Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard

Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard (5)Last week I realized that there was a down side to how I’d hooked up my laptop to my HDTV. The laptop ended up connected to the TV and on top of my stereo cabinet, forcing me to stand at the computer to use it, or in my lap on my sofa, but not connected to the TV. So, I started poking around for wireless keyboards and mice. Thinking that a mouse wasn’t going to work all that well, and that would just be one more “remote” in my livingroom, I shopped for a wireless keyboard with a built in trackpad. What I found was the Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard.

At $149 this keyboard is a smidge on the pricey side but it’s worth every penny. It’s light, it’s thin, it doesn’t need AA or AAA batteries due to the built in Li-Ion batteries and charging station, and it’s on board “touch disc”. The batteries are quoted as being able to last a month or more on a single charge and based on other reviews I have no reason to doubt that. The “touch disc” is a round touchpad but with two special spots on the disc that allow for both vertical and horizontal scrolling once you get the hang of it.

Stylistically, this is a gorgeous piece of equipment. It’s sleek and black, and had many backlit icons for special functions. (For example, the ring around the touch disc lights up when your using it and slowly fades out when you stop.) And, as other reviewers have said, it even looks great when sitting in the charging station.

The wireless connection runs on Bluetooth and this is where I ran into some problems. My Vista Ultimate laptop has built in Bluetooth but I’d not used it in the past as this is my first Bluetooth device for a computer. So, I went into the Bluetooth configuration settings and instructed the computer to find the device. I’d pressed all the right buttons and read all the instructions a dozen times but computer continually failed to find the keyboard. So, as a test, I plugged in the USB dongle for computers that didn’t have Bluetooth and everything connected almost instantly. Therefore, the problem was with my computer, not the keyboard.

An hour later, having read many a support document, it seemed that Bluetooth was “running” (at least there was a Bluetooth icon in my system tray) but it was “turned off”. Using the function keys to turn it on didn’t work since, ultimately, the laptop was refusing to recognize the built in Bluetooth hardware. My guess is that something happened in the upgrade to Vista.

I found updated drivers from Gateway, downloaded them, and ran the install program. The install program informed me that I had to first uninstall the old version. Off to Add/Remove Programs to uninstall Bluetooth. Upon reboot, Vista found the hardware, reinstalled the (original) drivers, and before trying to install new drivers, I tried again. This time, the keyborad connected as it should.

(I don’t blame the keyboard or Logitech for this at all. I mention it since others might have a similar problem.)

I then installed the Logitech software which seems to give me some additional options and customizations but I’m in no hurry to investigate those since so far I’ve been able to do everything I’ve needed to do.

The only other odd thing I’ve noticed is the keyboard’s volume control. Using the keyboard to raise and lower the volume seems only to work within a small range, not silent-to-blearing like you’d expect. I’m sure this again has something to do with the OS’ volume settings and not a problem with the keyboard itself. This is also something I’m not all that worried about as I’ll probably use the TV remote’s volume control more than anything else.

For those interested, a slideshow of the unpacking, Bluetooth installation(sans screenshots of the hour of troubleshooting) and Logitech software installation, can be found in my Flickr account.

3 Replies to “Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard”

  1. Me, being the poor student I am, just bought a 25′ monitor cable. That’s one sweet looking piece of equipment.

  2. The problem with that “solution” in my case that that the VGA plug on my laptop doesn’t have slots for screws. In other words, the VGA cable can come unplugged due to extensive movement of the laptop.

  3. Yeah, I know, I have the same laptop. 🙂 I’ve considered duct tape.

    In the meantime, I just sit very still.

    My mom gave me a wireless keyboard and mouse, though, so I may try to hook that up one of these days…

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