Logitech is probably the most widely known and respected PC peripheral manufacturer in the world. They are known for making quality, reliable products that make sense. Leave it to our Swiss friends to re-think/design/invent the keyboard, again. Enter the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750, a lightweight, thinwireless desktop keyboard that requires no batteries or chargers, just a little bit of light.
The Packaging Logitech put their “green” hat on for this one from start to finish. The box is made of recycled cardboard and is only large enough to contain and protect the product inside. There are no printed manuals and no disc inside. All the information you need is printed on the outside and inside of the box. The full manual drivers and apps are downloaded from the link printed on the inside of the package. Initial Use Connecting and using this product is very simple and takes seconds. Simply plug the included 2.4GHz wireless USB dongle to your PC or Mac and turn the power-switch of the keyboard on. You’re done. With almost any amount of light in the room the keyboard begins to work immediately and continues to charge even as you work. Once fully charged the keyboard can be used (even in total darkness) for up to three months. There is a little button on the keyboard that tells you if the solar cells are getting enough light (green smile for yes, red frown for no).
Design & Build
The K750 is sleek and looks pretty. It has a glossy black bezel wrapped around matt black keys, with an Apple-like white back. It is only 1/3-inch think and weighs about as much as an iPad, so it feels pretty solid. The keys are concave, well-spaced and provide nice feedback as you type away on them. It is a full QWERTY keyboard with a numeric keypad and some extras. With the [FN] function key you can use the top row of keys to perform operations such as launching your browser, mail client, search and calculator app, as well as control your media player and volume or put your PC into sleep mode. The key feature of the K750 is that it runs on its own renewable solar energy, that means no batteries to deal with, ever. The physical footprint is 17 x 6.25 inches and that is very acceptable considering the large, integrated solar panels. The connection to the computer is made via the innovative Logitech Unifying receiver , a tiny USB dongle that plugs into your PC or laptop computer and allows you to connect up to six compatible mice and keyboards. You get a great wireless connection at 2.4GHz so range and response type are not an issue.
Carpal Tunnel
Many computer users suffer from a condition called Carpal Tunnel syndrome. This is a common injury that can be caused by repetitive stress caused by excessive mouse and keyboard use. One of the key things a sufferer can do is to make sure they use their keyboard at a neutral angle. Well, we are not doctors but just from our use of the K750 keyboard we can tell it would probably help some CTS sufferers. Here’s how:
The standard keyboard on the left is quite thick and causes the wrist to work in an extended position. This can aggravate (or cause) Carpal Tunnel syndrome. The K750 is so thin that the wrist barely flexes while the user is typing: App Happy? The Logitech Solar App, a free download, tells you how much charge your keyboard has and it has a live LUX meter that tells you how much light its getting. In our test with Windows 7 64-bit the app consumed about 1.5MB of system resources when idle and up to 7.5MB when actively gauging the LUX reading. It’s a cool toy but we don’t recommend leaving it running all the time.
Package ContentsKeyboard
Logitech Unifying receiver
Wireless extender
Cleaning cloth
Conclusion
Ahh, the thought of having a nice, wireless keyboard without the fuss of replacing batteries… We like it. It feels like a solid, dependable product from Logitech and it is backed by a 3-year limited hardware warranty. If we had this product in time it would definitely have been included in our 2010 Holiday Season Wish List .
