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An ergonomically designed keyboard with a comfort wave design and a contoured laser mouse, the logitech wireless wave combo mk550 gives you a comfort curve without the learning curve.
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High Quality, Very Quiet. Wireless receiver is TINY!,
I am very impressed with this product. I have used many, many keyboards and wireless mice over the years and this keyboard / mouse combo really are excellent. They both look and feel high quality with a soft rubberized coating on the mouse and the keyboard wrist wrest.
I have been using a Microsoft Natural keyboard 4000 for the ergonomics and convenience buttons. This Logitech keyboard is MUCH, MUCH quieter and the spacebar is much easier to press. In addition, I think that the convenience buttons (like the volume control, media center launcher, etc) are much easier to see and use on this Logitech Keyboard than the Microsoft Natural keyboard. I will say that I occasionally thought that I noticed a bit of a delay with the keys I typed not showing up on the screen instantly. I’m not sure if I can blame that on the keyboard or not, but whatever the case it wasn’t something that caused me enough of a problem to knock a star off the rating. Since I’m now using this keyboard as my keyboard I’ll update this review if it becomes problematic.
The mouse is a good size and fit. It does not have an ergonomic slant to it where your hand is tilted a bit to give your wrist a more natural positions, but my thumb and ring finger just seemed to go perfectly into the grooves and the convenience buttons worked well. This is the first optical / laser mouse I’ve had that doesn’t light up. No red glow, but it is works great!
The one thing that you need to know about this product is that it is really what I would call an ergonomic “blend” product. By that I mean that the keyboard is more ergonomic than a standard straight keyboard and the keys are very easy to press, but it definitely is not as ergonomic as a keyboard with a true split keyboard that is angled up in the middle. This will be completely up to your preference of which style you prefer and the product marketing material makes it very clear that this keyboard is more ergonomic than a standard but doesn’t require learning how to type again. I would say that is true. I’ve used various split style ergonomic keyboards for years where the keys are literally split along the T-G-B keys for the left hand and Y-H-N keys for the right hand. I like that style and may go back to it, but often people will sit down to use my split style keyboard and find that they can’t type very well. With this Logitech keyboard, my wife noticed that there is a bit of a difference from her regular keyboard due to the bit of ergonomics factored into “wave” of the keyboard, but it didn’t seem to cause problems for her to type. So to that end, I suppose that the product works as advertised and isn’t a reason to knock a star off, but you definitely should beware that it isn’t as ergonomic as some keyboards on the market, such as the Microsoft Natural Keyboard.
I have to rave about the wireless receiver. It is the smallest receiver I’ve ever seen. It really is about the size of thumbtack and the single receiver works for both the keyboard and mouse. The mouse has a little slot for storing the receiver, so it can be safely stowed away. I was very impressed by the fact that I plugged it in, pulled the battery tapes out of both the keyboard and mouse and everything instantly started working (I use Windows 7). That was all it took to get most of the functionality working. Most of the extra functionality buttons like volume control worked immediately. I did end up installing the software from the CD to get the last few buttons to work, but that was no big deal. I stood back about 12 feet to see if the receiver would work from that distance and it worked fine.
I am impressed with the build quality, the quietness, the small receiver, and how easy it was to get started with it. I also liked that Logitech included the Duracell batteries pre-installed in the keyboard and mouse, with only having to pull a tab to activate them (Note: the keyboard and the most each take 2 standard AA batteries). I would prefer a keyboard that has a bit more of an ergonomic split to it, but I also know that many people can’t stand that style of keyboard. So perhaps this keyboard is a pretty good blend or ergonomics and ease of use for most people. In the end, you probably would be wise to go try it out in the store to see if you really like how it feels. If you like the feel of it, then I think you’ll be really happy with how well it works once you get it home.
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|Best for office workers and/or those who do a LOT of writing. [Plus a comparison with the half-priced MK320],
This is certainly a well made unit, and its ergonomic “wave” form really is pleasant when doing hours of writing, as is its rubbery, vaguely faux-leather rest for the heel of the hands. Having also just got the new Logitceh MK 320, I’d have to say it delivers very similar quality in most ways to this, and is probably a better wireless value for the average user. If you write all day, however, the MK 550 might have your name on it.
Like the 320, this is a breeze to set up: pull out the tabs under the pre-installed batteries, plug in the (super small) usb wireless receiver, and off you go. That’s nice. (The included cd is for customizing some of the function keys and won’t be used by many is my guess.)
The first thing you notice about this keyboard is how large it is, almost 50{b81fbfd19e1fca5890798868c0714c408bbd5ec471654b6f9630c0fffa6e7eb3} bigger than the average wireless kb. Most of that room is used by the palm rest. If I was a perfect touch typist, this might be the ultimate kb; it seems to be designed with the pro typist in mind. But I’m merely ok, and one thing I’ve already noticed here is that the wave is a little disconcerting when you move your hands about a bit, as I do. The contours make it a bit odd coming down on a key at an angle. I find myself longing at times for the smaller, tighter, flatter setup of the 320. If I was a perfect typist who rarely looks at or moves my hands, that might not be the case. Which are you?
