I’ve always thought that one of the most economical ways to improve a notebook setup is through a real keyboard. The keys type better, and they’re more comfortable to type long documents with.
Logitech has always made good stuff. And now they’ve come out with a new DiNovo Edge for the Mac. It was reviewed by Appletell yesterday, and I have to say, it looks downright amazing.
I’d snap it up in a moment, but for two issues. One, there’s no number keypad on the right. Mac keyboards have traditionally never had the separate numerical keypads, and I don’t understand it for the life of me. Its prevalence is increasing, but sometimes I wonder if Apple simply wants to forfeit any financial-related usage to Windows. I want that functionality.
Second, it’s costly $160 is a lotta money. Granted, I’ll probably buy off eBay, but it’s still a pretty penny. Still, it looks like an amazing product, and even if I don’t buy this one, there’s a keyboard in my future – perhaps it’s another Logitech? (This one, or this one?)
3 Comments
I’m quite happy with my Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, which only costs $49. There’s a long-running debate in the Mac community about whether these newer “chicklet” keyboards are as good as the heavier Apple keyboards of old (several of which had numeric keypads), but having used both, I prefer the slimline feel of the newer models for extended typing.
I recently purchased the Apple Wireless Keyboard ($79) without the numerical keypad for my MBP external monitor setup. It’s a brilliant piece of hardware. Essentially the laptop keyboard detached from the laptop and made into an ultra-thin bluetooth unit.
I don’t need the financial convenience of a numerical keypad, and love controlling itunes and keyboard commands from across the room.
Plus, since it’s an apple product, setup is instantaneous and it even works within Bootcamp’d windows.
Apple keyboards look great, as does all their hardware, but when it comes to human factors engineering and ergonomics, beautiful product design *can* have a price. I find the current Apple keyboards too spread out and the key action too low. My hands feel stretched out after a while, and speed and accuracy suffer.
When deskbound, I use Lenovo ThinkPad UltraNav USB keyboards. UltraNav is the ThinkPad laptop keyboard in a desktop format. IBM perfected the layout, key spacing and action on their laptop keyboards years ago, and Lenovo has not dropped the ball since taking over the ThinkPad line. Comes with or without a number pad.