Logitech Wireless Illuminated Keyboard K800

Keyboards aren't exactly the sexiest peripherals in the market. For most folks, they serve a purely utilitarian purpose and are usually given as much thought as, say, a routine cleaning with the dentist. The Logitech Wireless Illuminated Keyboard K800 ($99.99 list) challenges this notion, and succeeds with ?lan. It's got all the hallmarks of a good keyboard, like an ergonomically sound design, quick response rate, and wireless connectivity. What sets the K800 apart from the rest, though, is its extra flair, such as sensors that trigger backlighting whenever your hands come in close proximity, or an innovative space-saving design that allows it to stand upright when it's not in use. Of course, all of this comes at an obvious premium: as far as non-gaming keyboards go, the K800's $100 price tag is relatively high. Taken as a whole, though, its price tag is justified by all of its nifty features. It's a superlative typing experience, the Cadillac of keyboards, and our Editors' Choice.

Design and Features
The K800's all-plastic chassis sports a sleek, doorstop-shaped design. While the thinnest point is roughly as thick as the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 , its profile tapers towards the rear. Thanks to this wedge shape, the K800 can be stood upright to save desk space whenever it's not in use. Although it initially looked somewhat odd in a vertical position, this unique design is a great space-saving feature, especially for those with limited real estate on their desks.

A thin, clear strip runs along the outer edge of the K800 and abuts the matte-finished outer perimeter, which houses the wrist wrest. A glossy black plastic finish surrounds the portion immediately outside the keys. Much like the glossy material found on both the Logitech Wireless Keyboard K360 and the K750, this portion of the K800 is particularly susceptible to smudging, though it hardly constitutes a major design flaw since it occupies a small portion of the K800's face. The keyboard's sculpted keys are in the traditional style and a welcome departure from the Apple-inspired tiled style that's currently en vogue. The K800 packs a solid selection of hotkeys to execute functions, like opening a dedicated mail client, controlling media playback, toggling between programs, and adjusting the keyboard's brightness.

The matte-finished keys feature laser-etched characters, and the backlight shines through them with no noticeable seepage around the edges. The backlight itself is the main attraction of the K800 along with what Logitech dubs "hand proximity detection." Built-in sensors detect your hands as they approach the keyboard and, in turn, toggle the backlight on and off; the keyboard lights up when your hands are roughly four inches away, causing it to brighten up as you reach for it. Once your hands leave the sensory zone, the keyboard slowly fades to black in a very cinematic fashion. On a practical level, this feature preserves battery life. On a more visceral level, it's a pretty cool feature that I never tired of.

Installation merely requires plugging the included receiver into a USB port and waiting for a minute or two as the driver installs itself. Like the K360, the K800 utilizes Logitech's proprietary "Unifying" technology, so up to six Logitech devices can be wirelessly connected to your system through a single USB port. For users with limited USB ports on hand, this is a nifty feature that helps free up port real estate, albeit not quite as effectively as Bluetooth does. Users looking to avoid dongles and receivers altogether would be better served with the Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 .

Performance
Typing on the K800's sculpted keys is an overall comfortable experience. In addition to having no lag time, its tapered profile sidesteps the shallow sensation typically felt on slimmer keyboards like the Evoluent Essentials Full Featured Compact Keyboard (EKB) and, to a lesser extent, the K750. The keystrokes strike the right balance between rigidity and softness, as reflected by the relatively low level of audible noise emitted during use. Compared with other keyboards, the K800 is significantly less clacky, an attribute that has prompted me to recommend it to some of the more furious typists in PC Labs.

For users who would rather not bother with battery levels, the solar-powered K750 remains the standard-bearer. That said, the K800's rechargeable battery lasts for quite a while on a full charge; I left it on in the Labs during a three-day weekend, and returned to see its battery still fully charged. An LED battery life indicator on the keyboard conveniently shows the remaining battery life. Either way, the fact that the K800 can be used while charging through the included Micro-USB cable means that battery life will rarely be a major issue. Plus, the K800's rechargeable battery is an improvement over those that run off of non-rechargeable batteries, like the Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000.

With a price tag that falls a shade under $100, the Logitech Wireless Illuminated Keyboard K800 is certainly one of the more expensive non-gaming keyboards you'll encounter. At the same time, though, this hefty premium is justified by its abundance of features, like its vertically-oriented space-saving design and use of hand proximity detection. Moreover, while it lacks the arched shape of the Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000, the K800 nonetheless sports an ergonomically sound design, and utilizes rechargeable batteries to boot. For these reasons, it's a shoe-in as our Editors' Choice for keyboards.

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