Logitech diNovo Mini™ Keyboard (920-000586)

Well, I've just received my Logitech diNovo Mini keyboard. I opened the box and thought "how beautiful this is". Just inserted the battery and plugged the Bluetooth mini USB receiver. Windows detected it and installed all the drivers automatically and the keyboard was working after a few seconds. It's just plug and play.

As a keyboard it's a really nice piece. The touchpad works flawlessly. We can switch between D-pad and touchpad with one simple slide button.

It's a product that I highly recommend for people who have media center computers.

Works great for my media PC and generally just does what it says on the tin. No faffing to get it working (Type pass key then press enter when pairing with bluetooth after entering a key into your PC). Can't ask for more.

Great product overall, although does takes some getting used to. Designed more for simple functions and multimedia playback. As the keyboard is designed to be compact, certain buttons have been omitted. These include the Home, End and Print Screen funcations. Caps Lock is also unavailable. For web access and basic functions this keyboard is fantastic, with great recharge, perfect wireless capability and a full multimedia button panel running along the top of the keyboard (replacing the F1 - F12 buttons). However, it is less suitable for more in depth Pc use, such as web design, publishing or gameplay.

The very first time I saw diNovo mini I laughed and continued on and bought a normal sized keyboard. Later I had to buy a wireless keyboard and I no longer has a desk, only a sofa and a TV (no other monitors). I decided to try diNovo mini. It seemed to me that there would be trouble with the amount of stripped buttons and the use of 2 thumbs instead of 10 fingers so I thought I would be selling it off within a day or two. However, after a few weeks of use I tried to go back to a normal size keyboard but I couldn't. Let me explain:

(1) diNovo mini is as small as a remote, a normal size board is simply not practical for living room use.

(2) It has a built-in cover that protects it from dirt and fluids. This makes it the first ever keyboard that doesn't need to be replaced every now and then. It stays clean and functional so it is the first wireless keyboard you can pay a lot for without thinking it's expensive in the end. A very important feature.

(3) Writing with the thumbs can be fast with practice but never as fast as with 10 fingers obviously. And about the special keys like.. well I just use the Windows on-screen keyboard for those rare situations. You can even do some programming with it. For writing a complex program or a novel plug in a normal size keyboard.

(4) It used bluetooth 2.0 and that means the range is adequate the first time ever. Always go for bluetooth 2.0 for living room use. You can combine a Logitech bluetooth 1.0-2.0 mouse for the same receiver. The built-in touch pad is crap so I use it as a directional pad only.

The only downside about diNovo mini is the use of a rechargeable battery instead of say rechargeable AAA batteries. It's not a deal breaker but it just means it won't always be wireless if you sometimes need to put in the charger cable. It would be better if I could just swap in pre-charger AAA's and continue without wires.

I wanted something which integrated a wireless keyboard with a mouse to use with my Mac Mini which I have connected to my main 42inch plasma TV. This was to access Spotify, Last FM, BBC iPlayer and to browse the internet.
I like the look and build quality of this device, but it is let down by what is an almost impossible job of trying to use the scroll wheel. It is simply too inaccurate to use with any degree of precision.
This may have been because it has been designed down to a size. Might have been better making the whole device 50% bigger and allowing more time to resolve this issue prior to launch.

I regret to say that it is sitting unused at the moment.

Also, backlighting would have been very useful for use in low light conditions

For those interested, it does work OK with a Mac computer

This is a nice piece of kit with a good connection range but beware, it has no function keys (F1, F2 etc)

I love the idea of a handheld mouse and keyboard which is cordless and does not need added software. I like the general design and feel of the Dinovo, it's light weight and the fact that it has a clam shell case which protects the the keys which are well lit. Everything needed is there and available although I did have some difficulty at first locating the "@" sign.I think that the small blue lettering underneath the main letters could have been a little better coloured or brighter. The rest are easily visible. The manual is excellent. I purchased for its usefulness and it has proved so. If you need a small handheld keyboard and mouse without cables then this item would fit the bill very well.