Blog

The revival of the pill market lately (it grew by greater than 40 % in 2024 in India as per IDC) has additionally seen a spike within the demand for Bluetooth keyboards, as many pill shoppers wish to have the choice of utilizing their pill like a pocket book. Typing on a pill utilizing an onscreen keyboard is feasible, however nothing fairly beats utilizing a “actual” keyboard with keys that click on if you strike them.

That mentioned, discovering a keyboard that meets your necessities may be fairly a problem – you get choices that vary from a primary Rs 1000 ($15) to people who are near Rs 20,000 ($250) or extra. After which comes the agony of selection – ought to one go for a keyboard that’s compact and straightforward to hold, or a spacious one that’s simpler to make use of and has a separate quantity pad?

Ought to one go for a quieter membrane-type keyboard or let the world know there’s a typist within the room with a mechanical keyboard? Ought to one go for a keyboard with an inbuilt trackpad or get a separate mouse? The listing goes on…and whereas it’s not possible for a single keyboard to tick all requirement packing containers, the Logitech Pop Icon Keyboard Mouse Combo comes very near doing so.

Logitech Pop Icon Combo Design and Look: A mixture of the intense and the flashy

Bluetooth keyboards are inclined to vary from the predictably plain black and gray to the fashionably flashy, full with flashing multicolored keys and lights. The Logitech Pop Icon Combo tries to hit the center floor between these two extremes. The keyboard and mouse mixture (no, you can not buy keyboard and mouse individually) is accessible in 4 colours and every strikes a stability between the regular and putting – Lilac and Off White, Graphite and Inexperienced, Rose and Off White, and Off White and Orange. In every case, the bigger, central portion of the keyboard is of 1 shade and is bordered by one other. The mouse physique is of a single shade, whereas the realm round its scroll wheel is a shade lighter or darker. The result’s a keyboard and mouse mixture that can entice consideration with out screaming for it.

We acquired probably the most sober variant of all – graphite and inexperienced, which contains primarily darkish gray keys with inexperienced imprints, and a row of what Logitech calls Motion Keys in inexperienced on the precise, with the mouse being completely gray. The rose and off-white is probably the most putting mixture of the lot however might be robust to take care of because the off-white portion is more likely to acquire smudges and dirt aplenty. The keyboard runs on two AAA batteries, that are lodged in a ‘bump’ under it. By the way, there aren’t any adjustable angles with the keyboard – you have got just one angle for utilizing it. It comes with rubber bumpers under it that defend the again from smudges from the floor it’s positioned on, however has no “toes” that may let it lie flat or increase it to a unique angle.

The keyboard is a six-row keyboard, with a separate row of quantity keys and shortcut F keys on the highest. On the intense proper column is a particular set of Motion Keys that are set by default for dwelling, finish, web page up, and web page down, however these may be personalized utilizing the Logi Choices+ software program, permitting you to assign them to launch apps, set off Good Actions, and even open AI instruments like ChatGPT or Spotify with a single press. The keys are island keys with distance between them, and though this isn’t a mechanical keyboard, the keys stick out a good distance from the floor, giving a really “raised keys” look which classical typists will admire. The mouse slopes barely downward and is a primary one – you get a proper and left button, a scroll wheel, and a button simply behind the scroll wheel as nicely.

The keyboard is comparatively compact at 324 mm in size and is 22 mm deep and about 136 mm huge. It will possibly simply be slipped right into a backpack and, at 530 grams (with two AAA batteries), is just not too heavy both. The mouse is 10.4 mm lengthy, which makes it on the smaller facet and is 35.2 mm tall and 59.4 mm huge. It weighs about 81 grams with a AAA battery inside, which makes it gentle sufficient to hold. Each the keyboard and mouse are product of plastic and have a really “strong” really feel to them, making them appear able to surviving lengthy typing, clicking, and scrolling periods. The very best half is that 70 % of the keyboard and 68 % of the mouse are product of post-consumer recycled materials. In a neat contact, Logitech has offered material covers for each the mouse and keyboard, permitting them to be simply carried.

Slightly surprisingly, there isn’t a Logi Bolt Bluetooth dongle within the package deal, so the choice to attach by means of the dongle is just not out there. This shouldn’t be a difficulty with most notebooks and tablets, however these utilizing barely older desktops that don’t include built-in Bluetooth is perhaps disillusioned by this.

Logitech Pop Icon Combo specs: Fairly commonplace, fairly strong

The {hardware} and software program in and across the Logitech Pop Keys combo are rock strong. The keyboard works with iOS, Android, Home windows, Chrome, and macOS. Its structure has been made with assist for each Mac and Home windows, so you have got Command and Possibility keys in addition to Alt and Begin keys. The model of Bluetooth is just not disclosed, however we’re informed it helps low-energy Bluetooth, and each keyboard and mouse labored easily throughout the similar room because the gadget they had been related to. The keyboard and mouse can hook up with as much as three units, permitting you to change between units at work. The highest row of the keyboard has the perform keys, which even have alternate command choices like screenshots, switching tracks, search, rising and lowering quantity and brightness, and so forth.

