I'm a fan of Logitech and their products, so when it came time to buy
a new, wireless keyboard for my systems, I enjoyed checking out their
latest: the K580 and K380 wireless keyboards. Here is my review:
Logitech K580 Wireless Keyboard
I've got a chromebox, so when I saw they were producing a keyboard
with all of Chrome's special keys, I was obviously going to get it.
Chromeboxes come with cheap, wired keyboards with stiff
keys. Upgrading to a 'real' keyboard made it a more enjoyable system
to use, over all.
Pros:
Smooth, easy keys
Absolutely silent
All the Chrome keys are there - lock, fullscreen, volume,
brightness. Note two keys require a version of ChromeOS newer than
80-something, and didn't work on an older Chromebox.
Pairs with three devices, and the integrated dongle as always works
better than Bluetooth does for wireless action
A nice weight, with rubber pads that make it stay in place
Thin and attractive, and easy to tuck away when done
I use it frequently with my cellphone, and it's a great device to
whip out of a drawer, send a few emails using phone, and then put
away. That makes it a device that keeps the house uncluttered
Cons:
The keys are of a slightly slippery plastic, and all the same height
with no sculpting. I find them a little slippery
The up and down keys are half size. I really hate that design choice
The control key is small. The larger control key has always been one
of the things I like about Chrome. I recognize they use this same
design for other products specialized for Windows and Mac, and how
much money are you going to invest in a very small market, but I do
miss the larger key. They've added in the new Google Assistant key,
which I don't use.
Conclusion: Wouldn't want to use it to write a novel, but it's a great
device for use with my phone and tablet and a lovely addition to the
Chromebox.
Logitech K380 Wireless Keyboard
This thing is ridiculously inexpensive, so it was a risk-free
experiment that ended well. I bought it imagining I'd use it mostly
with phone and tablet over bluetooth, and that's turned out to be
true.
Pros:
The keys are lovely, even better than the more expensive K580. They
are slightly rubbery and each key is sculpted. It's comfortable to
type on
It's perfectly silent
It's low profile, compact and portable. That makes it easy to throw
in a bag with my tablet if I want to do some work elsewhere, like in
the library. It also tucks easily under the computer monitor on the
desktop
It pairs with three devices via bluetooth, and is very fast to
connect. I use it with phone, tablet, and my Chromebox with no
trouble
It's ridiculously inexpensive
Cons:
It doesn't have the Chrome special keys, although its media keys work
perfectly with Android. You can manage a few of the Chrome shortcuts
via the function key but they don't match the labels on the
keycaps. So, this is really a better match for Android than for
Chrome
It had some trouble with an older Chromebox but none with the newer
one. I presume it's the older Chromebox's bluetooth. That's not
really a con, just a note.
Conclusion: Cheap, comfortable to use, portable, and very
effective. It matches Android perfectly, ChromeOS well enough.
