Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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70 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed... Problems after only 1 week of use..., July 13, 2004
I am actually using diNovo keyboard to type this review, and it is a bit of a struggle due to malfunctioning spacebar. :(
I did a bit of research on diNovo before buying it. Most online magazines (PCMag, CNet, etc.) highly recommend this product, noting its high price as the only drawback.
I got this keyboard/mouse combo a week ago, and I must say it looks and feels great. Separate keyboard and touchpad save you desk space. Mouse runs all day without a need for recharging.
I didn't experience any connection issues. It was only one time that I had to press the "connect" buttons on BlueTooth hub and mouse to have it re-detected because it stopped functioning all of the sudden.
The initial installation was smooth. I downloaded the latest drivers, got everything connected and everything went well from there... until yesterday.
All of the sudden the space bar (probably the most useable key on any keyboard) started losing response. I had to hit it harder to move the cursor and even then, at times, it would not respond. As I type this, I often have to hit the spacebar 4-5 times in order to make a single space between the words.
Another problem surfaced early this morning. The lower "fast scroll" mouse button would sometimes result in a "locked" fast scroll. This could be a software issue, I am not sure.
One thing is for certain, the assembly quality seems to be on the lower side. I reached this conclusion based not only on personal experience, but by reading other customer reviews and comments. Given the high price of this product, I am extremely disappointed, if not angry. This is probably the most expensive keyboard/mouse combo on the market, and one thing Logitech should have made sure is that it is of solid build quality. The product is produced by a Logitech plant in China, by the way.
***Update***
I have now received the replacement diNovo mouse/keyboard, and it's been working fine for 2 months now. The only complaint I have is that F6, F7, F8 keys are REAL stiff and hard to press.
Again, build quality is highly disappointing considering high product price.
On the bright side, I was pleased with Logitech support. They are easy to reach at toll-free number with virtually no waiting times. The replacement product was sent to me in timely manner.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I like it.., November 16, 2004
I picked up a dinovo off eBay. No invoice or stuff like that, but basically brand new.
After about 3 intense weeks of use the enter key and right CTRL were toast. Realising I could not return it without an invoice and due to method of purchase, I decided to investigate the problem. However, 1 week prior to the death of the keys I noticed that the keyboard would be disconnected after running over night. Not a problem considering the PC was on its last legs anyway (5+ years old and suffering typical VIA USB problems). So I opened up the keyboard in an attempt to see the failure on the key and managed to short it out thanks to horribly unexpected static.
However, the keyboard sacrificed its life to find out why the keys tend to die. Note how they're usually along the edges of the continguous key regions. Note how most of the time (with the CTRL key anyway) one doesn't usually hit the key dead center due to how your hand moves. Well, under the keys is a rubber mat with nipples on it and these are aligned right under the keys. The angle of movement misaligns the nipple so when you press the key again it doesn't depress the nipple onto the circuit board. This is, in my opinion, why the keys die. The reason the pop out of alignment is due to the rubber mat not being secured along the edges. Only the keys hold it there, but it moves easily.
It's a design oversight, something a stress test robot will never pick up. The solution is to pry the key up on one edge (it's latched on both sides by 2 arms in a X shape), tilt the key and pop the nipple back into alignment, then push the key squarely back down.
Problem solved, unless you were dumb enough like me to see how static affects the internals. :)
I have since sourced a spare keyboard and have been using it for 2 weeks now and there's no faults on the keys. And I've hidden my screwdriver set away as well. :)
As for the unit itself... I like it. I do software development about 16-17 hours a day. The zero tilt is perfect. The keys nice to the touch even though it takes some time getting used to how light they are. And it's quiet. The old clack panel could be heard all around the house, but none of that anymore.
The MX900 mouse is a bit heavy, but that's normal for cordless mice. The accuracy is nice indeed and it's comfortable to use. Battery life isn't so great if you tend to like the mouse pointer speed slow. On high speed movement with accelleration set to medium the battery will last almost a week.
The media pad is cool too, although just an incomplete accessory. For example, nice calculator but no backspace to fix a mistyped number. No backlit LCD either, so in the dark there's no use seeing anything on it. Only works with Outlook Express with regards to e-mail notification. No big deal though.
For styling... this is spot on. The best looking setup I've ever seen and pleasing to the eye if you have to sit for hours trying to feel unstressed in front of a PC.
Connectivity was only a minor hassle. Without the Widcomm software there'd be times when the keyboard would not be picked up by the hub or software. Been happening on the replacement keyboard as well, but I am relating this to the lack of installing the widcomm bluetooth software.
Why is that important? Well, if you've gone and installed Service Pack 2 you might want to look at another product. The Widcomm software conflicts with th MS bluetooth stack. At present I have no bluetooth software, but all components are connected and functioning correctly. However, I cannot use my wonderful bluetooth hub to find other devices. WindowsXP reckons there is no bluetooth device. It's a known issue, with many a solution but they're all a pain. Thanks Microsoft. Logitech have also not provided a good solution to this problem.
So, other than driver (Widcomm and MS) software I really like this product. It's a very tidy setup indeed. I am still working on finding a decent solution to the software problem and the related disconnects.
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, well-engineered, the perfect snob keyboard, December 29, 2003
I'm a software developer, and I rely on my keyboard, mouse, monitors, and chair for my livelihood. Recently, I bought a diNovo setup to replace my aging Microsoft Natural, and I'm more than pleased by the change. Having worked almost exclusively on a laptop for the past few years, I've become accustomed to the short-keystroke keyboard, and the diNovo keyboard feels EXACTLY right. It lies perfectly flat in the keyboard tray and responds with a light touch for rapid, easy typing. It's unencumbered by wires or other connections to the desktop, and I can move it around at will to get closer to books or to just get in a comfortable "web-surfer" pose. I would imagine other keyboards to be more ergonomically sound from some points of view, but the diNovo keyboard feels right to me--large enough, light and easy to type, and a joy to behold. The mouse is large and heavy--just right for my tastes, and also wireless. It has a few extra buttons, but unlike other manufacturers, Logitech did not place the extras in positions to be inadvertently pressed. It has good resolution, and is easy to use for extended periods. The best features of the set is undoubtedly the software. The keypad display responds to Windows Media Player by displaying the current track, time, etc. Scroll-lock, Num-lock, System volume, and other settings are displayed in an on-screen display like those of your television, quickly alerting you to the accidental caps-lock press BEFORE you scream-and-backspace. All hot-keys and whatnot are controllable through the software; the set is easily configurable to your every whim. I love it, and I haven't even USED Bluetooth yet for anything other than the included pieces. It will be interesting to see how the batteries hold up (4 in the keyboard, 2 for the pad, and 2 rechargeable in the mouse) in the long-term, but for now, I'm completely satisfied.
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