Logitech Wireless Desktop MK 300
- One-touch access controls to music, video, email and application switching (with the included software)
- Programmable F-keys
- Intelligent power management with automatic sleep mode, on/off switch, and a battery status indicator
- 1200 dpi optical mouse makes tracking smoother and more responsive than standard optical mice
- Easy-to-setup wireless technology
Product Description
For an easy and reliable way to “go cordless” without sacrificing features, the Logitech Wireless Desktop MK300 offers a contemporary keyboard and mouse combination for your home desk. It features one-touch access controls for media and applications; extended battery life; and wireless technology that connects right out of the box–all in a sleek design…. More >>
Logitech Wireless Desktop MK 300
OUT OF THE BOX
I own a Logitech C-BK16A Dual wireless keyboard and mouse. My first impression of the Logitech MK 300 is that the keys are full size; but the keyboard is thinner, lightweight and shorter in length and width. There are some tabs in the back we can open to prop the keyboard at an angle.
The receiver is small and bent to rest inconspicuously on the desktop tower out of my way. A direct line of sight is not necessary for the keyboard and mouse to work — huge improvement over the Dual, which means I have a less cluttered desktop.
MK 300 is advertised as spill resistant, but I hesitate to test that claim.
SOFTWARE
Although the keyboard and mouse work right out of the box, I need to install the software to adjust the sensitivity of the mouse and flip the function of the mouse buttons. I couldn’t do that from the Vista mouse control screen. The software is also necessary to control the function button assignments and the hotkey assignments.
The Logitech software has a keyboard encryption feature. I never really thought about that before, but now my keyboard is secure from the prying eyes of other computers.
KEYBOARD
The hotkeys give one touch control to the keyboard. At the touch of a button, I can download email or launch my browser or Google something.
While programming the hotkeys and function keys, I notice the calculator. I always need a calculator when working on my computer. I press it and one pops up immediately on the screen.
Also available is the PC power button. Push that and the FN key and the computer goes quickly to sleep. Do it again, and it wakes up.
The keys respond well to typing. Logitech advertises a quieter experience. I can still hear myself typing and banging the space bar, although it is more muffled compared to the Dual. I wouldn’t pay that much attention to this normally, except that it was on the box and it made me take notice.
One thing I miss is MK 300 lacks a volume dial, a function available on my Dual keyboard. Volume is instead controlled by the hotkeys.
MOUSE
The mouse is where this package shines. It is lightweight, fits in both my left and right hands comfortably, slides along the desk smoothly. As for responsiveness, I didn’t know responsiveness could be any better until I tried this mouse. The mouse glides like it’s on butter and the cursor flows right with it.
It is a little difficult for me to highlight material that requires scrolling. The pointer is extremely sensitive and I find myself scrolling and highlighting an entire page. Moving the mouse back the other direction will have me overshoot my starting point. I haven’t found a way to make the scrolling while highlighting less sensitive. My workaround is to zoom out, so that I don’t need to scroll.
Zooming in and out is made easy on this system. Just press the CTRL key and roll the wheel on the mouse. Whatever page I’m viewing, whether website or document, is instantly enlarged.
Of course, the wheel and buttons on the mouse are also customizable via the Logitech software.
PROS:
+ customizable one touch control of many computer functions
+ advertised to be spill-resistant
+ receiver can be hidden, doesn’t require a direct line of sight to the keyboard
+ no wires to get in the way
+ stroke encryption feature
+ mouse glides smoothly and is more responsive than any other mouse I’ve ever used
+ zooming is quick and easy
+ keys are full size but keyboard is more compact and lightweight
+ graphic intensive manual is easy to follow
+ comes with a 5 year warranty
CONS
- no volume control dial, must use hotkey
- highlighting material that requires scrolling is difficult
- need to install software (compatible with Vista and XP) for full functionality
SUMMARY
Not all keyboards are created equal. I spend a lot of time on my keyboard and I do appreciate many of the subtle improvements: no cords to get in the way, no unsightly receivers, quick access to a calculator, quick and easy zoom, a secured keyboard, smooth mouse control. It’s an excellent package, the best wireless keyboard and mouse I’ve ever owned.
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought this combo keyboard and mouse for use on a Media PC from about 9 feet away. Unfortunately the product description didn’t mention the range of the keyboard and mouse to the receiver. After opening the package, setting it up, and messing with it from a distance of about a foot away, I thought, “This is sweet!” because the keyboard and mouse felt good to use. It was very responsive, the keyboard felt good to the touch, and even without drivers, a few of the enhanced function keys worked. Then I moved back to my couch and said, “What the heck is this garbage?” because the mouse and keyboard would barely respond to anything I was doing on-screen. Then I opened the manual and looked at the instructions.
It has a range of 8 INCHES.
I was originally debating on getting a combo bluetooth keyboard and mouse, however most of those combos are really expensive, BUT they have a range of 33 feet. I was expecting better range from this wireless technology. I figure what’s the point if you don’t have any range? I’m kind of at a crossroads between keeping this and sending it back because for my desktop computer, I’m using a tried and true 15 year old keyboard that came with my old 486 machine. Even lacks windows keys, but it works great. I may use this to replace it, since the receiver will be within 8 inches, and I do like the feel of the keyboard and mouse. Plus I don’t want to spend 10 dollars to ship this back.
