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9 OCT 2004 |
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Logitech MX1000 Laser Mouse |
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Logitech has been
able to consistently impress consumers
with their mice. With the MX700
mouse, Logitech created a mouse that
seemed to be the first wireless mouse
that did not have the common flaws of
ordinary wireless mice. It was a
rechargeable mouse which had little
delay in tracking surfaces. In
addition, their MX510 series mouse has
been popular among gamers due to it's
extremely high 5.8 Megapixel per second
tracking rate. Now, Logitech has
released a revolutionary product that
combines aspects of those two series and
more. This product is labelled the
MX1000 Laser Mouse.
This mouse is
both wireless and still delivers
performance comparable to the MX510
corded mouse. The main difference
with the MX1000 Mouse is that it uses
laser technology as opposed to the now
standard optical technology seen in most
mice today. With the laser
technology, Logitech claims that it will
make current optical mice obsolete.
That is certainly a bold statement from
Logitech, but let's find out if this
product can live up to Logitech's
statement.
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The package was fairly
small and came in an attractive box. At
the front of the box, you can immediately see
the mouse contained within the package.
This allows the consumer to be able to see the
actual mouse itself. The package includes
everything you need to set up to the mouse.
Included is the mouse itself, a base
station/recharger/receiver, an AC adapter, a USB
to PS/2 converter, and a booklet
containing the necessary instructions and
software for installation. There really
isn't anymore you can ask from Logitech in this
package. It is definitely complete.
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Installation is rather
simple. First you need to plug the
base/receiver to a USB port to your computer.
Then you plug in the AC adapter to an
outlet and connect the other end to the
receiver. It is recommended to install the
provided software before plugging in the mouse.
The only thing left to do is to place the mouse
on the base to allow the mouse to recharge.
The battery of the mouse was partially charged, but
I still placed it on the base to allow it to
recharge until the battery was full. When
the mouse is placed in the base, the battery
indicator on the mouse will light up which tells
the state of the battery. When the battery
indicator stops flashing, you will know that the
device is fully recharged. Be sure to set
the switch on the mouse to 'On' before using the
mouse.
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Logitech has included a CD
containing their SetPoint 2.11c software to
allow full functionality of the mouse. As
you can see with the screenshots, the look of
the software seems to match well with the style
and colors of the mice. The software
allows you to change options such as the pointer
speed, horizontal scrolling speed, pointer
acceleration, as well as pointer trails if one
desires.
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click to enlarge
click to enlarge
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When
looking at the overall design of
the mouse, you will notice that
the curvature and style of the
mouse is similar to the MX700
mouse. The mouse is wider
though at the bottom of the
mouse to help provide a better
grip on the mouse. The top
of the mouse has a unique black,
blue, and silver mixed color.
The sides of the mouse are
generally black which is where
most of your fingers will grip
upon. The black areas on
the sides of the mouse have a
slightly rubbery feel which
helps with the grip.
There
is a
wide variety of buttons on this
mouse.
The scroll wheel has a feature
just like the tilt technology in
Microsoft's latest Intellimouse
Explorer. You are able to
press the scroll wheel side to
side. Right above and
below the scroll wheel are
additional buttons.
Sometimes, when navigating
through many pages, the scroll
wheel can become tiresome to
use. Instead, just press
the up or down buttons near the
scroll wheel instead to help you
navigate through many pages.
My only minor complaint about
the scroll wheel is that
pressing the scroll wheel, which
is used as the middle mouse
button for gamers, is a bit
stiff.
Near your thumb, there is the
usual back and forward buttons.
These are particularly useful
when browsing the web.
Instead of placing the 'switch
application' button on the top
center of the mouse just like
the MX700, they moved the button
right near the thumb area.
The most notable feature on this
mouse is the battery indicator
near the thumb area. The
batter indicator is a very
useful tool in showing how much
power is left in the mouse.
This allows the user to more
efficiently determine the best
time to recharge their mouse.
Speaking of batteries, the
battery is built into the mouse
as opposed to the MX700 mouse
allowing you to take out the
rechargeable batteries.
This really only affects the
long term value of the product.
Basically, once the internal
battery dies out on the product,
it is no longer usable. On
the other hand, for the MX700,
you can just replace the
rechargeable batteries and you
will have its original battery
life again as intended.
