As mentioned before, there is a little more to installation
than just plugging the receiver into the appropriate ports on your
system; you'll have to "connect" each device (keyboard and mouse)
to the receiver using the process previously mentioned. It's not really
hard, but just a little tedious, as you'll first have to push the
"Connect" button on the receiver, then turn the keyboard over and
press the Connect button on it; for the mouse, the process is a little
more hard, as the Connect button on it has to be pressed by something
pin-like, such as a pencil or pen tip. As also mentioned before, these
steps are needed so that the keyboard & mouse can properly communicate
with the receiver; anytime you change batteries in one of the devices,
you'll need to "Re-Connect" it to the receiver in this way. With that
done, you can install iTouch and MouseWare, Logitech's software for
their keyboards and mice, respectively. You do not need this software
to use the keyboard and mouse, but it adds functionality such as the
assignment of different functions to the additional keyboard buttons,
so you may want to install it. The versions I used were downloaded
from Logitech's site, and were the latest as of the time of this review.
(v2.15 for iTouch and v9.78 for MouseWare)
The iTouch software allows you to configure five
of the additional buttons/keys included on it, the four that reside
in the center and the one "Logitech" key off to the side above the
numpad with the printscreen key grouping. The default functions are
pretty much what an OS like Win2K or WinXP would assign to these buttons;
but with iTouch you have the option of setting each key to three other
functions: Launch Web site, Open Program, or Open a Menu. Launching
a website is probably the most self-explanatory, and probably the
least useful, in my opinion. Opening a program can be more useful,
as you can keep handy and much-used programs only a press away - this
would be useful for quickly launching WinAMP or the calculator. The
Menu functions requires the most work on your part to get it setup,
but can be the most useful, as you can make a list of programs or
websites that will show up as a menu when the specified key is pressed;
you can then easily click/select one of the options and the action
will be performed. With these features, performing repeated tasks
in your OS should be made easier, but the Cordless Comfort Duo does
not have as many additional keys as either the Navigator Duo or Elite
Duo did.
Key configuration. |
Options available. |
Menu creation. |
Adding an item to the menu. |
The Cordless Comfort Duo lacks a Media Key - such
a key would launch a list of available media players on your system
for you to select for opening. This worked perfectly with the media
controls such as play/pause and stop, and while the Cordless Comfort's
keyboard does have media controls, if you want to be able to launch
your media player using the keyboard, you'll need to set up one of
the buttons to open a Menu that you've manually configured with your
list of players. This isn't too hard, of course, but could have been
avoided. The multimedia controls, meanwhile, work well with many media
players, including my favourite, Winamp. (A full list of supported
players is located here.)
Without the iTouch software, I believe the multimedia keys will only
work with Windows Media Player.
Some additional options with iTouch allow you to
enable/disable the on-screen display; this display shows up whenever
you use one of the programmable keys, change the volume or change
the caps lock/num lock/scroll lock states. It's often handy to have
this display when adjusting volume, but you don't really need it to
tell you what function you've used on one of the keys you've configured.
It's very helpful for displaying, for example, Caps Lock states though,
as since the keyboard doesn't have these "Lock" LED indicators to
cut down on battery usage, it's helpful to be able to see whether
or not the Lock is on without having to look at the receiver's LEDs.
Initial window you'll see after first usage of
each configurable key. |
Additional iTouch options. |
On-screen effects. |
Connection status. |
The last tab in iTouch's options shows battery life
and secure mode settings; it's useful to be able to gauge battery
life from within the software, and not have to check the batteries
yourself with a multimeter! Though, I wonder sometimes how good the
software can gauge battery life, and whether or not it will be able to
give you an adequate warning before the batteries died. If you're
worried about security issues that come with a wireless keyboard, you
can establish a "secure" connection to the receiver, which, I'm
guessing, will encrypt any keystrokes you make. The procedure to do so
requires a little work, but is worth it if you're worried about people
snooping in on your computing.
The software also allows you to
establish a connection between the keyboard and receiver in much the
same way as your initial setup did, with the pressing of the "Connect"
button. This process will be necessary once you change the batteries
in the keyboard; in such a case, you can use your mouse to press the
click the Connect button in the software. Just remember, don't change
the batteries in both the keyboard and mouse at the same time, or else
you'll have to press Connect on the receiver instead of in the
software, as you won't have any means of getting input into the
system!
