Earlier in the year I was in a discussion with a friend of mine about mechanical keyboards. His friend was certain that he owned a mechanical gaming keyboard and so I asked him which one. I stopped him the second he said, “Logitech”. They make several high quality keyboards but not one of them mechanical.

That will soon change when they introduce their mechanical G710+ gaming keyboard to the market.

The Scarecrow went to the Wizard of Oz to ask for a brain.

Logitech asked to remove their membrane-domes. Heels weren't the only things which clicked.

The G710+ keyboard contains Cherry MX Brown switches along with a full set of media keys, a handful of macro keys, and a number pad. While the brown switches tend to be fairly quiet on their own Logitech has also included damping O-rings under each keycap to make it even more silent than most large mechanical keyboard competitors.

The G710+ is also a white LED backlit keyboard with the option to customize brightness such that your movement keys are lit differently than the rest. This is designed to be a visual cue to lead your fingers back to the movement keys in a dark room.

Macro functionality on the G-keys can be programmed using Logitech drivers in the Lua scripting language. This driver is available for Windows Vista through Windows 8 – sorry to the Windows XP holdouts of the world.

The G710+ is expected to retail for $149.99 in the U.S. (and Canada I believe) this month with Europe expected to ship in December.

Check in after the break for the press release.

Logitech Delivers Mechanical Keyboard Gamers Deserve

New Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Features High-Speed, Low-Noise Mechanical Keys and Adjustable Dual-Zone Backlighting 
for Lightning Fast, Whisper-Quiet Gaming

NEWARK, Calif. —Oct. 9, 2012 — Today Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) announced the newest addition to its G-Series line of high performance gaming products: the Logitech® G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. Designed to help you focus on the game, this keyboard is tested and tuned to deliver what gamers want: minimal distraction, rapid response, and complete control.

“The Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard was created to meet the specific needs of gamers,” said Mark Starrett, senior global product manager for Logitech. “We road tested this keyboard with professional gamers, partners, publishers, and everyday gamers like you and me, to ensure we’ve created a mechanical gaming keyboard that exceeds expectations.”

The keyboard’s mechanical keys deliver gaming-grade responsiveness, featuring an actuation force of 45g and distance of 4 mm, and are optimized for rapid command entry. Additionally, the non-clicking key switches have a built-in dampening ring underneath each keycap to significantly reduce the distracting noise coming from your key presses without sacrificing responsiveness. The keyboard has undergone a torturous testing process to help ensure durability, with a cycle life of at least a 50 million keystrokes.

The entire keyboard is backlit in white LED light, adjustable to one of four brightness levels, and can be turned completely off. For better visibility of the WASD and arrow keys, their brightness can be adjusted independently of the rest of the keyboard.

Using the newly updated Logitech Gaming Software, you can assign complex macros or intricate Lua gaming scripts to the keyboard’s G-keys – both on the fly and in advance – for up to 18 individual functions per game. Plus, all 110 keys feature anti-ghosting and 26-key rollover to help ensure you can execute complex key-commands with flawless precision. The Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is compatible with Microsoft Windows® 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista®.
"The first major event that I used the Logitech keyboard was at MLG Summer Arena,” said NYJacky from Team Curse. “I looked at my creep score after the tournament and it was higher than normal. Most of the time you need to get used to a keyboard – this one you just slip into quickly. I would never, ever think of using anything else."

Pricing and Availability

The Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in October and December 2012, respectively, for a suggested retail price of $149.99. For more information please visit www.logitech.comor our blog.

About Logitech
Logitech is a world leader in products that connect people to the digital experiences they care about. Spanning multiple computing, communication and entertainment platforms, Logitech’s combined hardware and software enable or enhance digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).