My original reason for wanting this keyboard was not for me but rather for my father. He’s 73 and his vision is not as good as it used to be. Yes, he does get his eyeglasses prescription updated at regular intervals, but even then the guy has a hard time seeing the keys at times.

Solution: Get a backlit keyboard with larger print.

The Saitek Eclipse fit the bill nicely in this respect.

The price was so good I bought two. One for me, one for my father.

Here’s what I have to report about this keyboard – both the good and bad.

The bad:

The keys are painted silver. Even though this keyboard gets really good reviews, the #1 complaint is that the key paint wears off over time. However, the only people that ever complain about this are gamers where the W, A, S and D keys have the paint rub off from constant gaming use. Basically put, if you don’t game, the paint won’t rub off.

This keyboard isn’t the most ergonomic thing in the world. Yes, it does come with a free keyboard rest that you can attach if you want, but otherwise it’s no more ergonomic than anything else out there.

The keys feel a bit “spongey”. This is the tradeoff for making it quiet when using it.

The blue LED illumination is good but not great. Still, it’s better than nothing.

The good:

It is notably quiet when typing on it.

All keys are in standard positions (thank God). Arrows and the cluster above are all where they’re supposed to be, as are the F keys on top and everything else is in proper position.

You can turn the LED lights off if you want. I did not know this before I bought it. At the far top right there are four soft buttons. The first three are for sound control (up, down, mute) and the very last is for illumination. There are three settings when you press this button, that being bright, half-bright and off. So if the blue backlit LEDs annoy you, don’t worry, you can turn them off.

The thicker fonts on the keys are a whole lot easier to read.

The construction is solid. Very good build.

When seen “in the flesh” it is far less “cartoony” than the picture shows it to be. This is not Darth Vader’s keyboard although it looks like it is. When on your desk it looks much better compared to the photo.

This is not one of those keyboards where it takes you days to get used to it. Being that all keys are in standard positions you can plug it in and go.

LEDs are all powered by the USB cord. No power adapter necessary.

No drivers necessary. Plug in and start using.

My personal opinion:

I give it a thumbs up. The key feel could be a little better but for $29.99 (which included free shipping by the way) from NewEgg it was a deal I couldn’t pass by.

One final note: It has been said the blue LED version is the one to get and not the red. I have the blue and can say with certainty that yes, if the backlight was red that would have sucked because for my eyes everything would “fuzz” too easily. Blue backlit is the one you want.

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Saitek Eclipse Keyboard – Not Just For Gamers

My last several keyboards have all been Microsoft keyboards. All failed, some much sooner than others. This time around, I did not want to get another Microsoft keyboard. I checked out Logitech, but nothing there had the laptop-style keys which I like. So, I checked out Apple. I really liked their wireless keyboard, but it requires Bluetooth (this is stupid). Then I saw the wired, USB keyboard from Apple. $50 is a bit high for just a keyboard, but I bought it. I was originally looking for a natural, ergonomic keyboard but decided to sacrifice it for the low profile keys.

Apple has always been known for putting a lot of thought into design, and this keyboard is no exception. Offering low profile, white keys on an aluminum case, this keyboard really does look nice. The keyboard is very thin and is certainly the smallest keyboard I’ve used, but it is not too light and it does not move around the desk when you’re using it.

The keyboard comes with the USB cable pre-attached. As is typical of Apple products, the attached cable is often to short, but at least they include a USB cable extender with the package. The keyboard also acts as a USB hub. There are two USB ports on the sides of this keyboard. I find the placement of the ports very odd. The previous Apple keyboard had USB ports in the back and this makes more sense when placed on your desk. Side placement of the ports might be nice for device hookup such as for your MP3 player, but it is not convenient for devices which are always attached (such as a mouse).

Personally, I really dig the feel of this keyboard. I have always liked typing on my notebook computer more than the desktop. I like the low profile keys and I find that I can type much faster on them. This new Apple keyboard gives my big Mac Pro the feel of a laptop. I can type very quickly on it and the keys are not loud and obnoxious.

The real test will be how long the keyboard lasts for me. Unfortunately, this is not a question I can answer yet.

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Apple (Wired) Keyboard Review

Today I bought a Microsoft Comfort Optical Mouse 1000. Price is under $20 at most stores.