Establishing secure mode... |
... is a little process. |
Systray menu. |
v2.15 of iTouch used. |
MouseWare has a long tradition with Logitech, which
explains the high version numbers. Similar to iTouch, it allows you
to assign different functions to your mouse's buttons, to make your
mouse that much easier and handy to use. After installing it, you'll
be able to configure the functionality of all four of the Cordless
Comfort's mouse buttons. As with iTouch, the software isn't needed,
but considering the latest version of MouseWare works great and doesn't
have the wheel problems that previous versions did, it's worth a look
at.
Recommended receiver placement. |
Summary. |
Each button is clearly labelled. |
Many common Windows commands are available.
|
As you can see, each button can be set up to perform
a variety of functions, many of them common Windows commands such
as Close Window or Maximize Window. You can even assign a keystroke
to a button, something like Alt/Ctrl/Shift + another key - assigning
a keystroke could be helpful in some games like those from the RTS
genre, as it makes doing things that much faster. Another useful feature
was the Quick Switch, which is like Alt-Tab in that it displays a
list of running programs that you can switch the focus to; Logitech
has touted this feature much for their MX series of mice, as they
have a button that by default performs this function, but as long
as you're running MouseWare and willing to commit a button, this feature
will be available to you.
Overall, I found the best feature to be
"Back", as it allows easy navigation through webpages - though because
there's no corresponding "Forward" button such as is found on the
MX500 and MX700 mice, the utility of it is diminished somewhat.
Motion tab. |
Connectivity page. |
v9.78 of MouseWare was used. |
You'll also notice that there wasn't a setting for
adjusting the PS/2 polling rate in MouseWare - we'll see why this
was the case in testing. You can also see one of the newer features
of MouseWare, a setting to disable acceleration in games, which can
be useful especially for FPS games. As with iTouch, there is a page
for the cordless features of the mouse, allowing you to both monitor
battery levels of the mouse and re-connect it if you've replaced the
batteries. There's no "secure" option, but it's not needed; after
all, if someone were monitoring your mouse, what would they
learn? ("Ohhh... he's moving toward the upper-left... OMG, he just
double-clicked!") Overall, both iTouch and MouseWare were nice to
use, however, you'll want to make sure you uncheck, at install time,
the "option" of installing desktop shortcuts to websites that you
know how to get to, if you want to. With the wheel-problems gone from
MouseWare, there isn't a reason not to install MouseWare, but
with WinXP's default assignment of "Back" to the fourth (thumb) button,
you may not have a reason to install it.
Testing:
As usual, I tested this keyboard for close to three
weeks, during which I used the combo for my daily tasks such as web-browsing,
some image editing, word-processing, e-mail, and of course, lots of
gaming.
Firstly, I think you all should know that I hadn't,
up until this point, used a Natural or "Split-Key" keyboard for any
real length of time. As such, things felt "weird" for a while, but
after about 2-3 days of usage, I could say that I was adequately adjusted.
You should also note that I've never had comfort issues on my regular
layout keyboard - so I didn't feel much better, comfort-wise, with
the Cordless Comfort's keyboard. The large wristrest, however, felt
very nice, and should be a godsend to those of you who, at the office,
have to deal with a table that has sharp edges. For pure functionality,
I didn't notice any lag or responsiveness issues with the keyboard
- though I've heard this can vary depending on what other electrical
devices are in the environment you're in - if this becomes a problem,
moving the receiver should help.
The keys themselves were fairly quiet when in use,
though this isn't the quietest keyboard I've heard by far. I shouldn't
think that most people would be annoyed by this keyboard though, so
this isn't a problem. I found that, compared to the Navigator and
Elite Duo's keyboards, the Cordless Comfort's keys felt like they
had a little more play in them - I didn't take out a measuring stick
and actually gauge this, but this was my impression. Overall, I liked
the feeling of the keys, in that they weren't loud by did provide
the necessary feedback, albeit a little less than I've been used to.
Fortunately, the Cordless Comfort's Escape key is
in a proper position, and isn't too near the Sleep button - and thus
there's no danger of accidentally pressing one key when you're trying
to hit the other. However, there are some other layout problems that
were troublesome for me. Firstly, the rearranged key grouping that
contains Insert/Delete, Home/End, PageUp/PageDown, bothered me the
most. I'd often hit one key when I was trying to hit another - of
all things, this will take the longest to get used to. I would have
preferred if Logitech had kept this layout in the traditional format,
as I've seen some older model MS Natural keyboard that have kept this
grouping in the traditional way. I believe Logitech re-arranged this
grouping to cut down on the keyboard's size, but I'd rather they didn't
take this liberty. Secondly, the movement of the PrintScreen/Scroll
Lock/Pause-Break keys to a location above the numpad can be confusing;
while these keys aren't used often, I've used them enough that when
I do have to, I have to do a double-take at the keyboard to find the
right key.