The laser
sensor is located at the bottom
of the mouse. There is a
sticker around the laser sensor
indicating it is based on the MX
engine and that is 20 times
better than ordinary optical
mice. The sensor looks
very similar to an optical
sensor, but is slightly smaller.
There are four large grips on
the bottom of the mouse.
The grips are larger than most
other mice. In addition,
there is a reset button and an
on/off switch. The on/off
switch can be very useful.
When you leave your computer on
overnight, it would be best to
put the switch in its off
position to save power. It
is also particularly useful when
transporting the mouse. By
turning the mouse off, it will
prevent the mouse from
accidentally wasting power while
it is sitting in your bag.
On a separate note, I would like
to mention that the
base/recharge station is much
lighter than the MX700's
recharge base. In
addition, the AC adapter for the
base is also much smaller and
lighter as well. What this
means is that this mouse is much
more portable for those in need
of a high performance wireless
mouse on the go. The base
station was designed so that
there is less possible movement
of the mouse when it is sitting
in the base station. In
addition, the recharge contacts
located on the base stick out a
bit further to make better
contact with the recharge
contacts on the mouse.
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Overall, I was very
impressed with the performance of the mouse.
Usually, when an optical mouse is active, you
can recognize it with its bright red LED light
at the bottom of the mouse. On the MX1000,
there is no bright light. Even when the
mouse is in use, you will not see any light
coming from the laser sensor at the bottom of
the mouse. Compared with the MX700 mouse,
the MX1000 for some reason feels lighter.
It probably has to do with the very comfortable
and ergonomic shape of the mouse when it is held
in the hand. Most of the weight of the
mouse has been shifted toward the base of the
mouse, therefore, making the mouse seem lighter
when you move it.
This mouse makes every effort
to save power when possible to maximize the
usage on a single charge. Even after
several seconds of inactivity, the mouse will
completely power off including the battery
indicator on the side.
Performance wise, I found the mouse to perform
just as good, if not better, than the MX510
optical mouse. Gaming is very responsive
without any noticeable latency.
When receiving this review kit, the package
included samples of different surfaces that the
MX1000 mouse is able to handle. The
surfaces included a plastic material with a high
gloss, photo paper, as well as painted metal.
When using an ordinary optical mouse or even the
MX700, those mice were not able to track at all
on those surfaces. Only the MX1000 Laser
mouse was able to effectively track on those
kinds of surfaces. Keep in mind that those
surfaces are similar in general because they are
either glossy or have a reflective coating.
So far, I have been using this mouse for well
over a week now on a single charge. I have
used the mouse in the week with some gaming as
well as general use computing. With
"line-of-sight" with the receiver I was able to
use the mouse at a maximum of 7 feet. This
is quite good for a wireless mouse. I
would find it hard to believe if you need to use
your computer more than 7 feet away from the
monitor. I was barely able to see what I
was doing at 7 feet away from my 15" LCD
monitor.
Since this mouse is meant for gaming, my only
complaint about this product is that you can't
assign certain buttons of the mouse in the
game. Logitech needs to work on the
software to allow all the buttons to be assigned
in all games.
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Logitech's new MX1000 Laser mouse
is a major breakthrough in mouse technology. I
finally do believe in Logitech's saying that this mouse
makes other optical mice obsolete. With the
release of this mouse, you can probably expect Logitech
to release mice equipped with the new laser technology
from here on out. This mouse opens up the
opportunity to use a mouse on a surface which is either
glossy or reflective. If you already own the
MX510, it isn't absolutely necessary to upgrade unless
you finally want a wireless mouse with performance
comparable with the MX510. At the price of $79.99,
this product is meant as a top-of-the-line mouse for
gamers. Most general computing users looking for a
wireless solution will probably find the MX700 a better
choice price-wise. If you prefer lighter mice,
your best bet would be to wait until Logitech releases a
corded version of the mouse with the new Laser
technology. If you have small hands, I would
recommend going to a nearby store and trying it out to
be sure it won't hurt your hands after a long period of
use. Logitech has made another excellent product
that definitely bring the company forward in their
products. |
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Reviewed by
ronald@digitalreviews.net |
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