I’ve been using a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse for over 4 years now, and while they both still work, they have seen better days. Mostly the keyboard was scruffy, with many of the keys missing the lettering and generally just dirty (not easy to clean, really). The mouse would also get a little reluctant to work at times.
So it was time to look for an upgrade. I went straight to Logitech again, but seriously, the mice in the wireless kits are basic with no “forward” and “back” buttons for example. What are they thinking? They do, however, have a range of separate mice and keyboards that can share the same receiver, but it does work out relatively expensive.
It’s because of this I looked at the competition. Because I work with the keyboard on my lap (I sit on the settee with a laptop), I need a full size keyboard with an area to rest the palms of my hands, which also help steady the keyboard. After some research, I plumped for the Microsoft’s Desktop 3000, which consists of a wireless full sized keyboard with a kind of rubberised palm rest and a wireless mouse with scroll wheel and forward/back buttons. It was also in the price range I was looking for, which at the time was about £35.
I’ve been using this for 2 or 3 weeks now and the keyboard took a little bit of getting used to as the delete key is smaller and in a slightly different place to the old Logitech’s. But otherwise the keyboard is nice to use. It also has the extra function keys you expect from anything better than the very basic of keyboards. Of course, there is also the rubberised palm rest that makes it a bit nice to use.
While it is quite solid, it does feel more “plasticy” than the Logitech’s, especially the base (which is white).
As for the mouse – it is advertised as having “Blue Track” technology, and is supposed to work on just about any surface. I tried it on the back of my 4 year old Labrador and it did indeed work, even if I did get strange looks from the dog…
I don’t have small hands, nor are they that large, but I do find this mouse to be very wide (more so than the Logitech mice I have). It may improve with use, but I find it uncomfortable.
However, the real problem with the mouse is the scroll wheel — it is “free wheeling” unlike other mice wheels. In other mice they click as you rotate them, this usually means that one click is a turn of a page in a document, or a slider goes up or down by 1/5/10 units for example. I use Adobe’s Lightroom v4 a lot — with the Logitech mouse you select an adjustment that can be +/- 50, then rotate the wheel that will then go in 5 step increments. With the MS mouse, you turn the wheel, nothing appears to happen, then suddenly the adjustment whizzes up by 30 steps. It is generally really hard to control.
Conclusion
Overall not a bad set, but for me the mouse width makes it uncomfortable and the wheel is a deal breaker as I use this a lot. The keyboard is generally good, but unlike the Logitech, it doesn’t appear to have any encryption unless this is an automatic undocumented feature, although it is listed as a feature in another MS wireless keyboard. Perhaps I am a little paranoid, but I do type out a lot of passwords and personal details.
I think I will have to look again at Logitech’s offerings and perhaps buy separate wireless keyboard and mice. The lack of encryption on the keyboard and the scroll wheel on the mouse are let-downs for me and means that I probably bought the wrong products for my needs, although someone else will probably find these not to be issues.
Rating
The mouse I will give 2/5
The keyboard is better at 4/5
Overall: 4/5