Targus EcoSmart Keyboard Review: Excellent Typing Experience with Solid Sustainability Street Cred

Targus EcoSmart Keyboard Review

You would think keyboards have been done. But they haven’t. Keyboards demonstrate diversity in design, form factor, materials, and use case even though they stubbornly retain the QWERTY formatted keys that once allowed typewriter salesmen to type the word “typewriter” without leaving the top row of alphabetical keys.

My current desktops hold a variety of keyboards, from 75% gaming keyboards with removable keys and programmable lighting effects and macros, to the elegance of the MacBook Pro keyboard, to the keyboard intended for utilitarian use, to practical keyboards for work, paid work and schoolwork.

And then there is the $199.99 Targus EcoSmart Keyboard. It falls into the utilitarian use category, with a very similar layout to the Mattias Wireless Aluminum Tenkeyless Keyboard, which sits near it, save for its ten keys. But the layout isn’t the thing. Nor are the well-shaped keys and excellent touch-typing experience. No, Targus makes a very good keyboard out of 85% post-consumer recycled materials. And it charges via energy harvesting panels.

What we like

Pros

• Made from 85% post-consumer recycled materials
• Optimized for lower power
• Built-in energy harvesting technology
• Excellent typing experience
• DefenseGuard™ Antimicrobial Keyboard Protection
• Multi-device connectivity

Beyond the materials, the keyboard electronics are intended to operate at lower power, requiring fewer recharges as they top off the battery from various available light sources like displays, desk lights, overhead lights, and, you know, the sun. That is a solid design goal, and while the lower power use is evident from the slow drain on the battery, I find the energy harvesting less convincing, which I will address in the “What could be improved” section. Alternatively, a USB-C port supports traditional charging.

Of course, none of the sustainability features matter if the keyboard doesn’t work well. Have no worries. The Targus EcoSmart Keyboard is an excellent keyboard. The full-sized 104-key keyboard is a pleasure to type on. It offers the full complement of Apple and Windows multimedia keys as well as the various remapping of the ten-key pad for arrows and other navigation, along with dedicated navigation keys between the alphanumeric keys and the keypad.

I also like that the keyboard is backlit, adding to its appeal in darker work areas. Flip out feet help keep the keyboard at a good typing angle.

Once the world realized Covid-19 was not transmitted effectively from surfaces outside of those related to highly contagious patients in hospital settings, (see “Current understanding of the surface contamination and contact transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare settings,” Choi et al for details), the antimicrobial features started to wane, but many were in the pipeline, including this Targus keyboard. It’s a good feature, perhaps not for COVID, but homes with kids who share a keyboard with their parents. Just because COVID isn’t long-lived on surfaces, other icky diseases certainly are.

The Targus EcoSmart Keyboard connects with up to three devices. Special keys easily swap devices with a single tap. Holding the Bluetooth® connectivity key (with a computer on the keycap) puts the keyboard into pairing mode. Very simple. The keyboard also connects to any major operating system, including Windows, macOS, iPadOS, iOS, Android and Chrome OS.

What could be improved

Cons

• Not convinced on the energy harvesting
• Backlight bleeds around the keys
• Would like a “tenkeyless” version

I’m not convinced that the energy harvesting is effective. My office is low light, so I get that I may use power faster than the battery recharges. But I tested the keyboard in the OFF position, sitting it in strong indirect light, emanating from multiple sources, including sunlight, for several hours. When I turned the keyboard on it was 1% less than before I sat it in the light areas.

I would like to see improved backlighting. It’s hard to sit this keyboard next to a MacBook Pro and not compare the design. Apple’s backlight pushes through the keys with almost no bleed between keys. The focus is on the keycaps, not lighting them around the keys. While the Targus EcoSmart Keyboard is better than many, it still bleeds light around the edges of its keys.

Looking straight down on any portion of the keyboard is pretty good, but this is a long keyboard, which means seeing at least some light radiating from the edge of keys at an angle from either side of the focus area. The more acute the angle, the more the light appears. Apple’s very slight bleed radiates from the bottom of the keys—and you really have to look for it. Targus’s more significant light bleed comes from the side of the keys. It is very evident and can be a distraction when typing.

As much as I like typing on the Targus EcoSmart Keyboard, it’s long for my work area. I prefer the 75% keyboards or full keyboards without the ten-key pad to give my mouse a bit more surface area. I would love to see a smaller version of this keyboard with all the current features, save the ten-key pad. Targus has additional plans, evidenced by its recently released ErgoFlip™ EcoSmart™ Mouse.

Targus EcoSmart Keyboard: The bottom line

Overall, as a keyboard, the Targus EcoSmart succeeds. It offers an excellent typing experience and long battery life. That it incorporates so many sustainability efforts makes it a worthy investment, even though it is Targus’s most expensive keyboard, but nowhere as expensive as many gaming keyboards. If you care about the environment and you want to make a statement, this is your statement keyboard.

Targus provided the EcoSmart™ Keyboard for review. Images courtesy of Targus unless otherwise noted.

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