Logitech Pushes the Edge with Stunning New Keyboard Design

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October 3, 2006-- It’s more than a keyboard – it’s a minimalist work of high-technology art. Today, Logitech unveiled the Logitech diNovo Edge keyboard, a cutting-edge blend of refined design and breakthrough innovation. Following the design legacy of Logitech’s original, award-winning diNovo Media Desktop (2003), the diNovo Edge reflects the growing importance and visibility of the PC in today’s home.

Meant to be seen and touched, the comfortable new keyboard, with a high-gloss finish, is laser cut from a single, semi-translucent piece of black Plexiglas and set into a brushed-aluminum frame. Its minimalist style is further evident in the limited number of buttons and the dynamic, backlighted icons embedded within the keyboard, which are invisible when not illuminated. Considering the keyboard’s many innovations and advanced technology, this eye-catching design seems impossibly thin at only ¾-inches (19.05 mm) thick.

Breaking new ground in technology, the diNovo Edge is Logitech’s first rechargeable keyboard, features an integrated touch-sensitive navigation and scroll panel, and includes embedded Bluetooth wireless technology. Its fusion of premium technology and aesthetics adds a sense of prestige to any den or office. It also makes the keyboard a perfect addition to the living room, where an increasing number of people are using their computers.

“The diNovo Edge is the most beautiful and elegant keyboard we’ve ever made,” said Denis Pavillard, vice president of product marketing for Logitech’s keyboards and desktops. “It elicits an immediate emotional connection the first time you see it – and that connection only gets stronger when you place your hands upon it. The diNovo Edge delivers a premium experience in every way, from how it looks in the office or living room, to how it feels and performs in the hands of its owner.”

The Ultimate Computing Experience
The diNovo Edge is the newest member of Logitech’s premier family of Advanced Peripherals. It’s designed to perfectly complement the equally stunning and powerful Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse. To further create the best-of-the-best computer system, people can add the Logitech Z-10 2.0 Interactive Speaker System, which matches the diNovo Edge with a soft-orange liquid-crystal media display and a pristine glossy black surface.

Minimalist, Refined Design
Logitech’s first-generation diNovo keyboard design, introduced in 2003, reflected the growing minimalist tastes among consumers – with sharp angles and an ultra-slim profile that complemented flat-panel monitors. The new diNovo Edge keyboard takes the approach even further by reducing the number of seams and buttons on the keyboard, offering touch-sensitive technology and controls that are flush with the keyboard surface, and using dynamic soft-orange backlighting behind the single Plexiglas panel.

The semi-translucent surface enables the dynamic backlighting of icons embedded within the keyboard, which are invisible without illumination. Pressing the function key illuminates icons for secondary F-key functions, including media controls and application-launch keys. After the function key is released, the icons above the F-keys disappear and the keyboard’s top panel returns to its pristine black state.

The keyboard rests completely flat, with a low profile, on a desk or coffee table, or on a lap. Several studies have shown that lower-profile keyboards reduce wrist extension and thereby reduce the risk of hand and forearm discomfort.

Premium Navigation Experience
The navigation features of the diNovo Edge keyboard are carefully designed to deliver premium performance, whether with a PC in the office or in the living room – using Windows XP, Windows XP Media Center Edition, or the upcoming Windows Vista operating system. For example, the keyboard has a special start key that launches the Vista start menu, and an F-key search button provides one-touch access to Vista’s search feature.

The keyboard includes the first-of-its-kind touch-sensitive TouchDisc, which enables people to scroll and navigate a graphical user interface without having to reach for a mouse – perfect for leaning back from the desk, for making a small adjustment when working at the desk, or for using a media PC in the living room. Moving a finger up and down or across the disc moves the cursor on the computer screen, and moving the finger in a circular motion around the perimeter of the TouchDisc enables people to scroll horizontally and vertically through documents.

Located above the TouchDisc, the keyboard’s touch-sensitive volume slider makes it easy to quickly adjust the computer’s volume. And on the left-hand side of the keyboard, three zoom buttons – zoom in, zoom out, and 100 percent view – enable people to navigate and edit digital photos with ease. A pointer button, used with the TouchDisc, enables two-hand navigation.

The Ultimate Typing Experience
With the diNovo Edge, each keystroke feels fluid and stable with Logitech’s PerfectStroke key system, featuring precision micro-scissor mechanisms that distribute force evenly across key surfaces. On many keyboards, when pressure is applied to a key’s edge, the key sticks and requires more force to engage. On the diNovo Edge, whether one pushes the center of the key or one of the key’s edges, the keystroke feels the same. Logitech also has carefully calibrated the tension and travel required for keystrokes, optimizing each specification to deliver the best performance.

Advanced Wireless Technology
With Bluetooth wireless technology, the diNovo Edge can connect directly, without the included USB micro-receiver, to PCs that have built-in Bluetooth technology. For computers without built-in Bluetooth technology, people need only plug in the micro-receiver to a USB port to connect the keyboard to the PC; the keyboard and receiver are pre-paired during manufacturing so that they automatically connect when plugged in.

Bluetooth wireless technology provides the keyboard with a longer range (up to 10 meters, or 33 feet) than for many cordless keyboards – important for use in the living room.

Stylish Recharging Stand
The rechargeable diNovo Edge comes with a stylish stand that serves as both a recharging station and a display base; when inserted in the stand, the keyboard rests perpendicular to the desk, showing off its slim design and freeing up valuable desk space. A two-hour charge yields up to two months of battery life.

Pricing and Availability
The Logitech diNovo Edge keyboard is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in November. Its suggested retail price is $199.99 in the U.S. More information about the keyboard is available in the Advanced Peripherals section of Logitech’s Web site, www.logitech.com/advanced.

SOURCE Logitech