Appletell | Apple, Mac, iPhone, iPod | News, Rumors, Reviews, How-Tos

I fancy myself a bit of a keyboard connoisseur. Or, maybe not. Maybe I’m just picky. Regardless, I’ve only recently been happy enough with Apple’s keyboards to stick with them (whither the Apple Extended?), and I’m convinced that the reason PCs are so cheap is because the included keyboards cost about $2.00 to design and manufacture. The bulk of my interaction with the computer is through the keyboard, so it’s very important that I find one that’s functional and comfortable. To that end, I take a look at two very different models in this review: The Celesta from Moshi and the Ci70 PhotoSync Desktop Set from Kensington.

Moshi Celesta

Provides: Keyboard input, two USB 2.0 ports, dedicated multi-media keys (Mac OS X only)
Developer: Moshi
Minimum Requirements: Mac, PC or Linux computer with an open USB port
Price: $120.00
Availability: Now

Moshi’s Celesta is the best looking keyboard I’ve ever seen. It’s that simple. Whether you get it in the titanium silver model with white keys or the platinum black model with black keys, you’re going to have a stunning keyboard that’ll look great in front of an iMac, the aluminum MacBooks, or any higher end PC. But there’s a lot more to the Celesta than just looks.

First of all, it’s extremely slim, which helps with ergonomics. The diamond cut frame lifts just barely off your desk at the front, which allows for natural placement of your elbows below the desk’s edge (provided your chair’s armrests aren’t in the way). If there’s room on the desk for your forearms, the Celesta can be lowered from 13° to 9° so you’re not tilting your wrists at such an awkward angle.

The keys on the Celesta are wide and well-spaced. The tactile response provides light, comfortable typing, and Moshi boasts a 9 million stroke lifespan. Obviously, I haven’t been able to test that. Key placement is similar to that of the aluminum Apple keyboard, but with wider delete, \, return and shift keys on the right hand side. The function keys on the Celesta serve that purpose only, but a few of Apple’s multimedia functions (volume up, volume down and eject) have been moved to just above the full-sized arrow keys. I did find myself frequently hitting volume down when I wanted to hit delete, but I was able to get used to this. PC users can’t take advantage of these keys, but functions such as print screen, number lock, and scroll lock are offered.

The Celesta places both USB ports on the right, which I find limiting, but it isn’t a deal killer. Along the top of the keyboard is a glass, mirror-like edging that sports an illuminated Moshi logo when the computer is on, as well as visual indicators for caps lock, number lock and scroll lock. These glow blue on the white model and red on the black model, and were quite effective for letting me know I’d accidentally activated the caps lock key, for example. And although the Moshi logo is a bit much, I imagine the company would make a killing if they were somehow able to license these keyboards to other companies with their own logo placement. Another benefit is that the logo is always lit when the computer is on, even if it’s asleep, so it serves as an obvious visual indicator of the computer’s state.

Of course, you’ll have to ask yourself if all of this is worth $120.00. That’s hard to justify these days, so I imagine the answer for many of you will be, “No.” Mac users, who are already used to paying a premium, may have an easier time with that. The Celesta is a perfect match for Apple’s products, it’s built solidly, and it’s very comfortable to use. Ultimately, isn’t that what a keyboard is supposed to be?

Ci70 Photo Sync Desktop Set

Provides: Keyboard input, one USB 2.0 ports, dedicated multi-media and app keys, built-in USB mini cable, wireless laser mouse
Developer: Kensington
Minimum Requirements: Mac OS X v10.4
Price: $69.99
Availability: Now

Kensington’s Ci70 Photo Sync Desktop Set, on the other hand, comes in strictly from a functionality standpoint. It doesn’t try to look like anything more than what you’d get bundled with a low-end PC. It feels a bit better, though; the keys have some nice spring to them. The layout, however, drives me crazy.

The function keys, first of all, are half the height of the other keys, making them awkward to use. Worse, the Print Screen, Scroll Lock, Insert and Delete keys have been moved up to this tiny row. The first three are fine, I rarely use them, but making the Delete so hard to get to is a horrible decision. Most of the time, when trying to hit it, I’d hit the Home key, which was extremely frustrating when trying to edit text.

Almost at bad, the arrow keys have been smashed in to the right of the Shift and Control keys, and have had their width compressed. Again, too hard to use, which is extremely frustrating for me as I tend to use them to navigate through text instead of reaching out for the mouse. This will also annoy gamers who use the arrow keys heavily.

The Ci70 features both the Windows key and the Open Apple (Command key), making it comfortable for both Windows and Mac users. Although, again, the keys have been compressed to force them in. An equally bad decision, in my opinion, was the omission of a visual indicator that the Caps Lock key is active. There’s no light anywhere on the keyboard, which makes the Ci70 feel like something from the 90s.

All that aside Kensington made some great decisions when putting this together. First, it features fully functional multimedia keys. Unlike the Celesta, you can use the built-in buttons above the number pad to play, pause and skip through your tracks (I used this heavily with iTunes), as well as control the volume. Above the function keys is a row of one touch application buttons, which in the case of my Mac testing, allowed me to eject DVDs, launch a file search, and open Mail, Safari and iTunes with a push of their respective button (after I’d downloaded and installed the driver).

The real selling point, however, is the inclusion of a built-in mini USB cable for convenient connection to your digital camera. This cable is just the right length for connection, and tucks away nicely when not in use. If you’ve got a digital camera with mini USB capabilities, you’ll have one fewer cable to worry about, and that’s great. Next to this is a standard USB 2.0 port, perfectly placed for attaching your USB flash drive. Both the cable and the port can be covered with a sliding flap. This flap can also lock into place so that only the app buttons and the USB port are exposed, which is where you’ll likely keep it most of the time.

The Ci70 Photo Sync Desktop Set also comes with a two-button wireless mouse with a clickable scroll wheel. It’s smaller than I like my mice to be, but I imagine most will be fine with it. The mouse receiver tucks comfortably away in a USB port under the keyboard, which I liked, but this renders that port useless for any other feature. If you don’t want to use the wireless mouse, for example, the location of this port means it can’t be used with a wired USB device unless you’ve got the back of the keyboard raised. Even then, it’s not convenient to get to.

The pedestrian design and the annoying key layout hurt the Ci70, although I imagine the compact size will please those who are working in cramped quarters. On the other hand, the app and multimedia buttons are a great addition, as is the convenient mini USB cable if you frequently find yourself downloading photos to your computer. The price is right, too, coming in at only $70 for the keyboard/mouse set.