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| Logitech Alto Notebook Keyboard and Stand Review |
| Page 3 - Conclusion |
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The Alto from Logitech gives notebook users the convenience of a full size
keyboard as well as a notebook stand that brings your notebook screen up to eye-level when working on a desk, as well as a few other nifty features. We take a look in a bit more detail.
The Logitech Alto retails online for around AU$145, which is not too bad considering it’s a Logitech product in the inherent quality that should come with it, but it’s still at the expensive end of the spectrum for what it is.
The Alto consists of a full-size Windows keyboard, a laptop stand and a 3-port USB2.0 hub. The keyboard has 13 function keys for things such as quick launch shortcuts and multimedia controls as well as an incorporated wrist-rest for a more ergonomic feel, and feet for tilt adjustment just like most desktop keyboards.
The laptop stand will mount your laptop at around a 45 degree angle, which will bring the screen of most laptops closer to eye-level so you’re not hunching over when using your laptop on a desk. The stand can support any laptop size up to a weight of around 4Kgs (9lbs). One issue I noticed right away is that the little part the sticks out at the bottom of the stand to keep your laptop in place is not very prominent, and if your laptop curves under at the front (like mine does) it will slip right off this little catch and slide down over it. Not a huge problem, as the laptop is still basically in the right position, it’s just not sitting how it should be, a bigger catch at the bottom of the mount would have been a good idea.
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At the rear of the Alto is a 2-port USB2.0 hub, which by default is unpowered, but has a power input available if your devices require it. Unfortunately the Alto doesn’t actually come with a power pack to go into this port, so you’ll have to find one elsewhere that’s suitable. For the price they’re asking for the Alto I would have thought a power pack would be included.
Also at the rear of the Alto is a cable management system to keep your desk nice and tidy, and a small section just above the USB ports is magnetised for keeping the Alto together when it’s closed up, but I also found this useful for sticking down USB ports that weren’t being used at the time, maybe not a feature, but I found it useful regardless.
In front of the USB ports and that little magnet pad is the keyboard lights such as Num Lock and Caps Lock, as well as a switch to turn the keyboard on or off. This switch is useful because the keyboard on the Alto is designed to fold up over the notebook if you need to recover some desk space, and you wouldn’t want any keys being pressed and ruining your open documents when you fold it up would you? The information pad as we’ll call it also has status lights for the USB ports, they don’t blink or flash with activity, but rather just tell you whether something’s plugged in or not. Everything on the Alto will connect up to your notebook through a single USB cable, making it all nice and easy to hook up when you get into work.
If you need to transport the Alto around it folds up nicely upon itself, however it weighs in at around 2.3Kg, which is quite considerable and more than some modern notebooks weigh themselves, so wouldn’t want to carry it in your notebook bag every day, it’d be more hassle than it’s worth I believe.
