Tag: keyboard

Logitech k230 Compact Wireless Keyboard can be your budget travel companion [Review]

Logitech K230 is a clever little wireless keyboard that boasts some very interesting features. As we all know these products don’t always afford to deliver what they advertise as a prime feature. It will be great to see how this keyboard stands for its remarks, especially when it claims to offer some crucial proficiency, such as whisper-quiet keys, long battery life and being compact without compromise.

The Good	The Bad
Plug and play	No Caps/Num lock indicator
Long battery life	Up/down key is small
Compact design	Some Function (Fn) shortcut keys are missing
128-bit AES Encryption	Not as quiet as advertised

Design & Impression:

Having a curious mind is a bless and curse at the same time as I can’t afford to be patient for anything. My mind always looks out for answers to my question crafted by my unstable brain. So, while the shipment was still on the way, I couldn’t resist going through all the websites where users have shared their views and experience with the keyboard. I had so many questions, viz., Is it compact enough? Can I use it while lying on my bed without interference? Will it work with my Logitech M235 Wireless mouse via Unifying connector? The top row of the keyboard seems so small in pictures, how will it affect my usage? Battery Will really last 18 months? and so on.

I couldn’t wait to unwrap and test the keyboard when it finally arrived. I took it out from the box relentlessly and downloaded Logitech Unifying software, paired my keyboard and Mouse with single USB receiver and it worked; even so flawlessly. In fact, every single keystroke made to express my thoughts about this gadget is an input from it.

I am delighted to have this keyboard as my daily driver, as it does what I intend to do without it placing itself as an obstruction. The compact design allows me to carry it in my backpack (yes, I have actually tested it) along with my mouse, power cords, the laptop and few clothes if I have to leave for more than a day.

Logitech has added a little personalization option as three swappable battery slot covers. These plastic covers are shipped in three colors; blue, pink and light gray, which can be switched according to the interior of the house or most preferably, your mood.

It actually ingeniously hides the battery slot situated at the front left of the keyboard, which otherwise could be very plain-looking. There are two pre-bundled AAA sized batteries to power the device, which according to Logitech will be sufficient for 24 months of usage or 4 million keystrokes. My previous keyboard from Microsoft couldn’t even manage to run for 6 months, while they actively advertised it to be capable of providing 15 months of battery life. Whether or not Logitech holds true for its claim is yet to be seen, but I will still categorize it as an added bonus if it manages to give half of the juice it claims.

The body of the keyboard is made up of plastic, however, it doesn’t feel cheap. I do admit that it isn’t one of the sleekest devices out there but the infusion of chicklet and the standard layout is wonderful. This keyboard is designed differently, yet it manages to intrigue me every day. There are thin bezels on the top and right side and battery cover on the left, while the bottom of the keyboard has it all bare, unprotected; living a very dangerous life (if you know what I mean). I took few days to get used it, maybe because my previous keyboard had a really thick bezel around it.

However, when I finally realized how amazing it is to type with this gadget and ditching the bezel at the bottom might be the best thing they did with the design because it makes unbelievably easy to clean the keyboard; Just shake and tap the keyboard while holding it vertically and you’re good to go.

The keys on this compact device are not as silent as the company would tell you on their list of product’s features. The built-in AES 128-bit encryption makes sure that your data is safe and nobody can intercept the keystrokes that you send to your computer wirelessly, which is a welcome quirk. The top row (function keys) is very narrow and sometimes can be a little nuisance. It also lacks many anticipated keys that you’d expect on a wireless keyboard (including display brightness adjustment and wifi switcher etc.), more so if you’re using it for your laptop.

Additionally, there is no LED indicator for Caps/Num lock buttons, which is preferred by many people to be included for convenience. It wasn’t a deal breaker for me, but I can understand if you’d want to look somewhere else for that matter.

What do we think?

Logitech K230 Wireless Keyboard (PN 920-003357) may not be the best keyboard you can have in the same price range, but I am sure it can make its way to the top 5 in the list. Comparing it with the premium keyboards that cost 2-3 times more would be unethical. There is some downside to it, however, the overall feature and quality you’ll receive for the money invested will be 100% justified.

Buy it From:

Amazon India

Amazon US

August 31, 2016

1byOne Ultra Compact Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard International Giveaway
We had a tremendous response on our previous giveaway, following the success a new US based company sent us a very compact gadget to expose it to our readers. It is our pleasure to provide a platform to host these giveaways for DigitFreak readers.

The 1byOne Ultra-Compact Tri-Folding Wireless Keyboard is an ultra slim portable gadget, precisely built to accompany you when you are away from the luxury of a standard keyboard. You can simply type long documents and respond to tedious emails on the go with this super compact keyboard on your smartphone/Tablets. Heck, it even works on smart TV or any other gadget that supports Bluetooth connectivity. Yet, we couldn’t recommend it as a viable option to our readers. Find out why on our full review.

Winner of CoolPad Note 3 Giveaway

The winner of CoolPad Note 3 sent us this image today (22^nd March 2016). Congratulations!

1byOne Foldable ultra-compact Wireless Keyboard Giveaway

This international giveaway is powered by DigitFreak, co-sponsored by our gadget partner 1byOne US.

