Typing at the Top

On a recent visit to an old friend and his new apartment, I got the welcome and the grand tour.  The tour included all the usual places like the living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, but it did make some special extended stops at all the appropriate locations: TV, Blu-ray player, and new computer.  Being the gamer that he is, my friend has quite the setup for his computer.  Everything on it was customized for him since he put it all together himself.  The highlight of that setup, at least visibly, was surely his shiny new gaming keyboard, the Logitech G15.  While it is certainly not for everyone because of its price and what would no doubt be entirely superfluous capability for most people, it does have its niche and it's a pretty good value in that location.

The design of the keyboard is far more involved than that of most standard desktop computer keyboards today.  Rather than the squared edges and barely-there bezels of the modern keyboards, the G15 has some genuine curves to it.  The outer edges are curved down and should eliminate the need for those carpal tunnel gel bags for most people.  Even the colors of the keyboard seem to have some curve to them as they move along the lines of black and grey and back.  The back of the keyboard has a slight rise to it which makes it visually comfortable, and the arc of the keyboard overall makes extended typing or gaming quite comfortable.

The top of the keyboard is adorned with one of the nicest features of the keyboard: an LCD information screen.  The screen is meant to be used with certain programs to display information that might be intrusive were it to be on the main computer screen.  Beyond its intended use, the 2.5" LCD can also be customized to display just about anything using applications you can write yourself or download from the internet.  There is a robust and growing community of software people who have written a number of good applications akin to the applications made for the iPhone.  While there are far fewer available for the G15, the quality of many of the applications and their broad appeal has become a self catalyst in much the same way as the iPhone applications have.  One of the only things that you can't program on this screen is the color of the display.  It is locked in as orange.  While I wish this was a bit more user-defined, it is a pleasant color to look at and it not jarring to the eyes in a dark room such as that in which a true gamer might all too often find himself.

Another in a series of pleasantries on this keyboard is the availability of programmable keys along the western edge of the device.  There are six keys which can be altered to different layouts via three keys above the first six for a grand total of 18 options.  These buttons, although meant for something far more complex, are essentially akin to the email or internet buttons available on so many keyboards today.  The keys, three times each, can be programmed to perform any function set by the user.  While perhaps quite useful to the gamer or even the power computer user, these keys might not be all that valuable for the average user.  With some help though, even low tech users might benefit from being able to use a single key to perform some arduous and often performed computing task.  My friend has yet to find eighteen different macros that he uses regularly but he does have 4 of them in constant use on his different games.  While I wouldn't necessarily see myself doing the same, he does swear by the keys and forever laments their absence when he is forced to use another computer for something.

The absolute best part of the keyboard, especially among the anti establishment users, is the now-famous Windows lockout key.  With a simple repositioning,  this button banishes the Windows-key next to the space bar without having to move it at all.  With the little light lit up, you will never again have to fear pressing that button and having the Start menu pop up and interrupt whatever it is you are doing.  While this may not seem like a horrible eventuality to most users, those doing something off of the Windows desktop, live ever in fear of accidently pressing that button and then waiting as their program pauses, Windows reloads, they realize the mistake, unclick the Start menu, the program comes back, and is then un-paused.  That entire scenario can be quite devastating at a truly inopportune time, I assure you.

Most important on any keyboard is the action of the keys.  There is a long continuum between the pistol shots of the old IBM keyboards and the mushy soup action of some of the new very low end keyboards.  The G15 is right far closer to the IBM end of the spectrum.  While not quite as responsive as some other keyboards, this largely registers as a quieter keyboard.  Again, I believe that this is in deference to the gaming niche for which this keyboard is largely made.  Loud keys would be distracting and keys with too much bounce in them might adversely affect the gaming experience.  Rest assured that hours of play on these keys will irritate neither the ears or the fingers to which those ears are eventually attached.

The last function of this keyboard which takes it a step above most of the others out there is the backlight.  While this idea has been adopted in Apple's recent round of new laptops, many other computer makers have yet to add this feature.  The lights can be set to three different strengths: high, low, and none.  While off is probably appropriate most of the time, I have found in my own experience that the best gaming is done late at night when the world is quiet and you can really get lost in a game.  It is at this time, with the lights turned way down low, that the backlit keyboard can really prove its worth.  The two settings are a blessing for those choosing to play both in low and without light.  The high setting is a bit too bright to play without the lights on, even though the glow is an unobtrusive orange, but the low setting is just right to show you where every key is without making your retina contract every time you look down.

While the Logitech G15 might not be for everyone, the users that can turn a keyboard into the complex controls of an attack helicopter or an entire arsenal of army weapons will find it to be a dream.  It is comfortable and customizable and it's just as full of features as anyone might like it to be.  It can be tailored to anyone but will work for everyone...if only the price would come down just a little bit more.