This mouse is far better than the Logitech in every way. Feels good in the hand, the materials don’t feel cheap and it performs like it’s supposed to.

My only complaint has nothing to do with the mouse itself. It does not come with the IntelliPoint software. Granted, no drivers are necessary if you plug this into Windows XP or Vista, but you don’t get the extra features unless you download the software.

One big perk about using a Microsoft mouse with a Microsoft operating system (such as Windows XP) is that it integrates into the Control Panel perfectly.

When I click “Mouse” in the Control Panel, I get this:

Click image for a larger view.

One thing I have done for a very long time is set the third button (as in the wheel button) to double-click.

I can’t tell you how much my hand appreciates this. Tons of double-clicking gets very annoying very quickly. Setting the third button as a double-click saves tons of time and your hand will thank you for it.

I give this mouse the a-okay. It may not have a shape everyone will agree with, but for a better-than-basic mouse, this fits the bill very nicely.

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Product Review: Microsoft Comfort Optical Mouse 1000

Or so I thought.

The LX3 is absolutely terrible. It feels weird in the hand, the extra left-scroll/right-scroll wheel buttons sound cool to begin with but prove to be worthless very quickly due to the odd finger motions to make it work. Yes, it does operate properly, but the overall feel of the mouse is just plain bad.

I bought this mouse earlier today. Currently it’s back in its box and I’m going to go get a refund. I hated it that much.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I give this mouse a -1000. It sucks.

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Product Review: Logitech LX3 Optical Mouse

Introduction
With the advent of optical mouse technology, a new breed of ultra-sensitive mice have been developed that are mainly tailored towards gamers and users requiring high precision in their daily work.  While major peripheral manufactures such as Logitech and Microsoft have been actively developing and marketing these devices to computer enthusiasts for quite some time, other less well-known companies have entered this field as well.  One such company is KMEX, and today I’m going to be taking a closer look at their 800 CPI MO-I033 USB Optical Mouse which has been supplied to us from the great guys at the The Card Cooler, who market this product as the BlueIce optical mouse on their website.

Without further ado, here are some of the features of this mouse as claimed on the packaging:

• Super High Sensitive With 400/800 CPI


• Ergonomic Shape


• Easy to Install, Plug & Play


• Super Auto Scroll Without Scrollbar / On Line Zoom / Connect to Internet (Driver Required)


• Windows 95,98,2000,ME,NT,XP Compatible

Most of you are probably wondering by this point what CPI is and why is a higher CPI better?  The acronym CPI stands for Counts Per Inch and determines the optical resolution of the mouse.  As this resolution (CPI) increases, the minimum distance the mouse needs to be moved to be seen as a mouse movement decreases, which ultimately results in greater accuracy.  Enough with the technicalities though, let’s see how this mouse performs.

Installation & Configuration
The BlueIce mouse installs like any other USB Plug & Play device under Windows XP, but KMEX does provide a link on the packaging for a driver/software download that will allow for additional configuration of the mouse.  After installation of these drivers, you are greeted with a little mouse icon down in the system tray.  Doubleclicking on this icon brings up the window that reveals a few more features and extra options for the mouse:

The first tab let’s one assign the functionality of the mouse’s scroll wheel which also acts a third button.  By default it acts as a third button, but can also be used as a function key, to copy, paste, delete, or even to launch a specific webpage.

On the next tab one can adjust the wheel mode and speed.  By increasing the scroll speed, on click of the wheel will scroll the page down farther.  Conversely, by decreasing this setting less of a page will be scrolled.  This feature could come in handy for long documents where only a quick glance is needed.  By chance I noticed that (at least) this feature of the drivers is not specific to the KMEX mouse.  It also works for the MX700 mouse I usually use, which is kind of cool.

Gaming Performance
Since the KMEX mouse claimed to have such a high CPI (Counts Per Inch), I was curious as to how it would behave in a gaming environment where accuracy is essential.  Without my further ado I fired up the popular Battlefield 1942 MOD, Dessert Combat to play a few rounds.  I must say that I was pretty satisfied with the performance of the KMEX during the game.  Performance was snappy and accurate and I felt the KMEX performed just as well in the game as the Logitech MX700 mouse I usually use for gaming.

