Logitech diNovo Mini

Mickey

at 11:24 pm

Ok, this is not going to be a typical review – the current reviews describe the functionality of this keyboard perfectly well. After owning this keyboard for just under a year now, as I bought this right after UK release I just want to highlight some of the problems I have had with my unit. Some of these problems I have had since day one, some have developed with use.

I have just had to RMA my unit before the year warranty ended due to three main issues. The first was a trackpad that becomes unresponsive after a little use – generally between ten or twenty minutes. I am not sure if this was a hardware fault, software or a bluetooth connection problem (more about that in a minute). To resolve this I would have to flick the switch on the unit that changes it into media mode, switching the track pad from cursor to directional click mode then back again. If I hadn’t found this quick little “fix” to the problem then I would be there waiting between ten and thirty seconds for the cursor to start responding again – very frustrating!

The next issue I had was again something I noticed very early in the unit’s life. This problem was with the bluetooth connection to the dongle. The unit would intermittently not connect after restarting the PC – so I would either have to go through the pairing process again or sometimes I could get away with pulling the battery out and putting it back in and the connection would re-establish. This would also sometimes happen when the PC was on, but more often after a restart.

The last problem, and one that was the final straw and the cause for me to send the unit off for repair/replacement was that a few of the keys began to require a lot more pressure than the others to get the characters to appear on the screen. So you would often miss certain numbers and letters out while inputting data unless you made a conscious effort to press that key a lot harder.

I should be getting my RMA’d unit back very shortly, and I hope that all these issues are not present, but in regards to the first two I really wont hold my breath. I am currently using a Keysonic 340BT mini Bluetooth keyboard, which also has some issues with the connection (becomes unresponsive, or randomly puts in multiple characters when you have only pressed key once etc). Maybe Bluetooth isn’t as stable a connection as I thought it would be. I chose Bluetooth keyboards over RF ones because I thought they wouldn’t suffer from interference, which maybe they don’t – but it does seem the connections aren’t particularly stable. I have also noticed this with Bluetooth headphones that I pair to my phone for wireless stereo while exercising – the sound will sometimes stop momentarily.

However, even though I have had these problems with the Dinovo Mini, I do really like it as a HTPC remote. It fits beautifully into a living room environment rather than having a typical keyboard laying around. Yes it is a little awkward to use at first, but when you get used to using your thumbs to type with it and the trackpad you can get pretty proficient at sending short e-mails and browsing the web with it. I really hope my next unit doesn’t fail like this one has, as I much prefer it over the Keysonic board that I just purchased.
Rating: 3 / 5

Paddy McHugh

at 1:14 am

Compatible so far with: (that I have found!)

My phone – N95

My PS3 – as a keyboard – not as a controller (just to follow up on other reviews – it doesn’t say anywhere that I have read that it should replace your controller, PS buttons etc)

My PC – Perfectly

This is a perfect keyboard for use with your TV as a monitor – missing some keys F1 to F12 but if you are using this with your TV how often will you need those keys – the software that comes with the keyboard is useful also as you can adjust the speed of the touch pad – which I have to say works very well.

In relation to battery life I got this last week and out of the box it says 9 days charge remaining.

Only issue i have had so far is having previously connected it to my phone and then switching on my PC – it picked up the phone first as it was the first ‘live device’ found. A little quirky to get connected back to the PC but there is a ‘find’ button on the dongle and another on the bottom of the keyboard

Overall 10 out of 10 for this and would recommend to anyone that uses their tv as a media centre.
Rating: 5 / 5