Logitech Announces MK710 Wireless Desktop

There are a lot of technologies out there I feel that I couldn’t go without, but there are few that compare to wireless. Wires are just no fun. I can’t recall the number of times I’d move my feet under a desk and end up hauling the keyboard or mouse right off the tray. It’s aggravating. Plus, wires just look like a mess… and don’t even get me started with the tangling!

Wireless has its ups and downs, with battery-life being the top issue of them all. Then there’s also the cost. Although wireless peripherals are more affordable than ever, it’s hard to find a keyboard + mouse combo that’s both affordable, but attractive, both in design and in function. But, Logitech once again looks to surprise us all with its $100 “Wireless Desktop MK710”.

So what makes the MK710 attractive? For one, it’s just $100, for both the wireless keyboard and mouse. Sure, this isn’t a first, but these two parts both look great, and pack in other nice features that make the price look very sweet. This combo also uses Logitech’s “Unifying Receiver”, which is a very small USB adapter that allows more than one device access to the PC. That’s right, it can be used for this combo, and other Logitech products as well.

Probably the biggest feature this combo touts is the fact that it has a battery-life rating of – get this – three years. No joke. That rating is for both the keyboard and mouse, and is achieved by using a more efficient wireless transfer technology (2.4GHz) and by introducing power-saving techniques while idle. Because battery-life would be based on usage, Logitech mentions that it calculates the three-year rating based on 2 million keystrokes per year, which would equate to about a week of writing for me (hah!).

To make the entire package even sweeter, Logitech incorporates AES-128 encryption to the data that’s transferred from keyboard to receiver, so you don’t have to worry about your passwords or information being intercepted by anyone (AES in general is essentially bullet-proof). Availability will be this month for Europe, and April for North America. You can expect to see our review of the MK710 sometime in April.

The combination of three years of battery life and the leave-in Logitech Unifying receiver ensures the Wireless Desktop MK710 is ready whenever and wherever you need it. To achieve three years of battery life, Logitech Advanced 2.4 GHz wireless technology transmits information much faster and more efficiently than typical 27 MHz wireless systems. Furthermore, by reducing the amount of time the keyboard and mouse remain in active mode when left idle, the Wireless Desktop MK710 conserves power and minimizes lag when you resume typing or mousing.