Logitech KB480 Bluetooth multi device keyboard is a must have gadget for everyone [Review]

Having a smartphone, a tablet and a laptop/desktop is a common thing these days. And those who use all these devices knows the pain of switching between these devices. You are working on your notebook and you get a message or e-mail on your phone. You pick up the phone and respond to the message but then if you have to type long reply to mail, you either pick up the tablet and switch to the desktop/notebook to compose e-mail. This is a tedious process and the more you switch between these three, the more headache it is. Not to forget how erroneous today’s on screen keyboards are unless you are a grammar guru!

What if you can use one keyboard to type on all three devices? There are some Bluetooth keyboards that can connect to smartphones and to laptops too but the problem is that every time you have to switch between devices, you have to un-pair and pair the Keyboard. Then there are few keyboards that can be used to dock smartphone or tablet. These are good but you still have to use two keyboards (one for computer and one for tablet/smartphone). I never knew that there is one keyboard that can rule all your devices, till I came across the Logitech KB480.

Logitech KB480 is a wireless desk keyboard that you can connect to your smartphone, tablet and computer (using Bluetooth). KB480 can connect to three devices over Bluetooth. The knob at the top left corner is used to switch between three devices that are paired. The best part is that the keyboard has a passive dock to rest your smartphone and your tablet.  As of now, this keyboard is selling between 2,500/- and 3,000/- INR.

Design

The KB480 has a six row QWERTY keyboard layout. The function keys are placed in the top row along with print screen and forward delete keys. The next four rows are fairy standard (number keys and alphabets). The bottom row is where it gets interesting (and sometimes confusing). Logitech has designed the bottom row layout to make it easy for both OS X and Windows OS users. The keys on either side of the keyboard are called ‘Modifier Keys’. Based on the device that you connect the keyboard to, these keys act in a different manner. For example, The key on the left side of space bar works at ‘Alt’ key when connect to Windows OS and acts as ‘Command’ key when connected to OS X.

The knob on the left hand side is used to switch between three devices and the PC|i keys at the right side are used when you are trying to pair a new device. It works like this:

1. Place the knob in numbered position to which you want to assign a device
2. If the device is Apple’s (iPhone, iPad, Mac etc), long press ‘i’ key till the LED next to i key starts glowing and if it’s Windows or Chrome or Android device, press the ‘pc’ key.
3. On the device, you will have to start searching for Bluetooth devices to pair and once you select the Logitech KB480, a key is displayed that you have to press on the keyboard and the keyboard will be paired to the device.

Above these button, there is a cradle that can hold your tablet or phone or both. The length of this can either hold iPad and iPhone in portrait position or an iPad in landscape mode. Do note that this is not an active dock and you cannot charge your devices by placing them in the cradle neither will the cradle hold the devices intact when you tilt the keyboard.

The back side has battery compartment for two AAA size batteries. Logitech says that the keyboard will function for two years on a pair of batteries. The On|Off switch is located next to the battery compartment. The tiny notification light next to the battery compartment warns you when the keyboard is about to run out of battery.

Pairing and switching between devices

I have paired Windows 10, OS X and iPHone with this keyboard and it was extremely easy and did not face any issues. Do note that if you are using a Mac and want the keyboard to work at boot time, you need to pair it to OS X. Switching between phone and Mac was seamless. Once in a while there is a tiny lag (few seconds) and once the KB480 is paired to iPhone 6, the onscreen keyboard disappears and re-appears the moment you switch to another device.

Keys and build quality

KB480 is well built, especially given the price tag. The keyboard is center heavy and heaviness is owed to the fact that placing a tablet and phone at the top dock should not make the keyboard roll over and fall on the tablet/phone. The build quality is good, the feel of plastic and rubber is good too. One can easily carry this in a backpack and use it while on the go (be careful if you are planning to use this while traveling in a bus on Bangalore roads as one or two potholes can make the tablet/phone jump out). Those who are looking for ergonomic keyboard can look elsewhere as this one does not have any palm rest. For now, I am using a napkin.

Though the keyboard looks small in photos, the keys are of full size and there is no issue with typing. The keys are well spaced and are of perfect size. At first look, the keys reminded me of typewriter keys (rounded corners and visible shallow around each key). The key travel is good, so is the feedback. Some reviews mentioned that the keyboard plastic is of poor quality but if you are light on the keyboard, it does not feel cheap.

Miscellaneous

Logitech Options app is available for Windows PCs, Preference Manager is the equivalent for OS X and these tools can be used to take full advantage of shortcut keys and function keys, show low battery warning on the display, show caps lock notification on display. You can also use Logitech Keyboard Plus application for Android to select various keyboard layouts, effortlessly switch between the Keyboard K480 and the Android onscreen keyboard.

Requirement

• PC: Windows® 7, Windows 8, Windows 10
• Mac: Mac OS X® or later
• Chrome OS™
• iPad® or iPhone®: iOS 5 or later
• Android™ tablet or smartphone: Android 3.2 or later.

• Videos

  The following video from Logitech explains how to setup the keyboard

   

  Conclusion

  I am thoroughly impressed with the Logitech KB480 keyboard. When I am using the KB480 to work on my home PC, I do not take my phone out to work on it. Given how bad the power/electricity situation is in Bangalore, I face brown outs and black outs every day and when the power is down, I simply switch to the phone and type using KB480. If you using applications like Pages, Office 365 and love using features like Continuity on OSX –> iPhone, this keyboard elevates the usefulness of this feature. While typing something, if I want to do a search on a product or technology, I can switch to the phone and search on Safari on iPhone and while I am going through the web pages, I can continue typing or editing the document on my Mac. Or I can switch between working on my Mac and chatting on Whatsapp or other chat networks on phone and it takes far less time to switch using KB480 and typing using KB480 that lifting the phone every time I have to send a message or reply.

  Logitech KB480 multi device Bluetooth device is one of the best accessories that Logitech has created till date and it is a must have in every home where there is a smartphone/tablet and a computer. If you are using Apple devices only and need something with backlit keyboard and are ready to pay more, you can check the K811 Bluetooth Easy Switch Keyboard (costs around 7000 INR) while K810 is equivalent for non-Apple devices.