Everyday Performance & Handling
As can be seen by the above pictures, this mouse is not very ergonomically friendly like many of Logitech’s and Microsoft’s models,even though KMEX claims it is.  As the matter of fact, it feels a lot like the one button mice used on Apple computers and could easily be mistaken as such.  The mouse does include an internal blue LED that lights up the scroll wheel and KMEX logo  in a pretty blue color.  A good idea for case-modders and those concerned with the looks of their whole computer system.

Performance in windows was snappy and precise for the most part.  Due to the 800 CPI technology utilized by the mouse, a little jerk of the mouse to either side moved the pointer almost all the way across the screen set at 1280×1024 resolution.

Final Notes & Conclusion

Pros:

• Fast


• Easy to Install


• Looks Pretty (Blue LED’s)


• Price

Cons:

• Not ergonomically designed

All in all, the KMEX is a great mouse and the only problem that I really have with it is that is not ergonomically designed.  That doesn’t make it quite as attractive to me, but if ergonomics and hand positioning are of no great concern to you, the KMEX is definitely worth a look.

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BlueIce Optical Mouse Review

Saitek has been one of our favorite controller manufacturers ever since I have been in the business of reviewing PC hardware.  With some of the most outrageous, while still functional controllers on the market, Saitek’s products offer uncompromising value and performance found nowhere else.  The latest in the lineup is the massive X-52 HOTAS.  Replacing the X-45 as the flagship HOTAS in the Saitek product line, the X-52 has once again raised the bar when it comes to desktop controllers. 

There are literally dozens of options for the desktop pilot, with prices ranging from $10 to $500 for a feature packed HOTAS and pedal setup.  For the average gamer, $500 is an outrageous sum for occasional flying.  The average gamer wants good controls, lots of buttons, and accuracy, at a price that doesn’t exceed that of a high end video card.  Forget the replica F-16 grip and the details of button placement to match DOD specs.  Give us a controller that is covered in buttons and works well.  And make it affordable. 

Enter the X-52.  A massive stick and throttle combination bristling with buttons, dials, sliders, and even an LCD screen and blue LED lights.  Starting with the X-36, Saitek has continuously improved on the HOTAS, and the X-52 represents the latest incarnation of this incredible series.  Priced at around $120 USD, the X-52 simply cannot be beat in terms of features versus price.  Nothing on the market even comes close. 

Enough with the praise, lets get down to business.   

The premise of a HOTAS is simple.  Hands On Throttle And Stick.  No need to take your hands off the controls, just fly and fight, with no searching for buttons on a keyboard (or actual cockpit controls for that matter).  The X-52 stick is a massive controller, one of the largest sticks I have ever used.  The base is wide, and somewhat tall, giving the stick a good deal of height.  The design of the X-52 is straight out of a sci-fi movie, sporting a nice silver and black color scheme accented with backlit blue buttons.  The gripping surface of the stick is covered in a rubber material that provides a solid, no-slip surface.  Buttons….yes there are a lot of them.  The X-52 stick is literally covered in buttons and hat switches.  The primary button, the trigger, is a new metal unit that has two stages.  Pull slightly, and you get button one, pull the trigger in completely and you depress button two.  The two stages have a solid ‘click’ between them, so there is no chance of accidentally firing stage two.  The top of the stick houses two 8-position hat switches and four additional fire buttons, one of which is shrouded with the flip-up safety cover.  Sticking out from the right top corner is a three position rotary selector for changing modes of the controller, giving each button essentially three different functions.  Different colored LEDs indicate which mode is selected, a thoughtful feature.  Along the bottom edge of the base are three toggle-style switches, adding six more buttons to the already packed stick.

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Saitek X-52 HOTAS

What do most computer geeks have in their hand more than anything when sitting in front of their computer?  If you said their mouse, you would be correct.  If you said something else, then perhaps you need to get outside more often. 

Yes, the mouse, that tiny little marvel of modern technology.  Once an ugly box connected to the computer with wires, the modern mouse has evolved into a wireless piece of art, which is as aesthetically pleasing as it is ergonomic and functional.  Logitech has been at the forefront of the mouse industry as long as I can remember, and has been the preferred gaming mouse for many hardcore gamers and nerds alike. 

