Overall view with optional wrist rest.
Bottom keys curve downward.
Keys have common shortcuts written on the bottom side.
Logitech Internet Navigator Keyboard Review
Date : Saturday, 11 March 2002
By: Stygian
Provided By: Logitech
Introduction
Okay, so a keyboard isn't the most exciting piece of hardware by any standard, but it's often underestimated in terms of its importance. Think about it. A keyboard is the device that you'll probably spend the most amount of time interacting with, next to your mouse, so it'd be well worth your while to spend time choosing one, and investing money in one. Chances are, you won't have to upgrade your keyboard every year if you buy a quality unit. The main things that are looked for in a keyboard are sturdiness, reliability & quality, tactile feedback and layout. Today, I'll be taking a look at one of Logitech's most recent offerings, the Internet Navigator Keyboard, one unit that has many additional features on it. Do these features add to the usefulness of the keyboard, or are they overshadowed by a potentially poor keyboard? We shall see...
Specifications
This keyboard is like some of the newest ones out there that have moved away from the "rectangular" look and instead moved to a more stylish design. The bottom keys, such as CTRL, Winkey, ALT and the space bar are curved downward, similar to what some Microsoft keyboards feature.
Here you can see the keyboard's overall shape, with its rounded corners in order to be more pleasing to the eye. The bottom keys slope downward so that when you hit the space bar, you are hitting a surface, and not the edge of the space bar. The wrist rest attaches very easily, and is recommended for use if you have the desktop space. Removing it is also quite easy, compared to other Logitech keyboards I've used. In addition, common keyboard shortcuts have been printed on the side of the keys that have them. For most of us, this won't make a huge difference, but it's still nice.
|
Overall view with optional wrist rest. |
Bottom keys curve downward. |
Keys have common shortcuts written on the bottom side. |
This keyboard works with either a USB or PS/2 port. That's good for people like me who still like to use their PS/2 ports. In the middle pic., you can see the result of Logitech's Zero Degree Tilt feature. The typing surface is virtually level, sloping upward only ever so slightly. Most keyboards I've used slope upward quite a bit more, and even more so if you should open up the feet on the bottom. Regardless of the difference in tilt, I've found the design to be quite comfortable, though not more comfortable than other keyboards I've had. Keep in mind that I haven't really used an uncomfortable keyboard before. The Internet Navigator does have small feet that you can extend, if you prefer more slope in your keyboard.
 USB with PS/2 adapter. |
 Zero-Degree Tilt. |
 Feet extended. |
The first group of iTouch keys resides over the numpad and there are five of them here. Three of them, E-mail, My Home and Search will perform without the use of iTouch software (at least in WinME, Win2K and WinXP), opening up your default e-mail client, your default web browser, or performing a search function in the application of focus, respectively. The next group of five keys is above the Escape key and first four Function keys. They provide access to features that some of you may find useless. The only different key here is the suspend/sleep key, which is recessed to prevent accidental depression. In this picture, you'll also note that the Function keys and Escape key are smaller than normal size, and the Escape key is moved slightly over to the right compared to most other keyboards. I would have preferred it had Logitech kept the Function keys' and the Escape key's placement and size normal. The last picture shows the iNav section of the keyboard, new to Logitech's keyboard lineup, at the left of the keyboard. It features a wheel that is most like a mouse wheel in that it can be rolled and clicked. Rolling the wheel can open a menu, say of your favorite links, and then you can select the option with a roll of the wheel, and clicking the wheel activates that option. The button right below it, with an arrow, backs out of a menu, in case you accidentally rolled the wheel. The "Go" button is a quick shortcut that, when pressed, pops up a prompt that offers you a place to type in a URL to go to. A little feature, but a nice one.
 Three of the keys here can be used without loading the iTouch software. |
 More iTouch keys. |
 iNav scrollwheel. |
The last set of keys is the multimedia keys. Most of them are quite larger than the other additional keys, and allow you to control volume and playback options in certain media players. The Num/Caps/Scroll lock LEDs have also been moved from their traditional rightside keyboard location to the centre, below these multimedia keys. The back of the keyboard has three gripping feet, and while I didn't notice any slippage, I'd have liked Logitech to put at least four feet on this keyboard. The last pic shows one of the attachment areas where the wrist rest snaps into. It's a trivial task to add or remove the wristrest.
