Logitech Signature Slim Solar+ K980 solar powered keyboard review: Ray-markable

Best prices today: Logitech Signature Slim Solar + (K980)

$ 99.99

There have been a lot of rumors on the web recently predicting major updates in the MX Logitech range of keyboards and mice. However, the company has evolved in an unexpected direction when it announced the new Slim Solar + Slim Solar keyboard (which also involves the K980 model number).

As its name suggests, Slim Solar + is a solar keyboard which, according to Logitech, means “you never have to worry about loading”.

There are three versions of Slim Solar + available, from $ 99.99 / £ 99.99 for the “universal” version that we pass here, which is designed for use with most types of computers and mobile devices. You can also associate it with three different devices and quickly switch between devices as needed.

Logitech also plans to publish a version “ for Mac ” at the same price, although this is only available in North America, as well as a commercial version “ commercial ” which includes the USB bolt wireless adapter from Logitech to provide an alternative to Bluetooth, for $ 109.99 / £ 109.99. For other options, take a look at our best Mac keyboards.

Logitech

Solar energy

The Slim Solar + seems fairly conventional at first glance, with a low -profile design similar to the MX range of MX keyboards from the company and on Apple magical keyboards. It is a full -size keyboard with a top line of function keys, separate navigation keys and a digital keyboard.

Its plastic case does not feel as robust as the MX keyboard dressed in metal, but it is solid enough to deal with a general daily use sitting on your desk in an office.

The Slim Solar + keys also use a scissor switching mechanism rather than lifeless plastic membranes used in certain low profile keyboards. Consequently, the keys feel firm and reactive during the strike, and they travel well, so the Slim Solar + will allow you to type a storm when you face a deadline.

Our only complaint regarding the design is that the keyboard is very flat on your desk – the rear edge is slightly increased, but there is no way to adjust the keyboard angle for people (like me) who prefer the keyboard which is lifted a little higher on the desk.

But, of course, the star of the show is the solar energy technology of Logitech, which he calls Lightchange. There is an additional section on the keyboard, just above the function keys, which houses an absorbing light sensor. This light strip is a bit embedded and looks like a support for a pen or a stylus, but Logitech prints a warning on the box to place nothing on this strip because it will affect the capacity of the sensor to absorb the light.

As you can imagine, the sensor can absorb the energy of direct sunlight, but it is also sensitive enough to load the keyboard for artificial lighting, such as lamps or exaggerated lighting in an office.

The light energy is stored by a rechargeable battery inside the keyboard, and Logitech says that once the battery is fully loaded, it can power the keyboard for four months even if it is used in full darkness.

Logitech

See light

You can check the lighting level in your office using the Options + Logitech application, and the application initially told me that the small lamp that is on my desk was not strong enough to load the keyboard by a dark morning in September.

However, lighting the light on my desk was sufficient to start loading on the keyboard again, so you don’t need to blind yourself with a projector in order to complete the internal battery of the keyboard.

As with the MX keyboards of Logitech, the Options + application also allows you to reprogram the different function keys in order to make commands such as the opening of specific applications when you start working in the morning.

Slim Solar +, however, has certain limits. There is no backlight on the keyboard – because, of course, it must be used in a fairly brilliant environment for the solar load to work.

There is no option to load it using a USB connection either, or to use it in wired mode if the battery works flat, so that some people could always prefer to spend a little more on one of the MX keyboards supplied by the most versatile battery.

Logitech.com

Should you buy the Logitech Signature Slim Solar +?

If you have to recharge your keyboard bothers you as much, I’m tempted to suggest that you could just buy a good USB keyboard instead – which would probably be cheaper too. Alternatively, some people might prefer to pay a little more for the more solidly built Logitech MX keyboard. But, if you like the idea of ​​using sustainable solar energy, as well as the possibility of associating the keyboard with a variety of different devices, then the Slim Solar + will win its dungeon.