The optical mouse started as a novelty, a geeky toy of sorts.  Often referred to as a “laser mouse”, the optical mouse was nothing more than a tiny camera-like system that snapped thousands of images of the desktop, and interpolated movement by comparing the images.  The optical sensor technology advanced, and in time, true gaming optical mice were available.  The Logitech Dual Optical was one such gaming mouse, utilizing a dual sensor system to increase the accuracy of the hardware.  With the release of the MX sensor technology, the optical mouse had truly reached gaming status, and many gamers finally made the jump from ball mouse to optical.  The MX700, which the MX1000 replaces and the crown jewel of the Logitech mouse line, was in itself an amazing piece of hardware.  Accurate and wireless, the MX700 seemed to finally combine all of the necessary components of the perfect gaming mouse into one package.  In fact, the MX700 has graced my own desk for the last year, and I have had few complaints about the mouse.

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Logitech MX1000 Optical

Saitek is known in the gaming community for building uniquely styled controllers, that sell for a very reasonable price.  We’ve reviewed many of their products, and have been generally pleased with the form and function of nearly every controller to grace our desktops.

The original R440 wheel a perfect example of Saitek’s style and innovative features.  The wheel was a blend of futuristic lines, blue lighting effects, and a new pedal arrangement that was new to the market.  We gave the R440 high marks for both gaming and appearance, as it performed superbly during our testing, and always drew a crowd when we set it up for a demo.

The new R440 builds on the original design, foregoing the somewhat futuristic grey color scheme, and instead uses a traditional black plastic.  Four smaller, more traditional thumb buttons have replaced the large purple buttons from the original R440.  Button placement is good, allowing for quick, comfortable access during gaming.  Behind the wheel, two sturdy “shifters” give the option for F1 style shifting, or they can simply be programmed as additional buttons.  Rubber inserts at the at the 10 and 2 positions on the wheel help with grip during extended gaming sessions. The center of the hub has a series of lights that illuminate in sequence, showing the amount of force feedback effect being applied.  I like the old R440’s blue light better, but that’s just a personal preference.

The wheel connects to the table with a two piece plastic clamp.  The upper wheel section is postioned on the table or desk, then the clamping mechanism is placed over the base, and secures the unit to the surface.  The shape of the clamp accomodates even surfaces with a lip or trim along the edge, and holds the wheel firmly in place. The design is simple to use, and allows for quick assembly of the wheel.

The pedal arrangement was truly the most innnotive feature of the original R440, and this new revision retains the same unique styling.  The pedals are hung from a two piece base, giving the pedals a more natural, realistic travel.  Typical PC wheels have the pedals hinged at the bottom of the pedal, which is not the configuration of the most cars (VWs excluded).  The R440’s hanging pedals feel more natural when gaming.  We did have one complaint about the pedals from one tester, who thought that the pedals should be closer together like a real car, to allow single foot driving.

The base unit is stable, using the weight of the players foot to secure it to the floor.  On normal carpet, we experienced no shifting or movement, even during heated play.

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Saitek R440

A Skeptic’s Opinion

As a skeptic of “high-end” input products, I was a little amused by the sticker price of the Logitech MX Duo — $100.00 or more, at many retail outlets. I have never owned a keyboard worth more than $4 and a mouse worth more than $30.00, so I did not expect very much with the Logitech MX Duo. Just a bit of background.

Design of the Duo

I plugged in the MX Duo’s cradle. From what I can gather, it includes both a PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard as well as a combined USB mouse/keyboard. In other words, there are two plugs: a USB one that can use a keyboard adapter, and a PS/2 Mouse plug. I opted for USB on both mainly because I could. I also know that USB is a whole lot faster than PS/2 anyway, although I don’t really see how it makes a difference. After the USB was plugged into the computer, I plugged the power adapter into the USB cable and into the power outlet. The adapter is strangely designed and takes up too much space, in my opinion.

At first glance, I noticed that the wireless keyboard requires AA batteries that are obviously not recharged through the cradle. I do not think that the keyboard is a power-hungry device; however, for a definite conclusion, I will have needed to test this keyboard for much longer than I did. When depressing each key, you feel a sort of light resistance at the top and a soft spring at the bottom. When you look at the keyboard from the top, you can see the reflective plate that is the holder of all of the keys. Another thing you will immediately notice is the number of “specialty” keys on the board; luckily, all of these can be turned off or configured. There are your standard system volume control, mute, play, rewind, fast forward, etc. buttons. There are also many others, such as a Search button and a Shopping Button. Generally, if you are a gamer, you will probably find these more annoying than useful but for certain simulations, these “hotkeys” may actually help you out a bit. If you look closely at the picture, you may see that the “/” key on the 10-key pad is depressed. For some reason, this model is defective in that way, but I do not think this is a rampant problem.

