Beyond its looks, the diNovo is also relatively remarkable for its integration of mouse functionality designed to make it a perfect solution for controlling a home theater PC (HTPC) from the couch without hassling with a mouse as well as the keyboard. On the far right, a circular electrostatic track pad is built in. Functioning in a somewhat more advanced manner than the click wheel on an iPod, the track pad can track finger movement much like the touch pad on a laptop for moving a cursor around the screen. Beginning finger motion on the top and right extremes activates up / down and left / right scrolling in active windows, which pretty much covers all the mousing movement necessities. Tapping the pad will left-click, and a pair of dedicated mouse-buttons below the track pad allow for full functionality. There’s even an extra left-click button on the left side of the keyboard for thumb clicking when holding the keyboard with both hands.

Though it lacks a number-pad, the diNovo Edge does offer everything one might expect to find from a laptop’s keyboard, as well as various multimedia controls like an electrostatic volume control bar (slick). It’s also sporting dedicated zoom in / out buttons, a nice touch for HTPC users who need to resize text when browsing the net from the couch. Key response is slightly more springy than a laptop’s, and throw-depth is also slightly deeper. It does, however, feel more like a laptop keyboard than a typical PC keyboard, which some people might be sensitive too.

The diNovo Edge is packaged with a USB Bluetooth 2.0 dongle, though if you use the diNovo with a PC with integrated Bluetooth you can skip the dongle altogether. We tested our review sample with Windows Vista running on a Penryn-based MacBook Pro (the newest), and were able to get the machine to pair with the diNovo without any hassle.

The included charging dock is as stylish as the keyboard and holds the diNovo vertically, which is nice for presentation’s sake. Logitech says 2-hours of charging will provide the keyboard enough juice to run for a month, and just 5-minutes of charging will be enough for a full day. We didn’t have time to use the keyboard for a month to test these claims, but after several weeks, our initial charge has yet to run dry.

Conclusion

The diNovo Edge is a premium keyboard at a rather premium ($199.99) price. Its greatest value is to be found by those who own HTPCs and need an all in one solution for browsing the net from the couch. For this purpose, we’re not aware of any other keyboard that can quite measure up to the Edge. Those considering simply using the Edge as a standard keyboard replacement will get somewhat less value for their money, but should still be able to extract some benefit or enjoyment from its slick aesthetics.