key which appears to launch a CD/DVD burning application. This is the first time I've seen such buttons as hotkeys. On the right side there are volume control keys (very useful when switching between speakers and headphones and needing to adjust volume accordingly), Mute toggle, Stop, Previous, Play, Next, Shut Down and Sleep buttons. Not sure why there's no pause key. Below these are blue LEDs denoting activated Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock. At the very right is a power button which toggles the EL light on and off.
Creating a compressed extended keyboard means some sacrifices must be made. It's a shame that the buttons which get size reductions are the most important ones. On the left side, the Tab key is only half as large as it should be; the Caps Lock is a bit larger but still small. Same goes for the Ctrl and Alt keys. What gets me about this bottom row is that a seemingly useless Fn (secondary function) button is present. Since none of the keys have alternate functions that can't be accessed via the Shift key, this button only takes up space and ends up reducing the other buttons' sizes.
The right side is a bit of a mess and takes some getting used to. Most notable is the tiny Backspace key. This is a problem that occurs with more keyboard designs than one would imagine; it's a lot more difficult to blindly hit a Backspace button that's only half as large as it normally is. For even more confusion, the Insert and Delete keys are now at the bottom of the keyboard and the arrow keys are kind of jammed in the middle. Finally, the Ctrl and Alt keys on the right side are smaller than the letter keys, so you can forget using those altogether unless you have small or thin (and tactile) hands. All of this takes several days of getting used to. The lesson? Logisys needs to work on their key placement.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 13 July 2007 )
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