When looking at the mouse, one must wonder why in the world there are so many buttons. This mouse is extremely comfortable to hold and looks pretty darn cool. The scroll wheel has that “soft” feel of high-quality products, as it should have. After all, this is a very expensive mouse and keyboard set. The LED of the mouse is always on (it doesn’t blink on and off like any other annoying optical sensor). This is something that I like. Also, it is positioned differently. The batteries are placed in an obvious position at the bottom, which definitely adds weight to the mouse. Yet, the mouse still feels dubiously lightweight and easy to move. Of course, I did test this on a RatPadGS, one of the best mouse pads available, so you may experience slightly different results.

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Logitech MX Duo Review

As always, a big thanks out to Logitech for their outstanding support throughout the years.

Keyboards haven’t changed much in the last couple years.  There have been some keyboard “fads” such as illuminated keys, but that seems to not have caught on.  Other advancements such as the internet keyboard, complete with onboard buttons and extra deviations from the keyboard-norm, have longevity because of a combination of practicality and convenience.  The Logitech Elite is one of the newer generations of internet keyboards; it comes packed with a plethora of extra features to make your computing life that much easier.

The Elite keyboard is built with the same two-tone scheme found on the MX series mice.  Most of the keyboard is made with a matte black plastic while accents of charcoal can be found on the internet buttons.  Logitech describes the keyboard as having a zero degree tilt, meaning the keyboard lies almost completely flat, aiding comfort and warding off the dreaded carpel tunnel syndrome for at least awhile.  If you should prefer some degree of tilt, the keyboard comes equipped with small legs.  And should you need some extra wrist support, bundled is a detachable wrist-rest.

The iTouch software is quite robust and simple to use.  The configuration panel can be launch via the start menu or the taskbar icon where customization of the function keys can take place.  However, like Logitech’s MouseWare software for their mice, only preset functions can be used.  There is a wide range of choices, but a fully programmable macro would have been nice.  Most of the keyboards functions will work without the use of the iTouch software, but at the loss of programmability and the on screen display for functions such as the volume control and media buttons.

Placed around the keyboard are four distinct groupings, providing the extra capabilities.  The main grouping lies at the top of the keyboard, providing most of the multimedia functions.  These include a volume dial (that’s another icon I can remove from my system tray), a mute button, a media button that launches a listing of the supported media players, and your standard video controls.  Directly flanking both sides of the media center are two groups of five programmable buttons.  The left bank includes an F-Lock button that toggles the F-Key shortcuts.  When the F-Lock is on (there is an indicator LED) the F-Keys work normally; however when off, the F-Keys are another set of programmable buttons.  Finally on the left edge of the keyboard lie the iNav functions consisting of a scroll wheel that can be programmed to switch between applications etc, a “back” button and a “go” button that opens a small dialogue box to open files or internet pages.  Other than the extra functions, the Elite keyboard functions are a perfectly normal keyboard.

I consider myself pretty “old school” when it comes to keyboard use, meaning that I prefer launching a program from the start menu rather than programming one of the many available buttons.  For the most part, this has remained true after using the Elite Keyboard for an extended time period.  However, the media center, especially the mute and volume buttons, have been under heavy usage because of my odd addiction to playing America’s Army and watching anime between sessions of badminton and sitting around with the friends during these dog days of summer.

Final Ratings

Highs

• Tasteful Design


• Abundance of Programmable Buttons


• Comfortable


• Media Center!

Lows

• None

Conclusion

The Logitech Elite is a pretty flawless keyboard in my mind, unless you prefer a Natural keyboard like I once did.  Nevertheless, Logitech has you covered there as well.  The myriad of programmable buttons, essential media center, and tasteful design make the Elite quite a good buy.  Although you will pay a slight price premium over the standard bare bone keyboard, it is well worth it.  The Elite can be found for a sub-$30 price at many online retailers at the time of writing this review.

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Logitech Elite