Want to win the 1byOne Wireless Keyboard? Jump to the widget at the end of the post to participate in the giveaway. Normal contest rules apply here. One entry per method per person. This one’s open to all folks everywhere such contests are legal, but we can’t guarantee the phone/gadget will work on your network/country. (You know how these things go). We’ll announce the winner here on DigitFreak, once they send us their Image with the gadget upon receiving it.

1byOne Compact Wireless Keyboard International giveaway

Terms & Conditions
- The giveaway is an international giveaway (Except when we can not ship to your Country.)
- If we can not ship to your country, you will be compensated with an online gift card of equal MSRP value to the prize.
- We are not responsible for lost shipments.
- You must be the age of majority in your Country of residence.
- We are not responsible for any duties, import taxes that you may incur.
- Only 1 entry per person. Do not enter multiple email addresses. We will verify all winners and if we detect multiple email addresses by the same person you will not be eligible to win.
- We reserve all rights to make any changes to this giveaway.
- This giveaway is operated by DigitFreak.
- The prize will ship when it is available to purchase.
March 17, 2016
1byone Tri-folding Pocket size Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard (Review)

Technology has made this world a better place certainly by making our life effortless every day. As in particular, the invention of smartphones, IOS & Android & Windows system tablets have undoubtedly fluid the communication system. Moreover, voice calls, tweeting or texting is much viral among the people nowadays.

on the other hand, writing documents, notes and typing long email messages in the smartphones were not possible until the innovation of Bluetooth keyboards. Besides that to make our work more convenient the 1byone company has launched a tri-folding wireless Bluetooth keyboard which can be easily carried anywhere and also can be fitted into your pocket. Owing to the reason we can obviously state that pocket-sized folding keyboard is much handier than a physical keyboard or other big sized Bluetooth keyboards.

Box Accessories

The packing includes a Bluetooth, user manual and a USB charging cable.

Build Quality & Design

The portable ultra-slim Bluetooth keyboard is well made by plastic on the front side and aluminium alloy on the backboard. The rubberized feet on the bottom works as a stand to the keyboard which also do not let the aluminium back get scratched somehow. The metal hinge allows the keys in the folds to retain the standard keyboard’s layout brilliantly. The design of the keyboard is impressive but not unique as the same style can be spotted with different brand logo. I think there is a bigger anonymous manufacturer who provides the device to multiple resellers.

There is a visible protruding segment present in the middle column on keyboard’s back, which is highly noticeable when it is closed, supposedly housing the main circuit board and battery. Also, there is 1byone logo, manufacturer information and additional standard symbols located at the bottom of the middle column. The charging port is located at the top edge of the same extended segment.

There is no dedicated power button on the keyboard to turn it on or off, the another welcome feature as you don’t have to keep reminding yourself to turn it off. Additionally, there is an automated power off feature, which is a little inconvenient. I will talk about it later.

Features and Flaws

The keyboard pretty much has the standard layout, other than the number keys are shifted to one whole row or column? and the num pad is missing.

For this review, I tested the keyboard by using it to type emails and long documents on my Laptop as well as smartphone and iPad. During my testing period, I didn’t notice any typing lag. Except one time when it was bit slower to register my input when my old Android phone was experiencing the lag system wide.

To connect the keyboard with the Bluetooth enabled device, you simply have to unfold it and press Fn+c. It will trigger the blue LED on top on the keyboard panel, indicating that the keyboard is ready for pairing with the device. Once paired, the LED will stop blinking and your keyboard is ready to use. The amazing part is that once paired with the device, you can simply unfold/fold the keyboard to connect or disconnect it with the paired device. There are additional function keys such as volume rocker and media controller, which can be activated by using ‘Fn’ key.

Sometimes if you press Ctrl+A the keyboard lifts up on that side, making it a little unstable at times.

Also, It might be a problem for those who has a habit of using right shift button as it has been shrunk a tad bit to fit it right on top of ‘right arrow’ button. While typing documents and performing certain tasks which involved the ‘Shift’ key, resulted in accidental pressing ‘Up arrow’ button. The Up & Down arrow buttons could inherit the ‘Split’ key design from that we see on Apple Laptops, which would have allowed the standard ‘Shift’ button. Pretty much like this one:

Some keys especially which lie on the line of the folding area doesn’t work properly as I had to press it multiple times to make it register my input.

In spite of drawbacks, the keyboard can be contributing for touch-typist and beat the burden out of swiping or thumbing. The keyboard doesn’t remain flat on the table or desk while working due to the metal hinges but it doesn’t pose much trouble to the user. Built-in 210mAh lithium battery, works for up to 114 days in standby mode without charging, with 64 hours continuous use. In addition, the sleep mode of the keyboard is automatically enabled to save power if the keyboard is unattended for 15 minutes. The keyboard can be brought back from sleep by simply pressing any key, but unfortunately, it takes a little while to function normally. It is a nice feature, but it may be a bit hassle for some users as most people lack patience because we expect the keyboard to be always ready for our input.

What do we think?

