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Logitech Cordless  Elite Duo

Logitech Elite Duo
Keyboard/Mouse Combination

The latest offering from Logitech in the Keyboard/Mouse combination category is the Logitech Cordless Elite Duo. The Logitech Cordless Elite Duo replaced the Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical previously reviewed by PCIN.

While many of the features have been retained from the Cordless Freedom Optical, a few changes have been made. To begin with, the keyboard uses two fewer batteries. The rest of the changes seem to be in the way the keyboard and the software interact with each other. With the addition of an F-lock button to turn on or off the F Keys, Logitech has effectively added 12 new keys to the keyboard. Setup

As with the Cordless Freedom Optical, setup of the keyboard and mouse was straight forward. The receiver has both USB and a PS/2 and although the recommended connection is to use both the USB and PS/2 connector, both devices work fine using only the USB connector. I downloaded the latest drivers from the Logitech web site rather than use the drivers that came with the hardware. The entire process took just under five minutes, start to finish.

Keyboard

F-Lock KeyMaintaining the same physical keyboard structure, Logitech's Zero Degree Tilt, the keyboard continues to be as comfortable to use as the Cordless Freedom Optical. One concern I had with the Cordless Freedom Optical was the lack of indication regarding Num Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock. Logitech has addressed this with the Elite Duo. The cordless receiver now has a series of four LED's. Each LED representing Num Lock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock and F-Lock. While indications directly on the keyboard would be ideal, this is a wireless keyboard and battery life would surely be shortened.

The keyboard features eight preprogrammed, user programmable hot keys. Using the iTouch software, users can easily customize the hot keys. One of the features of the software is the ability to create custom menus for the buttons. I was able to group a list of frequently used databases under one button, or management utilities under another.

The Elite Duo has incorporated F-Lock support into the Logitech Keyboard software, iTouch, to allow the often unused F Keys on the keyboard to be reprogrammed. I have been using computers for a long time and learned long ago that productivity is increased if your hands do not have to leave the keyboard. As such, I learn and use the iNav Wheelshortcut keys that the software packages I use present. Keys such as F1 (Help), F3 (Find), F4 (Close Program) and F7 (Spell Check) are all common shortcuts that have been incorporated into many software programs. My personal preference was to turn off the Flock functionality to allow full standard use of the F-Keys as provided by the software vendor. F Keys can be programmed for a variety of functions, including email functions (send, reply, forward), editing functions and shortcuts to often used folders such as My Documents. Additionally, keys can be programmed with a pass through, allowing the intended functionality of a key to be access while redirecting other keys.

The iNav wheel located on the left side of the keyboard provides quick access a variety of functions, from volume control, to switching between active windows and navigating through music and picture directories. The media keys will control a variety of media players including Winamp and Windows Media Player. Volume can also be controlled using the volume control wheel on the keyboard.

Media Center

Mouse

The mouse is the same as the one supplied with the Cordless Freedom Optical. The optical mouse provides smooth operation with consistent tracking. The mouse features the usual left and right mouse buttons and scroll wheel which doubles as a button and it also features an additional thumb button which may be configured using the Logitech Mouseware software for one of many functions, as can the rest of the buttons. The recent releases of Mouseware have greatly improved the scrolling of the wheel; it is now very smooth compared to the choppy scrolling I am used to seeing from Logitech. I have always found Logitech mice to be comfortable, and the Mouseman Optical is no different.

Batteries

As with the Cordless Freedom Optical, the Elite Duo is very conservative with it's battery usage. With two AA batteries in both the keyboard and the mouse, the mouse lasted nearly four months while the keyboard has lasted over five and still shows no signs of failing. Logitech cordless mice use four different modes to conserve battery usage, each flashing the LED in the mouse more or less frequently, from 1500 times per second when it is in full use to only two times per second not in use. Logitech claims the mouse will last three months using one pair of AA Alkaline batteries.

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