Coming from a guy who uses a Home Theater PC (HTPC) daily in both his living room and bedroom, the Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard k400 Plus is THE perfect keyboard for PC-to-TV use. It’s lightweight, easy to use, has a built-in touchpad for mouse control, and exceptional battery life. The k400 Plus can be purchased from Logitech for $39.99.
The k400 Plus measures in at 14 inches wide by 5.5 inches high by 1 inch deep and weighs only 390 grams with batteries installed. The generously sized touchpad measures 3 inches high by 2 inches wide. The retail box comes with a tiny Bluetooth Unifying USB receiver with which you can connect up to six separate Logitech peripherals. Expect a 33 foot range in which you’ll be able to control your PC with the keyboard. The k400 Plus can be used on Windows PCs, Android 5.0 or later, and Chrome PCs. There’s no official support for Macs, but after a quick setup, I’m using the k400 Plus to type this sentence on my Macbook Pro. The touchpad works with the Macbook Pro, as well.
The keyboard houses all of your standards keyboard buttons including QWERTY format letters, a row of numbers above the letters, and a row of function keys at the top. Also included are four arrow buttons. There are also dedicated buttons for volume up, volume down, and mute, located above the touchpad. Below the touchpad are dedicated left mouse click and right mouse click buttons. The keyboard layout is designed to make sure everyone who uses it is instantly comfortable with the design and layout, requiring no learning curve.
Remember that exceptional battery life I told you about? Logitech claims that the k400 Plus can last for 18 months, that’s EIGHTEEN MONTHS, on just two AA batteries. That’s outstanding. After a year and a half, you’ll probably forget how to open the keyboard’s battery doors. I didn’t have eighteen months to wait to test the battery life, so we’ll just have to take Logitech’s word for it.
You’ll hear no click/clack of keys while typing on the k400 Plus because this keyboard is designed to be silent, for use during movies or TV shows, or while other people are in the room. Logitech claims that the keys will only make noise up to 55 decibels, which is just about the noise level that normal household conversation takes place at.
The super convenient touchpad allows for not only great mouse tracking, but also multi-touch support. So to scroll, you can just drag two fingers up or down the touchpad and you’re scrolling like a champ! This is a great way to make scrolling one-handed. You also have the option of simply tapping the touchpad for a left mouse click or clicking the dedicated left mouse click button.
I’ve been extremely impressed with Logitech’s k400 Plus keyboard in my testing. The system was truly plug and play and it was ready to go less than a minute after plugging the USB Unifying receiver into my computer. I instantly knew how to use the keyboard and touchpad, which is the mark of a great design. The weight of the keyboard is perfect, making it comfortable for use on the couch, in bed, or passing it around the living room between friends. There’s even a large power switch on the top of the keyboard that is easy to find in the dark, making sure that you don’t waste battery power when it’s not in use. By the way, that yellow button with the mouse icon at the top-left of the keyboard is another left mouse click button. I’m not sure why it’s necessary unless you’re dead set on using the keyboard with both thumbs similar to a gaming controller.
A look at the power switch.
My only two complaints are as follows: First, this keyboard does not have backlit keys. This can be a major point against the k400 Plus for those who typically use their PCs in the dark. And second, there’s no dedicated number pad…however this is to be expected in a keyboard designed to be small, light, and has a built-in touchpad.
The Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard k400 Plus is an excellent product and something that will be getting many hours of use in my home for years to come. It’s a must-have accessory for HTPC users and highly recommended for anyone who uses their computer as an entertainment device in the living room.
You can purchase the Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard k400 Plus directly from Logitech for $39.99.
Source: The Logitech K400 Plus Wireless Touch Keyboard was provided to me as a review sample by the manufacturer.
What I Like: Simple to use design; Plug and play functionality; Quiet keystrokes; Convenient touchpad with multi-touch support; Exceptional battery life.
What Needs Improvement: Lack of backlit keys; No dedicated number pad.
When hooked to a Mac (or iOS) device, does it support the press/hold extended characters? That one big flaw (for me) with all BT keyboards. I haven’t found one yet that supports that function and it’s important to me.
Good question, Christopher. I’ll have to check that out later. The HTPCs on which I mainly tested the k400 Plus were PCs. I tested the keyboard only briefly on my Macbook Pro, so I didn’t notice.
I finally got around to testing this, and YES, the K400 Plus does support extended characters on my Macbook Pro if you hold down the button. I wasn’t expecting it, but was happily surprised.
I have the previous version of this one and like it a lot.