Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard - K480 - Refurbished
This keyboard is designed to pair with three different devices and switch easily between them via a three position selector switch. It works with any Windows, Android, Chrome, or iOS device capable of communicating with Bluetooth. I wanted an external keyboard because I am often finding myself working on e-mail or other simple documents on just my phone or Kindle Fire tablet and find that the built in touch keyboards are too frustrating for anything but a simple response and I was spending more time correcting the "corrections" that they make to my input. I chose this particular keyboard because Logitech makes products that I trust and because It has the ability to easily select which device to use and this can be done on the fly with all three devices open and in front of me.
This review is for the refurbished model, but the only things that I saw that might suggest refurb is that it came without batteries (it takes two AAA) and there was something crossed out in pen under the battery door. Other than that, the keyboard came in a white cardboard box, perfectly wrapped in a plastic bag and looking and working perfectly.
One note about the physical appearance of the keyboard. It is large and it is heavy. it is nearly the size and weight of my chromebook and that is just for the keyboard. There is a groove along the top to hold the tablet/phone is place so the overall feel when using it is as if you are working on a laptop (except without a mouse/pointing device, for which I found it useful to keep a stylus handy). I like this configuration because the size and weight make the system extremely stable and comfortable when placed in my lap while lying in bed. Size and weight would be a drawback if portability were required. For reference, the groove will perfectly fit most tablets or phones in any orientation but will not fit a device that is in a case of any substance.
Setup is extremely simple. Place the batteries in the case and close the door. Select which device to assign to which position. Hold down the Connect key for either iOS or one of the other operating systems. Open your device to search for the keyboard. It then sends a code to your screen that you have to type in and the pairing is complete. There is an attractive instruction sticker attached in the space between the keyboard and the groove that gives all of the instructions that you need. I will be leaving it on my keyboard but that is personal preference. I successfully paired and tested the keyboard with a Kindle Fire HD7 tablet, an LG 5 phone, and an iPad 2.
Living with this keyboard has been easy so far, as it has met my needs and expectations. I use it with mostly with the Kindle Fire and the LG G5 phone. I place the Fire in the groove (in landscape mode) and it makes a decent, if rudimentary, word processor using the WPS Office app accessible from the Docs app on the Fire. The 7" screen is relatively small, but it is bright and high resolution enough that I would rate this as easy to use for this purpose as my Chromebook. However, the Fire and my phone are always with me when I am home and I don't need to sign in to them when I want to use them, so this is actually better for me in that respect. I use an Otter Box case for my phone because I tend to be hard on phones. It protects the phone extremely well but, by design, is not easy to remove from the phone. I have to place that on a stand next to the keyboard when I want to type. So far, I have tried the keyboard on this phone with Messaging and with MS Word for Android. As with Docs on the Fire, it works well and behaves like a mini word processor. The screen on the G5 is higher resolution and brighter than on the Fire, but it is also smaller, so I find that the Fire is better for that purpose, but Word has a Mobile View option that makes the text more readable while working on it, so it works well in either orientation. Messaging works exactly as expected, with the added advantage that you type twice as fast with a keyboard than without one and you don't spend half of your time fixing what auto-correct thought you wanted to send in your message.
The keys on the keyboard have a nice feel to them and work reliably, as one might expect from Logitech. They have decent tactile feedback but they are loud. I don't find that to be a problem. My only disappointment comes when deleting, using backspace. In this case, there is a small lag between when you press the key and the letter to be deleted disappears This would never be noticed if you delete one letter at a time, but it can be off-putting when trying to delete a whole word or sentence by holding the delete and letting it repeat because you will go past where you thought you might. This can be annoying enough to deduct a star, but I This appears to be a limitation that comes from the tablet rather than the keyboard, because I can select text in real time, so I give Logitech the benefit of the doubt on this. As mentioned above, I keep a stylus handy to use as a pointer when needed, so I find it is easy enough to use it to select a longer passage and delete it that way. It is the shorter items where old habits kick in and I use the delete key multiple times. I also find that selecting the text with the shift key and left arrow key works responsively and as expected, so this shouldn't be a problem.
I like that the keyboard has a set of function keys along the top that give functionalities that might go unused in a mobile device because you can't remember the shortcuts for that particular system. There are :
Esc
F1- Home
F2- Task Switcher
F3- Toggle menues
F4- Go back
F5- Search
F6- Rewind/Back
F7- Play/Pause
F8- Forward/Next
F9- Mute Audio
F10- Decrease Volume
F11- Increase Volume
F12- Insert/Save
Screen Shot/ Lock Screen
Del
Some of these keys are modified by other keys, like the fn key along the bottom of the keyboard chooses screen shot or lock. I haven't explored these so I can't comment on them. All of the characters needed for daily use are present, but not the myriad special ASCII characters that we might sometimes need. It may be possible to to access them through the alt key like on a PC, but I don't know if that is built into every operating system or how to access it from here.
In summary, the Certified Refurbished Logitech k480 Bluetooth keyboard has met or exceeded my expectations. The keyboard presents itself as if it were never opened or used in any way, so I would say that the refurb is n excellent way in this case to save a third of the cost. I find the k480 keyboard to be comfortable and more convenient to use in my environment than opening up a Chromebook or laptop. Having phone and tablet in front of me, I can switch between them and actually get some sort of meaningful work done from devices that were meant more for convenience than productivity. I can't stress the convenience of the three device switch enough. The switching is instant and seemless. Due to the size and weight of the keyboard, I might choose a different solution if needed this capability outside the house. At that point a laptop or Chromebook would offer better security and more flexibility.
| Brand | Logitech |
|---|---|
| Item model number | LOG920006342 |
| Hardware Platform | Laptop, Tablet, Smartphone |
| Operating System | Chrome OS |
| Item Weight | 1.81 pounds |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 11.77 x 7.68 inches |
| Color | Black |
| Batteries | 2 AA batteries required. |
| Manufacturer | logitech |
| ASIN | B01AKCM5YG |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | January 13, 2016 |