A little bit of a letdown is the truth that the keyboard comes with no backlighting, which tends to be anticipated at this worth level, and a few may additionally be disillusioned by the truth that there isn’t a USB Kind C charging assist, however given Logitech’s claims that the 2 AAA cells within the keyboard will final shut to a few years and the only one contained in the mouse will final two years, we don’t see this as a deal breaker.

Logitech Pop Icon Combo efficiency: Sterling, particularly for pill customers, however appy fizz just for Mac and Home windows

We used the Pop Icon Combo with our iPad Air, Xiaomi Pad 7, iPhone 16 Professional Max, Redmi Observe 14 Professional+, and in addition with an Asus Expertbook. Connecting them was as straightforward as switching on Bluetooth, getting into pairing mode, and selecting the keyboard or mouse from the listing of Bluetooth units on the pill, cellphone, or laptop computer.

Whereas the keyboard and mouse mixture can work with a pocket book, desktop, pill, and smartphone, we expect its actual energy lies in getting used together with a pill. It’s because all notebooks include their very own keyboards and trackpads, and desktops have area for bigger, wired keyboards and mouses, and portability is just not that important for them. However with tablets, the Pop Icon Combo turns into just about a must have, with the mouse being notably helpful with barely bigger tablets, now that each iPad OS and Android have develop into uniformly mouse and pointer-friendly.

The keyboard is extraordinarily moveable, and whereas it’s constructed sturdily, it’s gentle sufficient to select up and carry from place to put. The typing expertise on it is vitally good too -it tries to hit the center floor between membrane and mechanical keyboards when it comes to the typing expertise. There may be enough journey and hitting the keys supplies a satisfying click-y sound, which isn’t as noisy as a mechanical keyboard and even as a lot as Logitech’s personal legendary K480, however is loud sufficient so that you can know {that a} key has been struck. The motion keys on the intense proper are helpful, however as with different Logitech keyboards, right here too, customization of those keys relies on the Logitech Choices+ app, which runs solely on Home windows and Mac computer systems. Sure, most of us have certainly one of these methods with us, however the entire train of downloading the app, pairing the keyboard with it, after which tweaking settings, solely to make use of it with one other gadget, appears somewhat an excessive amount of to do.

Switching between related units is simple. There are three buttons on the keyboard, every of which may be ‘locked’ to a tool, and to maneuver to a different gadget, all it’s good to do is hit the button related to it. We regularly switched between our tablets and our telephones simply, typing out emails, messages, and this text by turns, with out having to alter the keyboard. Even the mouse can change between three units utilizing particular buttons under it, and whereas telephones usually are not supported, it was good to have the ability to shortly transfer from a pocket book to a pill on the uncommon event once we had been utilizing each on the similar time. We ended up utilizing the keyboard extra with the pill and the mouse extra with the pocket book. Battery life appears distinctive on each – the 2 AAA cells on the keyboard are believed to last as long as three years, whereas the only one on the mouse will final two years. We’ve got been utilizing each for nearly a month, and battery life appears barely affected.

However whereas the keyboard is snug to make use of, it does have its slight eccentricities. The extra column of keys on the precise is a little bit of a double-edged sword. Sure, the shortcuts might help, however if you’re used to having the backspace key on the finish of the ‘fundamental’ a part of the keyboard, you can find your self hitting the ‘dwelling’ key that’s proper subsequent to it purely by chance. Equally, the “management” key on the precise is simply too near the route arrow keys, and we ended up putting it by chance somewhat too usually for consolation. However all mentioned and finished, the typing and clicking expertise we acquired on the Pop Icon combo was streets forward of any ‘keyboard cowl,’ and sure, we’re at all times going to insist that utilizing a mouse is a significantly better possibility than a trackpad.

Logitech Pop Icon Combo Evaluate Verdict: Premium, however delivering strong worth

The Logitech Pop Icon Combo is priced at Rs 7,999/$69.99, which is certainly on the premium facet when you think about that you may get Bluetooth keyboards and mouses for as little as Rs 1500 ($20) every and even decrease. Actually, if you’re on a comparatively tight funds, you may get Logitech’s personal Pebble 2 mouse and keyboard combo for a a lot lower cost (usually within the area of Rs 4,250/$50). One other first rate possibility from a significant model is the Asus Marshmallow mouse and keyboard mixture, which can also be out there for about Rs 4,000/$50. And if you’re a mechanical keyboard fanatic, you may get wi-fi mechanical keyboards for lower than Rs 5000 ($60) from the likes of Zebronics and Portronics. So why on earth ought to one shell out near Rs 8,000 ($90) for the Logitech Pop Icon combo?

Properly, the reply is absolutely summed up in a single phrase: expertise. The keyboard and mouse are tremendous moveable, nicely constructed, have nice battery life, and better of all, are an absolute pleasure to make use of. You don’t get the iffy connectivity and compatibility points that accompany lower-priced merchandise, and when it comes to typing, the extra substantial construct high quality, and deeper key journey of the Pop Icon is rather more passable than the marginally extra shallow keys on the Asus Marshmallow or the Logitech Pebble. The Logitech Pop Icon Combo doesn’t come low-cost, however it positively delivers a clear, hassle-free expertise for all of the pill warriors wanting pocket book feels on their units.

Purchase Logitech Pop Icon Combo (India)
Purchase Logitech Pop Icon Combo (USA)