Logitech G19 Gaming Keyboard

Logan Decker — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:44:38 -0500

Bringing out the big guns

If you ask a gun enthusiast why he needs that M4 SOPMOD to hunt squirrel, you’re asking the wrong question. It’s not that the average squirrel in the Adirondacks is on PCP and likely to require two magazines to put down; it’s that the M4 SOPMOD is a fine and uniquely crafted weapon regardless of whether it ever sees action worthy of its true potential. So, please, don’t ask us why you’d want to spend $200 on a keyboard with up to 36 macros available across 12 programmable macro keys (recordable on the fly from the keyboard itself), customizable keyboard backlighting, and even a 320x240 color display. If you’re a gamer, understand that you’re buying more power than you may ever need, but absolutely should have.

The key action is cush and quiet (preferred by most gamers and characteristic of Logitech’s boards), and the plastic is smooth yet never slippery beneath sweaty digits. The keyboard itself includes a hardware switch to disable the Windows key, and both macro and function keys are slightly elevated for easier nailing. We appreciate the slightly larger than usual Mute button below the media control keys to the upper right, and love the barrel-style volume control (if only it were reprogrammable for use as a scrubber or dial).

The G19 keyboard is sweet, but it ain't cheap.

The 2.5-inch tiltable LCD is surprisingly crisp and bright—certainly good enough for movies and recorded TV and whatever else you’ve got in your My Videos folder. The bundled applications for the LCD (including an image viewer, RSS feed and POP3 displays, and CPU utilization monitor) work right out of the box and—unlike your second monitor—independently from the OS. They’re also navigable from the keyboard itself, so you don’t have to Alt-Tab out of a game to fast-forward through a TV show or read the story behind a headline, for instance. Of course, games may also use the auxiliary display (and the ones that do, do so automatically—nice), but this support must be provided by the developer, and the list of games remains fairly modest. Sure, it’s easy to think of the display as a superfluous and expensive feature, but once you’ve passed a few moments during a long jaunt or loading screen by reading email or watching YouTube, a keyboard without an auxiliary screen seems like a pet with one eye; still lovable, but a bit sad.

So much attention was paid to detail (macros, for example, can record up to five simultaneous key presses, and the keyboard still works if you don’t plug in the power adapter for the display) that it’s strange that the G19 lacks adjustable risers, or headphone/mic jacks next to the dual USB 2.0 ports. But those are annoying but manageable deficits in an otherwise precise and beautifully executed slab of overkill.

Logitech G19 Gaming Keyboard Now Available, Only Through Dell

Paul Lilly — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:15:32 -0500

The general consensus is that Logitech's latest gaming keyboard, the G19, is better in nearly every way than the G15 it's poised to replace. And if you want to get your hands on one, you finally can, but you'll have to order it from Dell. According to tech news site Engadget, Dell somehow managed to snag a 30-day sales exclusive on the keyboard.

We've already posted a hands-on impression of the G19 way back in January of this year, which you can read here. The most notable improvement of the G19 is the inclusion of a bright 320x240 tilting LCD screen. Users can view the time, resource load, VoIP communication data, and even watch YouTube videos on the nifty display, in addition to a host of other uses.

More macro keys are found on the G19, along with the ability to adjust the color of the backlight. All in all, it's a worthy successor to one of the most popular gaming keyboards on the market.

The G19 is available now through Dell for $180 (plus tax and shipping).

Image Credit: HardwareLogic

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Logitech G19 Gaming Keyboard

Bringing out the big guns

Logitech G19 Gaming Keyboard Now Available, Only Through Dell