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59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
remote control too - or not, 15 Feb 2006
By A Customer
This review is from: Logitech S510 Wireless Desktop Keyboard and Mouse Set (Electronics)
Note that there is a Logitech S510 cordless desktop, and also a Logitech S510 media edition cordless desktop. The latter includes a rather cool radio remote control that works through the same hub as mouse and keyboard. In conjunction with the supplied MediaLife software, you can get some way towards Windows Media Centre's capabilities at a fraction of the price. I picked up the media version for discounted price at a local Dixons (spit), I think the Amazon product is the lesser one so it isn't a great deal.The keyboard has a very low profile and none of the rounded sides that have been popular for the last few years - if you store it on its side, it won't fall over! The action is reasonable and much of the remote's functionality is duplicated on the various extra buttons. There is no indication of shift- or num-lock status beyond a couple of seconds on screen when you change the status. Build quality is good. The letters are placed slightly bottom left on the keys, so if you're typing in a darkened room you might hit the gaps between the keys rather than the keys! The mouse is symmetrical and should be a compromise between left- and right-hand use, but in practice I find it as comfortable as my ergonomically curved right-handed mouse from an earlier Logitech system. Recent non-budget cordless optical mice have tended to avoid the battery drain issue by including a charging base, which no doubt works well but requires both space and yet another mains socket. The S510 mouse takes a different approach and Logitech claim the supplied Duracell batteries are good for 6 months or more, with a warning light giving 12 days' notice. That's pretty impressive. There are only 2 buttons and scroll-wheel, but the latter has left-right switches too. Underneath there's an on-off toggle to get even more battery life, the connect button, and the sensor. This is unlike any other sensor I've seen in that it doesn't glow red, in fact it doesn't glow at all. Oddly enough, if you pick it up to look, after a fraction of a second a small green light near the sensor comes on - I haven't read what it's for! The usb end is small, more like a memory stick or usb dongle. In case your usb ports aren't conveniently located, there's also an extender with a small footprint. First time I plugged it in, mouse, keyboard and remote all started working without so much as a usb hotswap message, albeit without the remote's full functionality. Loading the software required a reboot then everything worked fine. Then after coming out of standby mode a bit later, Windows suddenly identified the usb dongle as a bluetooth device, which according to the specs it isn't; however it reloaded the software and hasn't said anything since. The whole kit is very nice looking, very well built and handles well. A skype phone on the reverse of the remote would have been icing on the cake! One possible issue: on one occasion I left the PC for a couple of hours, and when I came back I thought it had hung because the mouse and keyboard weren't responding. Reinserting the dongle cured the problem - but I don't know why it happened and I'd be worried if it became a regular occurence. Botton line - I bought this to replace Logitech's top-of-the-range cordless desktop of 3 years ago, and at half the price this is a far better piece of kit.
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