Logitech G15 Keyboard Review

Yes, £60 is a lot for a keyboard, but this isn't your usual keyboard. There are two generations of the Logitech G15 Keyboard, here we have the 1st generation one with blue backlights and 18 G Keys, but there's also the 2nd generation one with an orange backlight and 6 G Keys. (making it smaller than the rather large 1st generation keyboard.)
There are media buttons, buttons for controlling what's on the screen and a volume control which are under the screen when it's folded away. To the side of these you have a mute button and a button for changing the amount the keys are illuminated. On the other side there's a slider which disables the windows key, a nice touch if you end up bringing up the start menu in game. Behind these you've got two USB 1.1 ports, which are useful for things like mice that don't require the high bandwidth of USB2.
Each key has a reassuringly solid feel, with a long travel (unlike a lot of keyboards these days twith their laptop style "clicky" keys), and make it very easy to type on. The blue illumination of the keys is surprisingly useful, when the light is fading but you don't want a light on or if you just want the keys to stand out, it's a nice feature.
There are a collection of 18 so called "G Keys" on the side that can be configured to do just about anything, from opening a program to a series of keystrokes. Each G Key can have 3 different functions set to it (selectable from the M1-3 keys along the top) which gives you potentially 54 different macros available. Unless you're some kind of MMORPG nut, you will almost certainly never end up using all of those, but it can make doing things just that bit easier. For example, when I start up my PC, rather than finding the programs in the start menu, I just press 3 buttons to open iTunes, Google Chrome & MS Word so I'm ready to go.
No matter how good the other features are, the screen is the unique selling point of the G15, and whilst it may take a bit of getting used to, you will definitely miss it when you use another keyboard.
The screen can be configured to show a number of things from default, including a clock, media information (from iTunes/WMP etc.) and system information like CPU and memory usage, all features that are combined in third-party programs. With built in support from programs such as Xfire (showing the last two lines of chat), Teamspeak (Showing channel and user information) and Fraps (showing FPS in games) you have a huge selection of what to show there. In games, the screen can be utilised to show any number of things, from laptimes in rFactor to ammunition and health levels in Crysis, making the screen a good place to take a glance at to quickly get important information during a game.
This keyboard may be dismissed as some kind of a gamers gimmick, but it's screen with the multitude of information it displays makes this an invaluable tool whether you like to game or not.
If you want it, only the 2nd generation one is available, with the main differences being it "only" has 6 G Keys (and so 18 macros), and you can buy it from Amazon or from eBay here.

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