Logitech Dinovo Bluetooth Media Desktop 2.0
19:01.13 - Monday 24th January 2005 (Link to This Entry)
£140 from PCWorld, online price only, include 5% off promo code.
It all started, as most things do, as I was browsing around the products list of a well-known cheapy computer component seller. At some point during the evening's festivities I must have wondered what their most expensive mouse and keyboard were. I don't recall what lead me down that particular path, but that must have been it, right enough.
Fast forward a couple of months, and I have one on my desk.
The Logitech Dinovo Bluetooth Media Desktop 2.0, to give it its full name, is a set of three Bluetooth-compatible input devices and a bluetooth hub. Everything you need to connect to your PC wirelessly is in the box, and nothing else is required. Simply plug in the devices, install the software and reboot - that's it.
Users of the previous (v1.0?) version of the Dinovo set reported that you neede to use a wired keyboard to access the BIOS or boot into Windows. So far, this version 2.0 set has acted exactly like their wired brethren, with the added advantage of being far more stylish.
Style is by far the greatest selling point to the set - there really is nothing like it. Both the Keyboard and Media Pad feature low-profile, laptop-style keys set into a sleek, 1cm-high chassis. The keys themselves have that delightful textured finish that seems ever so slightly rough against your fingertips, while the clicks are solid and accurate. Unlike my typing, perhaps.
There are silver media controls embedded into the surround on either side of the keys, giving you the option to control Windows Media Player directly from the keyboard. Internet shortcuts (Home, Email and Search) are included on the main keyboard as well. These buttons are sturdy, solid and very, very nice.
The numpad sports an LCD screen that displays information about the currently playing track. Outside of Media Player it will display Email subjects and MSN Message notifications. On each of these latter functions, it will flash a small blue LED to attract your attention. You can even use the numpad as a basic calculator, with the final value of your calculations being inserted into the Windows clipboard as well as being displayed on the LCD.
First problem - though not for me - is that the mouse is for right-handed people only, as are so many sculpted mice these days. It sports forward and back browser buttons just above the thumb, up and down scroll buttons just above and below the mousewheel and a 'switch application' button (rather like Alt-Tab) as well. It's cordless, it's optical and once again it's very, very nice.
These three devices are connected to your computer via a Bluetooth hub which shares its casing with a charging dock for the mouse. You'll need a PS2 keyboard connector for this, and a spare USB. Connecting the devices for the first time is as simple as hitting the blue led/button on the dock and pressing the small white 'connect' button on the underside of each device. You can use all three without installing any other software if you prefer, but installing brings many advantages, not least the Bluetooth stack for Windows.
Through experimentation, trial and error and just a little bit of luck, I managed to connect all of my bluetooth devices to the PC via the Bluetooth hub. The devices and our experiences in pairing them are detailed here. I was able to connect a Dell Axmin X30, a Plantronics M3000 Headset, a TomTom GPS Receiver and a Nokia 6230 - all without too much fuss and wall of them working perfectly. Note that these devices were connected to the PC, not to each other, which highlighted our next problem.
With all four extra devices connected, making seven in total, there was severe mouse lag. No lag was evident on the keyboard but since mouse signals are transmitted at a greater rate than I could ever type, it may simply be the volume of data that made it more apparently when using the mouse. The mouse lag was eliminated once the Plantronics M3000 headset was disconnected, leading me to suspect it was caused by one of two things: either the number of devices connected was effecting the available Bluetooth bandwidth, or the M3000 was causing the slowdown directly through being the slowest device on the hub.
The final, and major, problem I encountered was while playing games. Firing up UT2004 it was rendered unplayable because the mouse would frequently spin the camera and direction of the player out of control. The problem appears to be a brief loss of contact from the mouse and keyboard which results in the game playing your last mouse move over and over again - hence the spin when all you really wanted to do was turn. Setting the prioroty of the mouse- and keyboard-related tasks to high did not solve the problem, so hopefully something can be done on the driver side.
Update: By quitting the Logitech application and disconnecting my mobile phone, I've fixed the problem and UT2004 now works just fine. It could be related to the 'slowest device' problem I mentioned earlier. If all I have to do is switch off my mobile, that's fine by me :)
All in all, this is a beautiful piece of kit. There really is nothing like it available - even the Airkey I used to use was nothing like this.
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A lovely piece of equipment, and very difficult to see how it could possibly be improved. If a left-handed mouse were available it would be perfect. 9/10.
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