As more and more devices around us smarten up, we're led to believe everything will eventually become voice activated... not just the speaker playing our music, but our phones and even appliances like TV's and fridges.

 

It's a good theory - but if you've ever had a conversation with your telly when someone else is in the room, you can start to feel pretty self-conscious pretty quickly.

 

For me, the good old, trusty keyboard is still the most efficient way to get a lot of information into my machines as fast and as accurately as possible.

 

How about a good new keyboard?...

 

 

The Craft wireless keyboard from Logitech is so much more than just another bluetooth input device; it's a powerful tool that I'm finding thoroughly indispensable the more I use it.

 

The most unique and obvious feature of the Craft keyboard is its "Crown" - the programmable controller on the top left corner. This works in a similar fashion to the Microsoft Surface Dial, a standalone device ideal for scrolling, zooming or panning functions. The crown on the Craft works the same way. It can be turned, pressed or turned and pressed simultaneously - each of these three actions able to be programmed to perform separate tasks.

 

Not only that, but those tasks can be different tasks for different programs; you might want to play/pause by pushing the crown in your audio editor, but in your browser, it might be more useful to push it to swap between tabs.

 

These kind of shortcuts are usually only accessible through a complicated combination of multiple key presses. Now that's totally simplified and you don't have remember the shortcuts because the Craft keyboard remembers them for you.

 

This is all easily configured with Logitech's Option's app, which downloads automatically when you pair the keyboard with your computer. It's a very clear, user-friendly app and while the options are almost limitless, they're all very easy to access and set up. There are even pre-programmed profiles available for most Microsoft Office and Adobe Editing apps, to save you the trouble of creating profiles yourself.

 

Personally, I've found the crown fantastic for zooming in and out in my audio editor as usually I'm restricted to repeated presses of the up and down keys - twisting the crown left and right is much more intuitive.

 

The top row of function and shortcut keys can all be reassigned to your favourite jobs as well. This really is a keyboard you can set up just the way you want.

 

The Craft charges via a USB Type-C cable - so you can probably use the same one you use to charge your phone (don't worry, there's also one in the box) I've been absolutely blown away how long a full charge lasts. I've been using the Craft several hours a day for more than a week now and still no flashing warning light from the battery indicator. This is despite the fact it's a fully back-lit keyboard that lights up before you even touch it - somehow it knows when you're fingers are close enough to type, it's that smart.

 

Another standout is the Craft's versatility. It can be connected via bluetooth or USB wireless dongle to PC or Mac, Windows, iOS or Android devices. Better still, the craft can be paired with three different devices at once - for example you can swap between your desktop and your phone with a single push of a button.

 

This is the first keyboard I've used that gives you on-screen notifications when you do things like activate the Caps Lock or use one of the shortcut keys. For the most part this is quite helpful, although there are times I wish I could deactivate this function as these pop-ups can obscure part of the screen I want to use.

 

Perhaps the Craft's greatest strength of all is also its biggest weakness... and that's literally its strength! The Craft is solidly built. In fact,  so solidly built, it's quite heavy. It's also definitely full-sized with dedicated cursor keys and a separate number pad. Yes, it's fairly slim, but that crown on the top left corner sticks up about the same thickness of the keyboard itself. So although it's wireless, I'm not really convinced how portable the Craft is. In saying that, I can slide it end-on into the front pocket of my laptop bag which is great, because I definitely prefer using the Craft to the squashed up little keyboard on my notebook. Who cares if I look like a dork with a full-sized keyboard sticking out of the top of my bag? The Craft keys aren't mechanical, but like everything else about the design they feel extremely durable and they're both hollowed out and matte-finished for maximum finger comfort and accuracy.

 

At $369.90, you're paying an absolute premium for a mere keyboard... but there's nothing "mere" about this keyboard. It's feature-packed, precision engineered and solid as a rock. If you're a premium user, you won't regret paying that premium price.

 

 

Click here for more information and pricing on the Logitech Craft wireless keyboard.