The mouse is much larger than the 320’s mini-mouse, which bothered some reviewers here, but didn’t faze my medium large hands. This is a heftier, contoured mouse and certainly feels more solid, with a smart pair of buttons for your thumb to go back and forth between the previous pages. (Without cookies on, this could be a negative, though…whoops, I accidentally lost my whole document!) My qualm with this mouse vs. the 320’s is that you need to move it twice as far to take the cursor from one edge of the screen to the other. I prefer the tighter ranger of the smaller mouse, but many might prefer this mouse for its more standard size and contours.
All in all, as an ergonomic keyboard this is easier to use than a split kb for a new user, but the wave feel does take some getting used to for those who always use a flat kb. The back tabs also lift it up a fair bit, so much so that your hands are angled a little higher than the 320 or most kbs, which if one is typing all day might take more blood out of the hands than desired unless your desk sits very low. I find myself having to shake my hands out a bit more using the 550. But the keys have a nice travel, maybe a tad long but with a very nice spring to them, and they’re a pleasure to type with.
The dedicated function buttons for wmp and your home page etc from the 320 are here too, mute and volume included, and a few extra ones as well. I like that feature a lot, as I listen to music all the time. Logitech designers, well done. Every kb needs those.
All told, I think this is a very fine keyboard for the serious, all-day typist. The mouse is also excellent. They’re both quite solid and feel like they’ll last for quite a few years. And if the promises are correct, battery life of over two years for both kb and mouse is pretty amazing. The wireless aspect makes life a lot easier as well; being able to lean back and use the kb in your lap for a while is a good option, especially if your back needs a rest now and then.
If you don’t type too much, just for emails on occasion, I’d go for the smaller 320 kb/mouse combo at less than half the price. But for those who almost live at their computer and do hours of writing a day, the MK 550 could make your life a whole lot easier.
[Edit: 4/21/11. Just thought I’d share battery life specs; the two alkaline batts included with the keyboard just went dead after roughly 750 hours’ usage. Which seems a pretty fair deal, all told. I’ll be replacing them with rechargeables, as with most all of my devices. I left the originals in so I could share their lifespan here; hope it’s useful to some folks.
Still enjoying using the keyboard. It’s a good one; no complaints at all.]
[Edit: 8/4/12. Still on my second set of batteries, with daily use of a few hours most days, for both the keyboard and mouse. Both still work as well as the day I got them. I’ve also grown accustomed to the shape of this kb, and really enjoy its wave form now. Plus none of the letters etc are worn off at all, even after thousands of hours of typing. Ain’t it nice when you actually get value for your money?]
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|Comfortable with just the right spring to the keys,
This keyboard and mouse were drop dead easy to setup and use. Pull the sticker off the USB transmitter and plug it in to a USB slot. Pull out the tab keeping the battery from making contact on the bottom of the keyboard and the bottom of the mouse and you are up and running. I didn’t even both with unplugging the wired keyboard and mouse. I’m using a Lenovo W500 Thinkpad running Windows XP and everything worked without a hitch. I had expected to have to install a driver or something but nope.
How does it work? I have not detected any kind of lag from either the keyboard nor the mouse. The mouse moves smoothly over my desktop and is contoured to fit my somewhat largish hands (large for a woman – about the size of an average to small man’s hand). The wheel works fine in scrolling the windows up and down and I like the forward and back buttons on the side of the mouse. The groove where your thumb rests is lined with a nonslip padding. If you are left handed, you can still use this mouse comfortably but might feel awkward using the forward and back buttons.
The keyboard, which I’m using as I type this review, is contoured as you can see in the pictures. The wrist pad is the same, nonslip material as is on the mouse and feels good under the heel of my hands. It has three levels that you can set the keyboard on – flat on the desk and two different raised hights. I have it set on the highest and am very comfortable. It has an enlarged delete key that I thought was odd at first but works well for the touch typest. I’ve played with the special programmed key and yes, the calculator button really does pop up the calculator, the media center button brought up iTunes (my default). The volume buttons worked straight out of the box as well (as expected). I really like the springiness of the keys and am reminded almost of the very first IBM keyboards that came with PCs in the 80s without the click.
When I am done for the day, I flip the keyboard over to turn it off to reserve battery power but it claims the battery will last for 3 years in the keyboard and 2 years in the mouse. Because they aren’t physically attached to my docking station, I can easily take my mouse and keyboard with me to meetings and type in comfort with a full sized keyboard. I have t admit, several of my coworkers are jealous and will be buying their own soon.
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