The Top Line
The Logitech K810 Bluetooth keyboard is a well built and well designed device that does exactly what it says on the box. It offers a superior typing experience on the move for people with more than one device and allows you to switch easily and quickly between them at the touch of a button.Aside from a few niggles with the layout, some minor concerns with how robust it would be on the road, and a wince at the price tag (mine was £90), this is an excellent all-round keyboard that I have no hesitation in recommending.
I give the Logitech K810 Bluetooth Keyboard 9 out of 10.
Read the full review after the cut...
Full Review
I recently bought the Logitech K810 Bluetooth keyboard to go with my Nexus 7 so that, when I was out and about, I could use it as a light laptop replacement for writing and e-socialising (sorry).The K810 caught my eye in particular because it supports up to three Bluetooth devices and can easily switch between them, so it gave me the idea that I could use it as the one keyboard to rule them all and reduce the clutter on my desk at the same time.
This review was written using the keyboard, partly in Linux, partly on the Nexus 7, and finding the pound sign (£) on the Nexus was the only real problem I encountered.
Typing Experience
The overall layout is very good, with the Ctrl key on the far left how I like it (I hate it when keyboard manufacturers put the Fn key on the far left). As expected with a smaller keyboard, some keys, such as insert are missing and some minor layout compromises were made. The layout is close to a Mac keyboard, with the @ above the 2 for example, which may throw some users, and please others.Logitech state the K810 uses the PerfectStroke™ key system and Incurve™ key design, which you can Google if you want the marketing blurb, but the bottom line is the keyboard is excellent to type on. After a surprisingly short period of adjustment, I'd say less than an hour, I stopped noticing the keyboard was a little smaller, and just got on with typing using it.
The only frustration is for people who use the function keys often, as the keyboard requires you to hold the Fn key while pressing the function key. See the later section on niggles for more details.
The backlight works well in low light environments, making it easy to find the key you want, and the keyboard has a neat trick with motion sensors that turns the backlight off if you move you hands away. A clever feature that should really help battery life in certain situations. The brightness can be adjusted easily from quite bright, to very dim or completely off using the F5 and F6 keys in their secondary mode (which is actually the default).
Battery Life
In a word, brilliant. I've had it happily last a week of heavy use on a single charge, and it uses a standard micro USB connector, and will continue to work while charging, so it's easy to top up while at your desk.
Pairing with all the above devices was painless, except Vista, which took *ages* to find the keyboard, but I'm blaming the OS not the keyboard for this as I was using the same machine as the Windows 7 and XP tests, and had just booted into Vista.
The keyboard works just fine in all versions of windows without installing Logitech's Setpoint software, but you do get some additional capabilities (such as making the function keys use their function by default) if you do install it.
Again, pairing with the Nexus 7 was painless, it just worked. Press the Connect button on the bottom of the keyboard, choose 1, 2 or 3 for which button you want to pair the device with, then on the Nexus 7 just search for a bluetooth device as normal. It'll ask you to enter a number on the keyboard when you choose to pair, and that's it.
In use, the bluetooth switching works very well, but with an Android or iOS device (tested with 3rd Gen iPad, Nexus 7 and Nexus 4) there is a small irritation to be aware of that doesn't happen between the desktop operating systems.
Switching to or from a mobile OS can cause that OS to either show or hide the touch screen keyboard, which can cause things to shift around, and sometimes changes what the app is doing. For example, if you've clicked Search in Spotify and then switch to the K810, the search box is closed and you have to open it again. If you're watching a youtube video and you switch to or away from the K810, the video pauses.
Not the end of the world, and if you're using it as a keyboard whilst out and about, you won't even notice, but it's worth being aware of if you're going to use it to switch between, say a desktop and a tablet on a regular basis.
One final issue I find frustrating is the missing pound key (£). On Linux and Windows 7 this wasn't a problem, as shift-3 worked from memory, and on the Mac Cmd-3 worked as it does on any Mac keyboard.
On the Nexus 7, which follows the keyboard mapping printed on the keyboard, Shift-3 gives you a # sign and there was no obvious way to insert £ character without switching back to the Android keyboard briefly, and using the extended character view.
Not a problem most users will encounter often, but might impact some.
Other than that, for mobile typing duties, it's a pleasure to use.
My experience pairing and using it with a Google Nexus 4 was exactly the same, just on a smaller screen.
Price and Quality
It's not cheap. I paid £90 and a quick search shows you're unlikely to find it cheaper than £80 new.
The build quality is excellent, the mix of strong plastic and brushed aluminium make it feel sturdy and give it a feeling of quality. This is a keyboard that feels like it will last.