 Multimedia keys. |
 Back of the keyboard has three grip feet. |
 Palm/Wrist Rest attachment area. |
Overall this keyboard has a very nice look and feel to it, but is maybe just a bit too lightweight for me. The extra keys are arranged very well into logical groups and have a different feel to them. The only real complaint I have is about the downsized function and escape keys.
Installation
Installation of a keyboard is... well, just that. I don't think I need to go into the details beyond telling you that the keyboard works well with both USB and PS/2 ports. Logitech's iTouch software is very much like their MouseWare software, except that it is for their keyboards. The functionality of any key can be configured, to a degree, and the software is easy to use. All that is needed after installation is perhaps a quick reboot. As noted before, the iTouch software is needed to use the majority of the extra keys on the Internet Navigator.
 Typical configuration options for an iTouch key. |
 Configure the E-mail key to open up your default e-mail client. |
 iNav options are more specific. |
The iTouch software works with almost any recent Logitech keyboard, so if you've used one before you may be familiar with the software. There are many options for the Internet Navigator on account of the many extra keys. Each key can be configured to do task, but not just any function. Typical settings are limited to:
 Onscreen effects are nice, but can be disabled. |
 Right-clicking the iTouch systray icon displays a plethora of options. |
 Onscreen display works well with some 3D games (such as CS), but not well for the majority. |
The 'Media' key suffered from a similar fate. Using it presents you with a limited menu of media programs to launch that are present on your computer. To my knowledge, you cannot edit this list by adding other programs to it, and sadly, winamp was excluded so that the 'Media' key could not be used to launch it. However, the other media keys such as play/stop can be used to control winamp once it has been opened. A nice feature, but I've been using the plugin CraZy Toolbar for a while that allows you to use Winkey+Z, Winkey+X, etc. to control winamp. I did, however, find the media keys easier to use than these shortcuts. The onscreen effects tell you what program or function you've just messed with, and are a nice feature but not necessary except for the volume control. As expected, the onscreen effects don't work well with most 3D games that I tested with, but did appear to work okay with Counter-Strike. (Good for you CS fans out there) I found the iNav wheel to the most useful, and configured it to scroll through applications much like Alt-Tab would. Very useful when you have a lot of application windows open. I would have preferred that you could bind any key or keystrokes to any of the quick keys and iNav wheel, as this would have made them much more useful. If this were the case, you could, for example, use the iNav wheel to scroll through your items in Jedi Knight II while using the mouse wheel to scroll through weapons.
Testing
As with my Logitech Dual Optical review, testing was conducted on a subjective basis beyond the critique of the iTouch software. I've used this keyboard for about three weeks during regular sessions of web browsing, essay typing, and relaxing sessions of gaming with FPS's and my current addiction, Dungeon Siege.
As mentioned before, this keyboard is comfy to use, despite its different posture. I suffered no problems whatsoever. I've never been a big fan of big palm rests, and the Internet Navigator was comfortable even without a rest. The sloping space bar felt a bit different since this was the first keyboard of that kind I've used, but I've adjusted to it to the point where it feels very good. The keys are very quiet, though they do have adequate tactile feedback and do not feel 'mushy' in the slightest. Although I've complained about the smaller function keys, I didn't find myself having a hard time using them. Nor did I find myself accidentally pressing any quick keys although the suspend/sleep key is very near the Escape key.
Conclusion
This keyboard is very comfortable to use (have I said that enough?), and also has some very useful extra functions, the greatest being the iNav wheel. Quality tactile feedback and the extra keys make it a good buy, though not a perfect one. The only complaints I have is a lack of configuration options for the extra keys, and the closeness of the sleep/suspend key to the Escape key which may result in accidental activation of that feature.
Pros
Cons
As a last note, I want to thank Logitech for providing this keyboard for review. This review just wouldn't be here if it weren't for them. Thanks!
UPDATE:
"It appears that I was mistaken when I claimed that Winamp could not be launched using the Media key on this keyboard. With the latest version of the iTouch software from Logitech it appears that the ability to launch Winamp *is* present. I'm truly sorry for the error. Thanks to all of you who notified me about this error." Sorry for the mistake!