Logitech K800 Review

Unboxing

The keyboard came in Logitech’s usual packaging. They tend to like to use green and black, it’s sort of their thing. Inside we find the keyboard with Unifying receiver, a charging cable and receiver extender cable, as well as documentation and warranty.

K800 Packaging

Look & Feel

The keyboard is all black with grey lettering. The function keys are accented orange so as to easily distinguish what they are. It has a slim form factor and it’s also curved upwards so this makes typing more comfortable.

Logitech K800

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To be perfectly honest, I was a bit surprised when I first got the keyboard. I was expecting a more jagged, more uniform layout to the keys but instead they have soft edges with a fairly large surface area for your fingers.

K800 Keys

As for the feel of the keyboard, typing is very comfortable. The keys feel responsive and they’re fairly quiet although not quite whisper-quiet as Logitech claims. I would say muted would be a more correct term. You can certainly hear the keys if you are typing up a storm but if you are typing normally the keys are a bit quieter than usual.

Features & Software

Probably the most noticeable feature right off the bat is the backlight. When the keyboard detects some type of object (most likely your hands) in front of it, the backlight will turn on and illuminate the keys. This I personally found to be very beneficial as I happen to like gaming in the dark. It also looks pretty darn cool. You can adjust the intensity of the backlight as well as well as its default behavior.

K800 Backlight

The function key unlike most laptops, is wedged between the alt and ctrl keys on the right side. This takes a bit of getting use to but it’s not entirely inconvenient. The function keys are labeled in orange so it makes them easy to see.

K800 FN Key

K800 FN w/ backlight

There are also volume buttons towards the top right as well as a… calculator button… more on this in a second.

K800 Volume Buttons

If you ever have used a Logitech device before (or any input device for that matter) then you should know about Logitech’s Setpoint Software. Whenever I buy a keyboard or mouse etc., I never actually use the software that’s bundled with the device, I always go online to find it from their website because it’s more up to date.

The software allows you to program the function keys to 9 different tasks and there is one Hot Key button which is also programmable. The default is set to open the Windows Calculator. I suppose this is useful for some people? I really don’t know as I never use a calculator often enough to warrant a Hot Key. Regardless I can always change it to something else.

SetPoint Function Menu

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One thing that bears special mention is the software allows you to disable certain modifiers. If you are a gamer and don’t want to accidentally hit the Windows key, you can turn it off. Pretty cool.

SetPoint Inactive Keys Menu

Battery Life

Logitech claims the battery life of the keyboard is around 10 days. In my experience, I would say this is pretty accurate but it’s hard to gauge given that I’m not using the keyboard all the time and the battery drains quicker or slower depending on what it is being used for. So for example, if I’m doing heavy gaming and the backlight is constantly on, the battery obviously drains quicker than if I were surfing the web and doing some work.

One thing to note is that the battery compartment takes 2 AA batteries so if you wanted to swap out your own, you can. For some reason it’s sealed shut with a screw but I guess that’s ok unless your home lacks screwdrivers.

K800 Battery

Testing Input Response

Using input lag testing software, I was able to ascertain just how responsive this keyboard is. Many users assume that a wireless keyboard isn’t good for gaming. I disagree, and in fact most of everything I use is wireless. Here are the results of my testing.

K800 Input Lag Test

A quick explanation of what your seeing. Basically the red object at the top falls downward and once it crosses the grey line, the line will light up at which point you press a key. The program then measure how long it takes for the key to be pressed after the line has lit up. If you press too early, the input isn’t measured and the cycle starts over. This way there is no way to get a head start.

I tested this over many times and the results were very similar in the end. The input lag was always under 1 ms which is really fast. If you plan on using this keyboard for gaming, it is absolutely not going to be an issue.

I also tested how many keys you can press before the keyboard begins having trouble measuring. I was able to press 5 keys simultaneously without issues and very quickly too. Once you add a 6th key, the keyboard starts to act funky and not register inputs.

Price

As of the time of this writing, the keyboard is around $70 which I would say is a pretty fair price. However, if you’re use to keyboards costing you less than $20 or even free, then this price would seem like an arm and a leg. Regardless, I can only give my personal opinion about the value of such an investment and in my mind, the price is justified.

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Conclusion

I’ve been using this keyboard for a few months now and despite other reviews claiming that the keyboard is flimsy due to its slim design, it has held up just fine in my usage. In a nutshell, it is a very smartly conceived keyboard that looks great, feels great, works as it should and has a fairly long warranty to boot. I’ve yet to encounter any problems with it that bears mentioning. Gaming with the keyboard works just fine and along with my Logitech G700, I just love the fact I don’t need any wires. Well, that’s not entirely true as I still need to keep a charging cord connected to my computer but I can use that single cord to charge both my mouse and keyboard as needed.

So assuming you were in the market for a wireless keyboard is there any reason you wouldn’t buy this? Well, I suppose if you don’t want to charge your keyboard at all, there is the Logitech K750 Solar Powered Keyboard. That’s most likely going to be my next review but judging by the user reviews on Amazon, it seems like a very good keyboard as well.

To be honest, there isn’t much I can say about this keyboard that’s bad. I may find something in the future to complain about as this is my very own keyboard I’m reviewing but for the time being this is an easy recommendation from me.

Best Wireless Keyboard Review

Andy H.

Review Score
Style
Slim form factor and curved shape, the backlight also looks very cool.
Comfort
Very comfortable to type on. Whether using it for gaming or anything else, comfort hasn't ever been an issue.
Features
The features are typical in what you would expect from say a laptop. Overall, the function keys are robust without going overboard. They are also separately programmable as needed.
Function
The keyboard is responsive and battery life should last most people a few weeks before needing a recharge. The keys are large and easy to push, quieter than normal too.
Price
While certainly not cheap, the price seems justified for quality you're getting in return.

Overall
Overall, there isn't much wrong that can be said of the K800. It is hands down one of the best keyboards I've ever used and will hopefully last me many years to come.

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