1byone could be a great travel companion, letting you work away from your desktop as it allows you to work wirelessly on the wide range of Bluetooth devices. The 1byOne Trifolding Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard is Available on Amazon India at ?5,278 (and $35.99 in the US), which put it right on top of the medium segment. As mentioned earlier, while researching for this article, I found that various companies are selling the same keyboard but with different branding (logo) and even cheap price. It is highly likely that they are all importing this gadget from China or another country for rebranding with the personalized company logo. (Example 1) (Example 2)

When gimmicks and flaws are combined with the high price range, it is difficult to recommend this gadget to our readers.

March 10, 2016

Microsoft Wireless Desktop 800 USB Keyboard and Mouse Combo [Review]

I ordered “Microsoft Wireless desktop 800 USB Keyboard and Mouse Combo” one day, when I was annoyed by the fact that I have to carry my laptop on my lap all the time while typing or working on it.

If you work on a laptop everyday like me, You would probably understand what I am talking about. I just hate it when I have to work on my laptop, sitting in a single position because you can not always use the keyboard effectively at every sitting positions. This is what led me to buy the wireless keyboard and mouse, so that I could work within my comfort zone.

This is just me, but you might have some similar situation where you wanted to go wire free and work on your desktop or laptop from a feasible distance. Microsoft Wireless Keyboard and Mouse is the perfect companion for such scenarioes, And guess what? It falls right under the budget of Rs 1,500 (~$25).

Box Accessories

The package includes a Microsoft Wireless Keyboard, Mouse, USB transmitter, Manual, 2 AA size battery and 2 AAA size battery.

Build Quality & Design

The “Microsoft Wireless Desktop 800 USB Keyboard and Mouse Combo” has a really sturdy and premium build quality, which makes it stand out in the crowd. The button are really soft to press, and they doesn’t seem like getting chunky any sooner. The curved layout of the keyboard button makes it really easy to type and compose texts.

I am typing this article on the keyboard and so far I am loving it. The buttons are so soft that it feels like you’re moving your hand over butter. There are several easy access hot keys, like the calculator, Play/Pause button, Mute button and volume up or down button.

The wireless mouse provided by Microsoft is equally good and delivers the performance promised by them. Microsoft Optical Technology benefit from responsive cursor control that takes advantage of 1,000 dots per inch (DPI) tracking, which makes sure you have a precision control over the mouse cursor.

Features

Both Keyboard and mouse can be operated from the distance of 30 foot range, with virtually no interference with the 2.4 GHz wireless technology. The Snap-in Transceiver provides plug and play feature, which means you don’t have to install any additional drivers to make the hardware work. There is battery life indicator on both Keyboard and Mouse, which glows red when battery is low.

There is a power on/off button at the bottom of the mouse, which is really helpful to save battery while the device is not in use. However, this feature is missing on the Keyboard, but Microsoft claims that Both keyboard and mouse can have battery life of upto 15 months.

Another drawback of the keyboard is smaller function keys (F1 to F12), which is little annoying for developers and debuggers. If you don’t use them often, you’ll probably never notice it.

Mouse is little on the heavier side because of 2 AA size battery, but you will get used to it after sometime. I didn’t noticed any lags while using the keyboard and mouse simultaneously what so ever. My experience with this combo product has been really good so far. You can’t expect much from the $25 (~Rs. 1,500) product. You can definitely go for it.

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Interface	Wireless
Brand	Microsoft
Model	Desktop 800
Type	Standard Keyboard
Part Number	2LF-00001/ 2LF-00020
OS Supported	Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X v10.4x -10.6x
Battery Life	Up to 15 months of battery life.
Features	1. Secured Wireless Connection; Enjoy the 2.4-gigahertz (GHz) wireless technology, which delivers a reliable connection with up to a 30 footrange, with virtually no interference. 2. Easy Access hot keys; Quickly access frequently used tools, like the zoom and audio controls by using shortcut keys.Quickly access frequently used tools, like the calculator and audio controls by using shortcut keys. 3. Microsoft Optical Technology; Benefit from responsive cursor control that takes advantage of 1,000-dots-per-inch (DPI) tracking. 4. Snap-in Transceiver; Plug the wireless receiver into your computers USB port when youre ready to work. Then snap it into the bottom of your mouse when you travel, and the mouse will automatically turn off. 5. Battery Life Indicator; Avoid getting caught with a dead battery. The battery status indicator glows red when the battery is running low.

WARRANTY
Warranty Summary	2 Year Limited Warranty

April 1, 2015

Common Mac OS X (Mac system) keyboard Shortcuts [image]

We all strive to get our work done as quickly as possible. Being able to do something and knowing some tricks are two different things. Mac OS X is apple’s very well know Operating system used by Mac lovers. Apple bundles their PC’s and laptops with Mac OS. Sometimes the keyboard shortcuts proves to be handy to get our work done quickly. Here is the image which contains the most common Keyboard shortcuts used on Mac OS. The image is designed by K. Brock on sanhaus.

Click here to download the original size.

Image Courtesy : K. Brock Flickr

January 9, 2012

Tag: keyboard

Logitech k230 Compact Wireless Keyboard can be your budget travel companion [Review]