Logitech Craft Keyboard Review: Flagship Peripheral Features New 'Smart' Dial
The new Craft Keyboard from Logitech is an input device that aims to do more for creative professionals. It succeeds by introducing a new feature that adds an intuitive, tactile feel to many of the adjustment controls in the most common creative apps today.
Logitech has long prided themselves in bringing some of the best input devices in the market, as proven by the iconic MX series of mice. The company hopes to add to this distinction with their new Craft Keyboard and its new "creative input" dial.
Users will immediately see the large round knob at the top left corner of their Craft Keyboard, and those familiar with Microsoft's Surface Dial will be immediately at home with this new feature, as The Verge notes.
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The dial is seamlessly integrated with common Adobe applications including Photoshop, Premiere, Illustrator and InDesign. The Craft Keyboard's dial is also integrated out of the box for several Microsoft Office applications, but are limited to the Windows version for now. Users on Windows PCs will be able to use the dial with Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
The dial is not only a scrolling device; its top surface is also touch-sensitive. Tapping the top of the dial calls up context menus for whatever tool a user has active at the time. Once a user selects an option like Brush Size, for example, adjusting that setting is just a matter of rotating the Smart Dial.
Aside from its dial, the Craft Keyboard also features chiclet keys that are cup-shaped at the center to better grip the fingers. The keys of this Logitech keyboard is also backlit, and Logitech added a set of sensors such that the keys light up when a finger hovers near them
The video below shows off the Craft Keyboard's smart dial in action. This new peripheral from Logitech is now available for pre-order for about $200, and it will ship out in October.