It may not be cheap, but it feels like it's good value.
Desktop Operating Systems
I've used the K810 with Linux (mostly Mint Maya), Windows 7/Vista/XP and OS X, and switching between them is slick and near seamless. There's a small delay, which is unavoidable, but it can near subsecond at times, and I've never known it to be longer than three seconds. Generally it's just long enough to be noticed, but not long enough to be irritating.Pairing with all the above devices was painless, except Vista, which took *ages* to find the keyboard, but I'm blaming the OS not the keyboard for this as I was using the same machine as the Windows 7 and XP tests, and had just booted into Vista.
The keyboard works just fine in all versions of windows without installing Logitech's Setpoint software, but you do get some additional capabilities (such as making the function keys use their function by default) if you do install it.
Nexus 7
As the principle reason I bought the keyboard was to pair with the Nexus 7, I've decided to give it it's own section in the review (I may even write a separate Nexus 7 review, if there's demand). |
| Logitech K810 and Nexus 7 in perfect harmony. |
In use, the bluetooth switching works very well, but with an Android or iOS device (tested with 3rd Gen iPad, Nexus 7 and Nexus 4) there is a small irritation to be aware of that doesn't happen between the desktop operating systems.
Switching to or from a mobile OS can cause that OS to either show or hide the touch screen keyboard, which can cause things to shift around, and sometimes changes what the app is doing. For example, if you've clicked Search in Spotify and then switch to the K810, the search box is closed and you have to open it again. If you're watching a youtube video and you switch to or away from the K810, the video pauses.
Not the end of the world, and if you're using it as a keyboard whilst out and about, you won't even notice, but it's worth being aware of if you're going to use it to switch between, say a desktop and a tablet on a regular basis.
One final issue I find frustrating is the missing pound key (£). On Linux and Windows 7 this wasn't a problem, as shift-3 worked from memory, and on the Mac Cmd-3 worked as it does on any Mac keyboard.
On the Nexus 7, which follows the keyboard mapping printed on the keyboard, Shift-3 gives you a # sign and there was no obvious way to insert £ character without switching back to the Android keyboard briefly, and using the extended character view.
Not a problem most users will encounter often, but might impact some.
Other than that, for mobile typing duties, it's a pleasure to use.
My experience pairing and using it with a Google Nexus 4 was exactly the same, just on a smaller screen.
General Quirks and Irritations
Surprisingly few, but there are a couple.The Caps Lock key light is quite dim, and so it's hard to tell in a bright environment if it's on or not. It's a green colour, so it's easy to spot in a dark environment when the backlight becomes more apparent.
The keyboard doesn't have flick out 'feet', so when used on a desktop the keyboard is quite flat in use, whereas I prefer a bit of an incline.
The keyboard light sensor seems to get confused in general use, meaning the light sometimes comes on in even in a light environment. This is slightly distracting and drains the battery unnecessarily. In part I think this might be due to the Hand proximity Detection feature, which is mostly a good (if your hands move away, the keyboard light goes off) but the light is also meant to auto adjust depending on the lighting conditions, and this feature doesn't seem to work so well.
By default the function keys offer their secondary function (media keys, bluetooth switching, etc) rather than behaving like function keys. You can get at the function key by holding Fn and then the key you want, or you can use the Logitech Setpoint software to change the default. However, Setpoint is only available on Windows, so if you're a Linux, Mac or Tablet/Phone user you're out of luck.
Setting the K810 Bluetooth keyboard F-keys to run in standard mode
Serious Headaches
The only major problem I encountered is trying to pair the keyboard with Linux Mint Maya.This post by Carl worked perfectly for me, and my K810 now switches happily between my Nexus 7, my work Linux box and my Windows 7 box. Cheers, Carl!
Ubuntu 12.04 persistent bluetooth pairing
Pros
- three bluetooth channels allow you to switch between three devices
- channel switching effective and generally quick
- good keyboard action and layout
- small and light, convenient in a small bag (but not pocket friendly)
- good battery life
- quite expensive
- function keys secondary by default
- no feet, so a flat typing experience when using a desk
The Bottom Line
The Logitech K810 Bluetooth Keyboard is a well thought out and very usable piece of hardware. Some compromises have been made to keep the keyboard portable, but the device never feels compromised.
2 comments
Write commentsGreat review! I hope the K820 comes with Bt4.0, NFC, and some 'droid-specific tweaks for this win8-centric keyboard. Does it come with a case?
ReplyHi Dan, thanks for the feedback. No, it didn't come with a case, but I've carried it around a fair amount and it's still going strong, so it's pretty robust.
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