Logitech brings emojis to life with its pop keyboard

Does Logitech’s latest colorful pop keyboard full of emojis (€109 at most retailers) bring a breath of fresh air to the PC accessory genre? Or a fluffy gadget?

Having used it as my main PC keyboard at home for well over a month, I’d say it can be used for almost anything fairly conveniently, although you’ll need to be familiar with the playhouse colors (mine pink; other colors are purple and yellow or black and yellow).

The two main characteristics are its aesthetics and its shape. It’s a “clicky” mechanical keyboard, meaning it has extended depth (“travel”) when you tap a key. Anyone who remembers the early computer keyboards from the 1980s and 1990s, before keyboards started getting spongy and flat, knows the feeling. There’s no question that, from a tactile standpoint, the Pop keyboard is somehow more satisfying to pound on than some modern PC keyboards.

It’s a wireless keyboard that’s about the size of an iMac keyboard and runs on two AAA batteries (rather than being rechargeable). However, Logitech says it will last a full three years on a single set of batteries. It can be connected to two different computers, tablets or phones via Bluetooth, with a third also available using the included USB receiver dongle.

If there’s a gimmick, then there are five dedicated emoji keys on the right side of the keyboard, with a couple more loose included in the box. The idea here is that you program these hotkeys to match your most used emoji.

Logitech did a fairly sophisticated job of producing a mass-market variant, since mechanical keyboards — while popular with computer enthusiasts — were limited to niche and hobbyist manufacturers.