With a great HTPC come great input peripherals. A remote is an obvious choice, but in the end you want to do more than just sit on your settee and switch channels or hit "record" with an imperious gesture befitting the King of Couch Potatoes. You want to surf. You want to chat. You want to tweak BIOS settings. You want a keyboard. Logitech has a long history of making input devices for every niche application. One of their latest offerings is the DiNovo Mini, a small, almost pocketable version of their cordless diNovo media oriented keyboards. It is the ideal companion for a HTPC: as small as a remote, something that can lie on your coffee table but has the full functionality of a keyboard and mouse. "But wait", I hear you cry, "the DiNovo is a Bluetooth keyboard and they don't work in a DOS or BIOS context because the Bluetooth drivers are only loaded in Windows!" Not so! All recent Logitech Bluetooth keyboards feature what Logitech calls "SecureConnect". In a Logitech cordless desktop with SecureConnect, the mouse, keyboard, and receiver each contain an embedded RFID tag. The tags are programmed (right before the box is sealed in the factory to prevent items being mixed up) to ensure that the devices are properly configured and have the necessary identification information so they can talk to each other right out of the box. BlueTooth software is not necessary as it is embedded as firmware. Previously, the Bluetooth software had to pair with everything at bootup (often with the user pressing "connect" buttons on both devices to initiate the recognition and pairing on first install), but that is now handled in a fraction of the time by the embedded firmware --and presto: keyboard/mouse work immediately as soon as the PC boots. Of course uninstalling the Windows Bluetooth WIDCOMM drivers would disable the USB dongle from being able to communicate with other Bluetooth devices --but that is irrelevant for those who don't have other such devices to worry about. The upshot of the firmware taking care of pairing and communication without the PC's involvment is that the keyboard will act as if it were a standard USB keyboard in even though it is actually connected through Bluetooth. This allows it to be used in DOS --without the Bluetooth stack or any Logitech drivers. Additionally, if the BIOS supports USB input devices (most modern BIOSes do), you can use the keyboard in BIOS even though it functions over Bluetooth --all this provided you use the included Bluetooth 2.0 EDR adapter dongle, of course (which can be used as a general Bluetooth hub for any other Bluetooth device, once the relevant Windows drivers are loaded. Win-win!). The days of needing to have a spare PS2 back-up keyboard somewhere are over. OPENING THE BOX: The unwrapping ceremony reveals a snugly held small clamshell keyboard wrapped in plastic and a flat cardboard package: ...which in turn unfolds to reveal a manual, installation CD-ROM and a nice black polishing cloth. When lifting the first layer holding the keyboard out, other contents in the box are a small rechargable Lithium Ion battery not unlike (in fact, I suspect, exactly like) a mobile phone battery, a USB Bluetooth dongle and a small battery charger. Setting up the keyboard is easy: flip over, pop the lid, and insert battery. Pairing is instant when the dongle is pushed into a USB port on the PC. Note the "connect" button on both the dongle and the keyboard --neither needed to be pressed in setting up and I suspect it is just to re-initiate pairing if connection is somehow lost. Also note a small switch to the left of the red "connect" button that says: PC-PS3. That's right: the diNovo Mini can also be used with a Sony PS3! In that scenario the Bluetooth dongle is not required as the PS3 has its own integrated Bluetooth receiver. Finally, note that this switch is set in a cavity which has the exact shape of the USB dongle. Handy if you don't need the dongle, but want to store it somewhere safe, or if you use the keyboard for traveling purposes. LIFTING THE LID: Size-wise, this is a small thing, a bit reminiscent of a make-up compact: Lifting the clamshell lid (which, incidentally, attracts more dust than a black hole --you know the polishing cloth was included for a reason) reveals a full QWERTY keyboard: The keys are tiny but have a positive feel to them. Typing is best done with both thumbs and the layout of the circular mousepad which doubles as cursor keys, the Windows key (bottom right) and the left-click mouse button (top left) appear postioned specifically to fall conveniently under the thumbs. Additional functions are called up with Function keys. Also note the Page Up/Down keys which double as zoom keys, and along the top the volume and media control keys, including the "Back" key, all very useful in Windows Media Center. The keyboard does not led itself to fast, lengthy text input but is useful enough for casual browsing and commands. The circular mouse pad is sensitive. Too sensitive. Given its small surface area to large computer screen ratio, tiny movements are inevitably scaled up considerably. This means that some times fine cursor movements are best achieved by simply holding the thumb on the spot and rolling it slightly in the desired direction, while at other times even the tiniest movements send the cursor flying spasmodically across the screen. Frustrating! The keyboard has a sliding switch which toggles it between two modes: the full keyboard/mousepad mode backlit orange: and Media Center mode, backlit green: In "orange mode", the mouse pad is quite sensitive and due to its small size even small thumb movements will send the cursor flying. Think of IBM's "nipple" laptop cursor control and you get the idea. Luckily it is more workable than that and just takes some getting used to. Holding the Function key will make the mousepad turn green to reveal the cursor arrows; you'll then find that you can press the edges of the pad with a positive action, and also the center as an alternative to the left mouse button. In "green mode" only the media control keys are lit but the others will work and light up orange if touched. This mode, I found, is a remarkably good replacement for the Windows Media Center Remote with the added bonus that you do not need line of sight with the HTPC. The keys light up when touched and fade out after a short delay when left alone, presuably to preserve power. The whole keyboard is frugal with its power and only connects to the Bluetooth dongle when touched. And yes, it really does work flawlessly in DOS and in BIOS. I tried. Range is impressive: no problems typing across the room, not even with the dongle in a back USB port (amid a bunch of cables) of my HTPC which is, in essence, a big metal box obstructing radio signals. CONCLUSION: What can I say? The keyboard is relatively sturdy and well-built, functional for its HTPC purpose, easy to set up, easy to use, and has good range. It comes with a charger, and my only gripe is that it would have been nice for this to have been a cradle similar to what comes with its big brother the diNovo Edge (which incidentally sports the same technology to let it work in DOS and BIOS context), rather than a simple wall plug and cord thing. Another gripe is that the charger puts out 8V at 500mA. This is a gripe because if Logitech had designed the device to charge at 5V at 500mA, it would have been USB chargable! Thus a USB Bluetooth/charger base would have been possible like it has done before with its cordless mice. Especially considering the price. As with all Logitech product you get quality, but at a price. However if you shop around you can lob nearly 30% of the recommended retail price which makes it much more palatable. A practical, compact keyboard for casual HTPC use.
quick ! someone give Nexxo a BT review page ! interesting product ! I had never heard of it before. I bet it looks bad ass at night to use this keyboard to interact with a newly acquired media center plugged to the also newly acquired 60" HDTV
Iv been drooling over one of those for about 3 months now, but the price is way to high atm, how much you pay? you mentioned 30% off RRP, where?
eBuyer: £73.49 inc vat with free delivery. This compares to the official RRP of £99,--. (OK, nearly 30%)
that is a very nice keyboard, and a great review.. shame its so pricey tho, admitedly i can see where the money is going, just a shame it isnt nearer £50
"Currently not available". But oh, look, it is available in these shops that we happen to provide a "courtesy link" to. At a considerably higher price. It's an old trick... Plus there's about £5,-- postage. When I list a cheapest price, it is really the cheapest price.
Nexxo, you've had a couple of months to really get to grips with this, do you still feel the same way about it? Do you have any niggles that only came to light later?
