Logitech Cordless Desktop MX for Bluetooth - My Findings
(Page 5 of 6 )
Now that I had everything installed and ready to go, I immediately began using the keyboard and mouse to fulfill my daily duties here at the Developer Shed headquarters. My first notable reaction was that the keys on this keyboard seem to be spaced a little farther apart than the other keyboards I've been using as of late. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, the immediate barrage of typos in my IMs was a sure indication that something was different. It didn't take me long to get used to the new feel.
The keyboard comes with a slew of additional buttons, including media control (volume, stop, play, next, previous, mute) and buttons for things such as email and webcams. There are over 20 additional buttons on this keyboard, and the SetPoint software will allow you to configure most of them.
One of the first things I tried to do was to use the media keys to control Winamp. I put on my RumbleFX (force feedback headphones--I just love my bass!), and started Winamp. I am sure you will understand my dismay when the only multimedia buttons that seemed to work at all were the Volume and Mute buttons. And these didn't even work with Winamp, but with Windows XP itself! I flipped back to the features of this desktop and found that, indeed, it is noted that Winamp (versions 3.x and 5.x) are supposed to be supported. To be fair, there is a disclaimer that says not all buttons will work (like next and previous tracks), but I couldn't get any of them to work. No amount of trickery was able to help, even uninstalling the 3.x version I had and installing the 5.x version. There's a large thread on Logitech's website about this. Apparently, I'm not the only one who can't make it work.
Other than that, the keyboard is a dream to use. I type pretty fast, and can be very demanding when it comes to cordless keyboards but this keyboard kept right up with no problem. There are no status lights on the keyboard--it runs off of 2 AA batteries, so lights would just be battery drain--but Logitech made up for that in two ways. First, the CAPS lock, NUM lock, and FUNCTION lock all have light indicators built into the Bluetooth hub. A quick glance at these shows you the status of these keys. In addition, there are some on-screen notifications when you hit any of the function buttons on the keyboard. If you hit the CAPS lock, you are treated to "Caps Lock On" on the bottom of your screen in lime-green text. Pressing it again will cause "Caps Lock Off" to appear. This is standard for all of the special keys of the keyboard, including the multimedia keys.
Let's talk about the mouse for a minute. First of all, the mouse is VERY comfortable to hold. As I mentioned above, this mouse is designed for a right-handed person, and it fits very naturally to almost any sized hand. It is a typical two button mouse, with a scroll wheel in the center. In addition to the standard bells and whistles, this mouse also features what I like to call "Speed Scroll" buttons, which scroll very quickly up or down your documents. There is also a "Quick Switch Program Selector" button, which pops up a list of all running programs and lets you pick from the list.
To be honest, I nearly forgot that I was using a cordless mouse. This mouse, by far, exceeds the performance of all other wireless mice I have used, and even works better than a lot of corded mice (like the one that came with this Dell system). It offers excellent precision and is very responsive.
The mouse itself operates off of rechargeable batteries, and sits inside the Bluetooth hub to charge. Don't wait too long between letting the mouse nap in its cradle, however, since you may find your mouse falling asleep while you are using it. I used the mouse for 2 days straight then let it sit through the weekend without any charging the whole time, and it died halfway through the day on the following Monday. This, by no means, is a detriment to the mouse, since by the nature of our business I use the mouse all day every day. Best of all, the mouse does not overcharge when left for extended periods in the charger. So don't worry about when you should or shouldn't put the mouse back in the charger, it's all good.
When the mouse gets low on batteries, there is a visible notification in your system tray that resembles two little batteries. There is also a visual red light on the back of the mouse that blinks when the battery is very low.
No review of this mouse would be complete without seeing how well it can hold up to some really strenuous activity. For this purpose, I fired up Unreal Tournament 2003 and hopped into a game with 45 mean and angry bots. The response I got was decent, but not what I had hoped for. Being a fairly aggressive UT player, I found my game play hampered by choppiness and slow response time from the both the mouse and keyboard. While I found this product to be a very favorable add-on to my desktop for standard office use, it could not keep up with the demands of hardcore game-play.
Next: Summary >>
More Input Devices Articles
More By Rich Smith
/ 135 
