The typical Mac user’s desktop setup is a uniform of brushed aluminum, displayed with pride and reverence. Many accessory makers have tried squirm into the clique with lures of enhancements — but few take the bait, for fear of marring their Cupertino livery. Logitech’s new Easy Switch Keyboard ($100) and Rechargeable Trackpad ($70) may accomplish the impossible, offering several key enhancements over their Apple counterparts without disrupting the style of your workspace.
The Bluetooth keyboard’s biggest boon comes in the form of intelligent backlighting, which turns on when hands hover over it and dims when not in use. It also ditches the battery-swap merry go round in favor of USB charging, and can sync and switch between three devices at once with the touch of a button, making it just as useful on a nearby iPad. Those features do come with roughly a $30 surcharge over Apple’s solution, though (if it were bought it separately). The Trackpad is just as sensitive to multi-fingered touches, taps and tickles as Apple’s, while also featuring USB charging for the same price as the Magic Trackpad — granted you don’t think bold Logitech branding on the front has cost all its own. If you’re brazen enough to make the switch, look for both to go on sale this January. We won’t be snitchin’ to Apple.