It's made even worse by the fact that these keys are right
next to the numpad grouping, and aren't placed above them with some
space in between. The last thing was the smaller Ctrl, Alt, Shift
and WinKey on the right side of the keyboard, again, in order to save
on space. While this didn't bother me too much, as I didn't find myself
making mistakes here, I just would have preferred a "normal" layout.
These are some things to consider - if you can, always try out the
keyboard at some local retail store that has them on display.
Lastly, the additional keys on the keyboard such
as the volume controls and quick-launch keys are all made out of rubber
- this gives them the feel of buttons on a remote control, and I don't
really like this feeling. I'd much rather they were made out of plastic
and given the same tactile response as normal buttons, even if they
had to be smaller in size.
The mouse, while looking pretty damn cool, was perhaps
a tad too big for my hands, as it felt a little too bulky. I didn't
have any comfort problems with this mouse, but I just felt I couldn't
get adjusted to it as fast as I'd have liked. The buttons on the mouse
were firm and responsive, and since I've always liked how Logitech's
buttons feel, I had no problem with the mouse in that respect. The
extra thumb button was useful in games, where it could be set to perform
some other function that otherwise would have required a keystroke
or keypress. The mouse also glided across surfaces nicely with its
five (Teflon?) feet. The major problem I had with the mouse had to
do with its motion, and this was *not* due to a bad optical sensor
but rather the RF technology used for this cordless mouse.
As I said before, there was no option to set the
PS/2 polling rate in MouseWare; this was strange, because you could
still adjust the PS/2 rate, all the way up to 200Hz, using Device
Manager. However, such a change offered no improvement, as the mouse's
motion still felt like the refresh rate was fairly slow. To me, the
PS/2 polling rate is one of the most important things when it comes
to accurate mouse movement; it's basically a measure of how many times,
per second, that the cursor position on screen is updated. With a
slow refresh rate, fast mouse movements will appear jerky, and as
such, your game play may suffer, or image editing may be tedious.
I used Mouse Rate Checker to check the actual refresh rate of the
mouse, after I had set the PS/2 polling rate in WinXP to 200Hz; as
I expected, the actual rate topped out at about 50Hz, the same as
was found for both the Navigator Duo and Elite Duo's mice. It was
sad to see this, as the optical sensor in the Cordless Comfort's mouse
was being limited by this aspect of the hardware; I'm guessing that
the 50Hz update rate was designed to save on battery life, as the
newest MX700 mouse is cordless as well, but updates at 125Hz - however,
it is rechargeable, so battery life is not so much of a concern.
Sadly, the Cordless Comfort Duo's mouse could only
muster an actual maximum refresh rate of ~50Hz.
Conclusion:
Despite some layout quirks, I liked the Cordless
Comfort Duo's keyboard. It was comfortable to use, and I didn't have
trouble getting used to the split-key layout; while I didn't find
it more comfortable mainly due to the layout, I did like the large
and sturdy wristrest, and the feel of the keys was decent as well.
The main layout problems I had were with the repositioning/regrouping
of the keys above the arrow keys; this will take some time to get
used to, and if there's one thing I could change with this keyboard,
this would be it. Nonetheless, I believe this keyboard ought to satisfy
those who have to have a split-key layout, as you get a quality keyboard
plus some nice extra keys and multimedia control. However, the biggest
downside to the whole package is found in the mouse; its effect maximum
refresh rate of 50Hz makes the cursor's movement on screen feel choppy.
The fact that the mouse's connector is PS/2 only has nothing to do
with this, as it's a limitation of the cordless hardware being used,
a limitation that perhaps saves battery life. This will be noticed
by people who play games a lot, and those who require precise mouse
movement, say in image editing applications. It is sad to see an otherwise
great package/combination somewhat set back by this detail.
Pros:
- Split-key layout for those who need/want it
- Cordless; makes your workspace that much cleaner
- Comfortable keyboard and excellent wristrest
- iTouch and MouseWare software offer extensive configuration
options
- Extra keys on keyboard - Application Quick Launch
buttons and Multimedia controls
- Required AA batteries included
- Mouse has an extra thumb button that can perform
a variety of tasks
- Looks sleek :)
Cons:
- Mouse refresh rate maxes out at 50Hz
- Mouse is for righties only
- Layout quirks and rearrangements on keyboard
Lastly, a big thanks goes out to Logitech
for providing the unit for review!
