The K810 is the most feature packed bluetooth keyboard available.
With more people using tablets and smartphones for simple computing tasks, it becomes rather obvious that a touch keyboard is not an efficient manner to get work done. It may not get you through media processing tasks but a tablet or smartphone is perfectly capable of word processing and even minor spreadsheet work. These two tasks are basically what 90% of the world’s office workers deal with everyday. It is not surprising that bluetooth keyboards have become very popular as required accessories for these mobile devices. I have reviewed and own a total of three bluetooth keyboards and this will allow me to make a comparison with Logitech’s Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard K810.
The K810 is the only bluetooth keyboard on the market that is backlit. I am a huge fan of backlit keyboards having used them for over 8 years. It does not matter if you are a fast typist and if you can touch type without looking at the keyboard, having backlit keys is always handy. It is in this area that the K810 stands out against its peers. I will test the K810 against the Microsoft Wedge Keyboard and Apple’s bluetooth variant. The Logitech Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard retails at S$169.00.
Keys
The K810 has the smallest keys which allows a greater amount of space between them. The chiclet keys are well spaced out and are clearly modelled after the exact key layout of Apple’s bluetooth keyboard. As such, it lacks the wider variety of keys available on the Microsoft Wedge keyboard.
The K810 sandwiched between Apple’s and Microsoft’s variations.
The K810’s keys felt the most sturdy of all 3 keyboards. The keyboard is built for Windows machines in mind as clearly denoted by the Windows key and other more Windows centric keys. It is important to note that the K810 will also work on Android, iOS and OS X. The brushed metal finish on the base was aesthetically pleasing and gave the keyboard a touch of class.
On the function key row, Logitech has chosen to make the function keys work only when the Fn key is depressed. This is similar to how the Microsoft Wedge works. It irks me because I am very used to using keys such as F2 and even the Alt+F4 combination. However, most users do not utilize any of the function keys and Logitech’s decision is probably the right one for the masses.
Size & Battery
The keyboard is larger than Apple’s and Microsoft’s. However, this allows it to give the most room for typing. Those with large fingers will appreciate the extra room. The keyboard is also the flattest of the 3. This is because the keyboard uses an internal battery instead of standard ‘AA’ sized batteries.
The K810 is charged via a micro USB cable. The keyboard, even when backlit, lasts for a very long time on a single charge. As such, wearing out the internal battery with recharge cycles should not be a worry.
Backlight
The keyboard senses whether your hands are near. This enables the activation of backlighting. The backlight intensity can be toggled and lighting is even across the entire keyboard.
This is everything you expect a well made backlit keyboard to be.
Logitech also allows auto adjusting illumination which is what I set the keyboard to do. It worked well under different lighting conditions. The back light also peeks out at the edge of each key. In short, this is everything you expect a well made backlit keyboard to be.
Pairing
Another strength of the K810 is its ability to pair with multiple devices. You can pair it with 3 devices and switch effortlessly between them. The first 3 keys on the function keys row allow you to swap when needed.
Connectivity: Switch between 3 devices quickly.
I had the keyboard paired to a desktop, tablet and phone. It was really useful to be able to switch between devices as and when I needed. It felt almost like having a KVM switch installed. Users that utilize multiple devices will love this feature. I hope more manufacturers set this as a standard. Logitech has been pushing this for quite a few of their devices including their music options in the Ultimate Ears line up.
Conclusion
The K810 is slim and light albeit slightly larger than Microsoft’s and Apple’s options. It is well crafted and feels great to type on. Logitech has got many parts of building this keyboard right. It is not a surprise considering their experience in making keyboards.
The price for the K810 is significantly higher than Apple’s and Microsoft’s options but the K810 does a lot more. If you do plenty of typing under low light and you want to use your keyboard with multiple devices, the K810 is the best available out there and is worth the extra cost.
