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Logitech has come out with a $40 keyboard that doesn't mind a good bath every now and then. The Logitech Washable Keyboard K310 is, as the name suggests, a washable keyboard that you can submerge in up to 11 inches of water (don't dunk the USB cord though) to clean away those coffee spills, donut crumbs, and any other cruft that may have built up on the keys.
There are drainage holes on the back to allow for easy drying, and the keycaps are laser printed and UV coated so they won't fade after repeated scrubbings.
"We’ve all experienced that moment of distraction – followed by panic, when a cup of coffee or a soda spills all over your keyboard," says Sophie Le Guen, senior director of mice and keyboards at Logitech. "Because life and its messes will happen, regardless of how careful you are, Logitech designed the Logitech Washable Keyboard K310 to look and function like new, even over time."
We haven't played with one ourselves, but taking a peek at Logitech's high resolution image library, it looks fairly comfortable for a standard plank with a full-size numpad and F-keys.
The Logitech Washable Keyboard K310 will be available to purchase this month in the U.S. and Europe.
Comments are closed on this article
vistageek
August 22, 2012 at 12:52pm
I'm pretty sure all keyboards that aren't wireless or that don't have an lcd on them, are waterproof.
theabsinthehare
August 22, 2012 at 2:22pm
As someone who has destroyed 3 keyboards with very small amounts of liquids and seen others do the same, I'm pretty sure you're wrong.
vistageek
August 22, 2012 at 2:53pm
I've put three or four different keyboards in the dishwasher to clean them. They've all come out fine. What kind of keyboard do you have?
Bullwinkle J Moose
August 22, 2012 at 12:36pm
I have yet to find a keyboard that is NOT waterproof
I have disassembled several keyboards and run them under warm water to clean the gunk out
Just be sure they are COMPLETELY dry before reassembly
I've even fixed a Roland Piano by doing this
The key is to be sure it is absolutely dry before using it again
Any circuit boards or motherboards that cannot handle a good washing (without CPU and RAM) are pretty much worthless in my opinion
They need to be dependable or whats the point of having it?
I do not subscribe to the "disposable technology religion" that is currently sweeping the Globe
I refuse to buy "Sealed" or Non-User serviceable technology such as Camcorders or phones with sealed batteries (Who thought that up anyway?) or non-serviceable Apple products
I'd rather have a dependable and reparable product than a disposable one any day
If the gunk inside makes your product unusable, you have nothing to lose by cleaning it this way
If it still doesn't work, then it was crap to begin with
aether
August 22, 2012 at 2:28pm
If you have to wait for the water to evaporate before using the device again then that is not really waterproof. But I get your primary point, and agree with it.
I think the main difference here though is that this board literally isolates the conductive elements from the water/debris, so that it is water proof to a certain PSI, so you don't have to wait for it to dry. Instead of it being a timely endeavor, you can rinse the keyboard off and get back to work in a minute, I think that is a nice feature even if it rarely needs to be done.
"Any circuit boards or motherboards that cannot handle a good washing (without CPU and RAM) are pretty much worthless in my opinion"
...Keyboards are one thing, but I don't think all electronic should be held to this standard. More advanced technologies (highspeed technologies) don't have much margin in their signal's path loss and minor imperfections that water exposes the circuitry to can decrease the MTBF. Usually robustness and dependability are trade-offs with communication speed.
Bullwinkle J Moose
August 22, 2012 at 6:05pm
"...Keyboards are one thing, but I don't think all electronic should be held to this standard. More advanced technologies (highspeed technologies) don't have much margin in their signal's path loss and minor imperfections that water exposes the circuitry to can decrease the MTBF. Usually robustness and dependability are trade-offs with communication speed."
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I wasn't sure about motherboards in general but added that comment because my 1st gen ATOM 330 handled a wash just fine after an accident
(CPU included)
Maybe it was just a fluke and I got lucky but it was worth a shot
(nothing to lose)
Has anyone here tried different spray on coatings when modding a motherboard for Liquid Nitrogen cooling or would that destroy it?
(Other than Silicone)
iwolbers
August 22, 2012 at 11:49am
I bet their primary target market for this product is the porn industry along with their clientele.
don2041
August 22, 2012 at 11:32am
This is ok but what we really need are washable notebooks & netbooks
