Logitech MK550 Wireless Keyboard Mouse
$20.45
$33.54
39% off
Reference Price
Condition: Refurbished; Open Box
Color: Black
Top positive review
3 people found this helpful
Commence waving and smiling!
By Skip Gundlach on Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2014
The new Wave combo uses a different receiver - a tiny stick, vs the previous, which was about like a memory stick. You can still remote it as was the case in the previous style if your available USB slots don't present well for your activity with either keyboard or mouse. This is their universal receiver - handling up to 6 devices. As my wife has a Logitech mouse, with the presumed same receiver, I wondered about conflict. So far, neither of our devices have triggered the other's receiver. So, I am guessing/presuming that there are a large number of frequencies used. However, I have no idea how they associate, as there aren't the "connect" buttons on the mouse or keyboard as there were on the earlier version. How, you might ask, do I know so much about the earlier version? I had one, and the mouse failed. I gave away the perfectly good keyboard (and the dead mouse), as the mouse could not be replaced, being supplanted by their new universal system. That being the only negative I had regarding the previous version, let's move on to my real review... This style keyboard instantly cured me of my carpal tunnel equivalent in my elbows. I'm 6-4, with 38" sleeves, which should minimize the distortion needed to place my hands in accordance with the usual keyboard layout - but it wasn't. My first swept keyboard was a wired Microsoft Natural. The second was a wireless keyboard and mouse, also Microsoft Natural. In that case, the failure was on the keyboard - one of the keys' circuit film's trace lines broke, depriving me of many keys on the bottom row. Repair was not an option. Going looking, at the time (many years ago, now), I found that Logitech had a competitor. Better, it was less expensive. I ordered it. This one is contoured. My fingers fall naturally to the level of the keys, which are - as the name suggests - in a wave pattern. That's a bonus over the Microsoft version, and at a substantially lesser price. I finally got to looking (I expect the prior one had them also) at the hotkeys, which actually work, on my keyboard. I've become spoiled. The "off" button on the keyboard (extreme top right) is very much faster at shutting down my XP system than any other I'd used previously. The media center buttons are a joy, and all the others I've tried are like playing in the toy store for me. The new keyboard has a much softer touch and sound than the previous, which, as I'm heavy handed (I learned on manual typewriters), is a relief to the neighbors (we live on a boat; I'm kidding, but my wife appreciates the relative quiet). As my computer has only two USB slots on the front, I use the extension for the receiver because we have the computer mounted under a shelf and behind a bench, making reception a bit dicey in general, but especially for the desk I use, which is directly in front of the computer where the receiver would be behind all the various metal and electronics as relates to the "view" of both keyboard and mouse. We routinely use the mouse remotely, as that's how we do our movies aboard; we move the monitor to a shelf, and the mouse does all the navigation from that point forward, sitting at 90° from my desk, and out several feet. I simply can't, for any extended period of time, be without a "natural" keyboard. Just the couple of weeks where I used my backup, PS2-wired keyboard and mouse, led to my elbows complaining loudly. Thus, this was a no-brainer for me. However, it goes beyond merely a sweeping set of keys; it's comfortable, quiet, my hand falls naturally to the wave pattern (your - longest - middle fingers' keys are lower than the surrounding keys, and so on out from there) and fully featured. Fortunately, when one of these eventually dies, I'll now be able to replace the individual component (all of these devices are available separately), instead of having to buy a whole set. Can you tell I like it?
Top critical review
22 people found this helpful
What a waste of time and money!
By perstare on Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2011
I bought this keyboard about two weeks ago. I had so many problems with it during that time that I finally gave up and returned it for refund. This is the first Logitech equipment that I've ever had so many problems with. In my home we have six keyboards altogether (some of them actively used, others on a shelf). Of our six keyboards, five of them are Logitech keyboards. As I type this review, I am using a Logitech keyboard, an "old-fashioned" corded keyboard with the keys in a straight line (with an "old-fashioned" Logitech corded mouse). **It works better than the keyboard that is the subject of this review.** The initial, original, starting installation of the WAVE keyboard and accompanying mouse took HOURS! The software ("Setpoint") is probably very sophisticated (24 Megs? I should hope so!) but I'll never know for sure. I got it running and I could use the keyboard and the mouse, but the full installation of the latest revision of the Setpoint software was never accomplished. So I tried to update the program. The Logitech website insisted on presenting their 64-bit update no matter how many times I checked off the 32-bit update choice. Then, clicking on the DOWNLOAD button on Logitech's site produced nothing. No response. Zero. Zip. Then I went to another download site ("Hippo") and downloaded the proper update. Then I attempted to install it and finally succeeded after several tries. Then I tried to run Setpoint. It refused to run, stating that an "essential" file "khalwraper.dll" was corrupted AND THEREFORE THE INSTALL COULD NOT CONTINUE. I did a search on the net and learned that "khalwraper.dll" is a virus of some kind, affecting the registry. Then I used another program to clean my registry. Setpoint still wouldn't run, again making the statement that that essential file "khalwraper.dll" was corrupted. Then I called customer service. I spent a lot of time in discussion, and I mentioned and named and slowly spelled out the letters of the offending file, "khalwraper.dll." The technician instructed me to uninstall Setpoint, using the Windows Control Panel Option to do so. I did, and that is when I finally lost my patience! The uninstallation of Setpoint left me with no mouse at all! (Have you ever tried to run Windows without a mouse, using keyboard commands only...?) After a lot of wasted time, I managed to shut down the computer, pull out all the Logitech Wave components and replace those components with this old-fashioned, non-wireless, non-ergonomic dinosaur. This old dinosaur works, at least. I packed up the Wave, returned it to Amazon for refund. Now I'll try to upgrade my dinosaur. Again. Some words of warning about `ergonomic': The word, "ergonomic" doesn't have a consistent meaning when used to describe keyboards, in my opinion. I found that the most common meaning of "ergonomic" in this context was a keyboard that was flat (that is, no *wave* in the height of the keys) but with a curve to the keys' layout, a convex curve from the typist's viewpoint. The word, "ergonomic keyboard" sometimes excludes the so-called "split" keyboard in which the keyboard keys are separated into two non-curved halves, one for left hand, one for right hand. Sometimes these halves are on the same chassis, sometimes not. Be careful when choosing an "ergonomic" keyboard and/or mouse. What you need and what you actually buy may not "match." Some words of warning about wireless keyboards/mice: If you wish to upgrade your keyboard and/or mouse, think carefully about what you want to change and why. If you use a desktop computer and only a desktop computer, think carefully about your need for wireless devices. How could using a wireless keyboard enhance your work on your desktop computer? Do you really need the freedom to move the keyboard all over the room? What's the point? On the other hand, a wireless mouse **might** be useful if your corded mouse gets its tail tangled in the paperwork or other debris on your desk. Think carefully! Maybe a corded keyboard with a cordless mouse is the answer. Don't go wireless unless you must! For those of you who use a laptop computer in a desktop environment, your needs are different. Think carefully. Decide. And when you have, look around and buy **exactly** what you need, no less, and **no more.** If you can't find wireless devices which meet your needs, look harder! Corded devices are available! And, in the long run, I do recommend Logitech.
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