Product: Logitech G19 Gaming Keyboard
Supplier: Logitech
MSRP: $199.99       Find Lowest Price @ PriceGrabber
Author: Garret
Date: June 9, 2009

Logitech is constantly attempting to up the bar in terms of quality and features added for gaming keyboards. This one is no exception, not in the least bit, but comes with a steep price tag. When asked if I’d be willing to review Logitech’s new G19 keyboard I jumped at the opportunity. I was not too familiar with the keyboard; in fact the only feature I was aware of at that time was the inclusion of a color LCD display in the middle. But after researching the new features, I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on this baby!

Initial Impressions:

“Holy crap it’s a keyboard with an LCD screen on it!” “Holy crap, it’s $200!” The box arrived in very good shape. The outside of the box displays a picture of the keyboard with the keys in a bright red color. I was quickly becoming a kid at Christmas time frantically unboxing the keyboard so I could go play.

Of course the biggest thing that sticks out is the color 320×240 LCD screen that you can tilt up and down for the perfect viewing angle, and storing position if you’re keyboard tray is small like mine. Included in the box is the G19 keyboard (duh!), an attachable arm rest, AC Adapter (Yes, they keyboard has an AC adapter), Installation CD, and the standard paperwork.

Play Time:

First and foremost, ignore the included installation CD. Download the latest software off Logitech’s website, this review will be written with that version in mind and includes a few fixes and features that I thought were important. The keyboard fits nicely on my keyboard tray thanks to the adjustable LCD screen, I’m able to tilt it into a position that allows me to fit the keyboard and view LCD, something I wasn’t exactly able to do with the Logitech MX 5500 Revolution.

The cord hanging from the keyboard includes the USB cable for connection to the PC as well as a connection to the AC adapter which powers the LCD screen. Software installation is fairly easy, once it’s done you’re brought to a couple of links to that forward you to a current list of games/applications that take advantage of the keyboard’s LCD screen, and information about the macro keys.

Going from left to right you’ll see the 12 G-Keys as well as M 1-3 keys which allow for a different set of macros for your G-Keys. A toggle switch that has an old Atari joystick imprinted on it, this feature is by far my favorite (it’s the little things). When toggling the switch, it lights up and disables the windows keys on both sides of the keyboard. I can’t begin to explain how many times I’ve wanted to throw my keyboard out the window because I’ve toggled the windows key in-game. Moving on we have menu, arrow, and settings keys for the LCD screen, a button to shut off the key lights (more on that in a minute) and the LCD display. Right above the caps lock, num lock, and scroll lock indicator lights are two USB ports which allow for plugging in your mouse and any other peripheral your heart desires. Above the number keys we have a mute button, a scroll wheel to adjust your system volume, as well as media buttons for controlling music and movies.

The keyboard is extremely comfortable, and very easy to navigate. The only issue I had (still have) is missing the backslash key when frequenting a Linux shell. I still continue to fat finger that key for some unknown reason. The palm rest is about as comfortable as any plastic palm rest. The only complaint I have about that is it feels somewhat flimsy and cheap.

The two applications that you’ll learn to love are the Logitech LCD Manager and the Logitech G-Series Key Profiler. The Logitech LCD Manager controls the various functions of the LCD and activates various plugins. Included plugins include a countdown timer, POP3 Monitor, YouTube, Media Display, Performance Monitor, and many more. Each display on the beautiful LCD screen either in timed rotation, as an action occurs with that plugin, or by manual toggling with a keyboard key. The YouTube plugin allows you to jump right into YouTube and watch videos right on the display while using your computer for other tasks. The only downside to the plugin is the lack of a search ability. The movie player I’ve found so far to be simply annoying, I still am unable to get this working properly, it lists all movies located inside the windows videos folder and gives you the option to play them. However, in every video test I tried I was prompted with the error “Movie cannot be played. Additional codecs may be required.” Applications that can take advantage of the LCD display automatically include themselves in the LCD manager and sometimes require enabling. Once they are enabled, they are instantly active and ready to use on the LCD display. My two favorite 3rd party applications that support the LCD are Ventrilo and Xfire. Ventrilo’s interface on the display is pretty but displays all important information such as who’s in your channel, who’s speaking, your ping, channel name, and chat messages. Xfire is functional with version 1.108 or 1.109 (beta) depending on whether you’re running a 32-bit or 64-bit Operating System. One bug with Xfire is a lack of word wrapping. If your sentence is longer than the size of the LCD screen, the message is cut off. It also doesn’t display messages you’ve sent, only messages that your friends send to you. Games also take advantage of the LCD displaying important information such as ammo status, map information, etc… The game and application support right now is somewhat limited since the product is so new, but hopefully others will jump on board and develop plugins for their games and applications.

The Logitech G-Series Key Profiler is where all of the magic of this keyboard happens. Here you are able to configure the G-Keys for all of your various macro needs. The G-Series Key Profiler even detects games that you have installed allowing you to toggle between your set of macros on a per game basis. In here you are also able to configure the key colors for the keyboard. You are able to assign a color to each of the M-Keys and toggle between them by pressing them. The profiler comes with a set of preconfigured colors and allows you to custom create your own colors. One note about this is the accuracy of the colors. The color listed in the Key Profiler is often not the color that’s actually displayed on the keyboard. Now I’m not saying they’re radical differences (ie choosing red actually displays yellow), they’re more subtle differences in the shade of color that’s actually represented. When creating a custom color just look at the keyboard keys when adjusting to find the color that fits you. Often it will be a couple shades different then what is listed in the Key Profiler. I really like the idea of being able to attach colors to the M-Keys, it gives a very simple indication of what set of macros you are currently utilizing.

Conclusion:

Gaming with this keyboard is absolutely amazing, it’s extremely easy to navigate and very comfortable over long periods of use. I found utilizing the G-Keys to be very easy, if you have small fingers you might find yourself struggling to reach for the top 4 G-Keys but overall, they’re very easy to toggle. The key colors are a very nice touch, and include many extras that one will use on a daily basis. What can I say about the LCD Display? It’s absolutely stunning, revolutionary, and has set the bar to near unobtainable heights for future gaming keyboards. However, as feature packed as it is, can one really justify spending $200 on a keyboard? I know those people are out there, however I’d guess that they are few and far between, and those numbers are only dwindling given the current state of the economy. Hopefully Logitech will be able to reduce the price sooner rather than later to make this product more attractive to the “Average Joe.” If you can justify spending $200 on a keyboard, then absolutely, go out and buy it, you will not be disappointed!

Pros:

+Color LCD Display
+Comfort
+Color Keys
+Feature Packed
+Option to Disable the Windows Keys

Cons:

-Requires an AC adapter to power the LCD Display
-A little large, keyboard trays beware
-Currently does not work with Windows 7
-Price

Tags: G19, Gaming, keyboard, LCD, Logitech, USB