So, to those of you intending to use this for a Media PC – DON’T, unless you want to have your nose touch your TV screen, or if you want to buy a USB extension cord in addition to this keyboard/mouse combo to move the receiver all the way across the room to where you’re sitting. All around, I’m disappointed.
To Amazon Staff: Can you please add ranges to your product descriptions for wireless items such as this? It will help us determine which is more appropriate for the uses we intend to do and avoid dissatisfied customers.
Rating: 2 / 5
ON RANGE: Others have noted an 8″ range. This isn’t true: there is a setup diagram in the instructions that shows an 8″ radius around the receiving unit implying anything that might interfere with the signal should be placed more than 8″ from the receiver. In actual use the range seems to be between 6 and 15 feet, subject to interference from other devices. There is no indication in the included documentation about maximum range but it seems consistent with other RF keboards/mice of this type.
SROLL LOCK: Others have noted there is no scroll lock key, in fact there is; it occupies the pause/break key and is activated by means of simultaneously pressing the function key. There’s even a little (albeit cryptic) scroll lock icon on the key.
SETPOINT SOFTWARE: seems particularly useful. Besides displaying momentary messages about caps lock and other functions and customizing function keys (that really works!), it provides a very useful “application selector” function. This is activated by a function key or by the default function of pressing the mouse wheel. The set point software changes your screen color, and tiles all the open application windows on your display allowing easy selection of the desired window. Upon selection this window is brought forward and all other aspects of the display resume their prior appearance. Way cool on XP machines.
MOUSE: responsive and easily adjustable with included software. The optical function is invisible (infrared?) and it has an on/off switch on the bottom. It doesn’t like shiny surfaces; won’t work correctly on the simulated wood grain desk I have, but that’s true with most mice I’ve tried. It’s perfectly happy on a mouse pad or other non-shiny surface.
OTHER: I came off of a moldy old microsoft desktop set (it was getting wonky telling me to change batteries all the time) I thought was pretty good, but the MK 300 surpasses the MS hardware in all aspects. Mouse and keyboard function with no perceivable lag. I like that the default for the function keys is F1-F12 (not the flaky MS defaults). The feel of the keyboard is good, noticeable tactile response but no loud click.
I’ll update on battery life and quality in 6 months or so.
Recommended for typical office use. My application is on a Dell Vostro 200, Win XP (sp3) intel core 2 E6550.
Rating: 4 / 5
The MK300 is Logitech’s entry-level model of wireless desktop keyboard/mouse combos.
Receiver
———
Instead of the USB stick that is so common these days, the receiver is a small black curved plastic piece designed to sit on a desktop. It features a “connect” button which lets you pair it with the mouse and keyboard. It comes with a few feet of USB cable.
Mouse
——
The mouse is average in size and features two buttons and a scroll wheel. An on-off switch underneath allows saving battery life when not in use. The top slides open to reveal the two AA batteries. The mouse can function with only one of the batteries installed. There’s not much to be said about it since it’s such an ordinary mouse with basic features — not that it’s a bad thing, mind you. Everything works as expected, it’s well balanced and tracks well.
Keyboard
——–
The keyboard takes two AAA batteries. It is lightweight, almost flimsy, however this does not translate at all in the typing: this is a solid keyboard designed to withstand serious typing.
The extra features are reduced to a minimum: the function keys are double-labeled with some blue print and there is an extra row of keys at the top of the keyboard for volume control and application launching. Some of the features can only be used via the Logitech software, which is Windows-only, but it’s perfectly usable on a Mac or Linux as long as you don’t mind not having access to the proprietary features.
Conclusion
———
The MK300 is an inexpensive cordless set from the reference keyboard and mouse manufacturer. It does not come with any fancy features, but it excels at what it does. If you need a basic cordless desktop set, save yourself the grief and avoid the lousy no-name sets one finds in discount stores and opt for this one instead. You won’t regret it.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’m using this on my desktop at an actual desk. I haven’t tested this at a distance, and really don’t have a way to do so unless I drastically alter my Command Center back here in the Situation Room. I don’t know why the transmitter has to be so big that it has to sit on top of other stuff on my CPU, but it is. It’s not something that bothers me, but it may bother you.
All I did with this was take this out of the box, remove the battery tabs and plug in the transmitter to a USB port. It worked automatically, no knocking things over, no messy bloatware to install unless you want the extra keyboard functions. It does come with an installation CD, but the extra features are just not something that I will use. It will take me a bit to get used to the keyboard, but a new one always necessitates acclimation time for me.
The mouse is a basic, OK mouse, but just OK. The buttons seem to take more pressure to click, and the wheel seems flimsy to me. Sometimes when I lift my finger from the wheel I hear a spring snapping or something. Logitech makes better wireless mice than this, and the extra pressure required for the clicking is taking its toll on a weak nerve I have in my arm. This could also be a matter of just getting used to it, but I may switch back to the mouse I already had in a few weeks. I tried my other Logitech wireless mouse with the transmitter for this set and it didn’t work, so if you only end up using one piece out of this, you’ll need an extra USB port.
In spite of the fact that I don’t move my workstation, it is very nice to have a wireless keyboard and mouse just for general shifting, cleaning, and so forth. The batteries seem to last a long time even if you don’t shut them off like I do. Overall this is a nice, basic set SO EASY to set up and is a great value.
Rating: 4 / 5