Green Gadget of the Week: Logitech's solar keyboard
Summary: The wireless keyboard uses any form of light to charge up and includes a 'unifying' receiver to connect up to 6 Logitech mice or keyboards.
(This is the latest in a regular weekly series of spotlights on green technology that’s accessible to you and me. If you have a product to suggest for coverage, please send a note via my contact email.)
Since I literally just changed the batteries on my own wireless keyboard earlier this week, it occurred to me that more of you might want to know about the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750, which was introduced late in 2010.
Retail-priced at just under $80, the keyboard uses solar power -- actually any form of light -- to keep itself charged up. The company said that it can go for up to three months in darkness without being charged. A solar app provides the information you need about charge levels and such.
The keyboard is about one-third inch thick, and it is made out of PVC-free materials, further enhancing its green technology credentials. It includes 2.4 gigahertz wireless, along with 128-bit AES encryption, as well as a unifying receiver that you can use to connect up to six Logitech mice or keyboards. Another thing to note: the product carries a three-year hardware warranty.
Sadly, if you are Macintosh user like me, you're out of luck: The keyboard requires either Windows Vista or Windows 7.
Past Green Gadgets of the Week:
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Talkback
Cool.
Besides, this falls into real "magic" territory. The keyboard just works. I assume the rechargeable batteries will fail over time, but by the time they do you'll probably want a new keyboard anyway...
Very very cool.
RE: Green Gadget of the Week: Logitech's solar keyboard
RE: Green Gadget of the Week: Logitech's solar keyboard
RE: Green Gadget of the Week: Logitech's solar keyboard
I have one of these. It works very well for games. Indeed, I'm really startled at how well it works, in general.
For gaming, there is no inherent reason why wired is better than wireless. The PC Bios polls the keyboard and mouse buffers anyway -- whether it does that by wired or wireless means is irrelevant because it is the polling rate that matters.
Traditionally, wireless keyboards and mice had lower polling rates, probably to lower battery use. Moreover, the signals themselves take a little processing, and slower CPU's would take longer to do that.
There may still be slight differences, but they are going away rapidly as newer tech permits higher polling rates and faster processing.
RE: Green Gadget of the Week: Logitech's solar keyboard