Logitech MediaPlay Cordless Mouse - More Included Stuff and Software
(Page 3 of 5 )
Along with the mouse you also receive the following items in the packaging.
Two AA batteries, a USB receiver, a receiver extender cable, a USB to PS/2 adapter, and Logitech's software. The receiver and mouse use radio frequency (RF) to transmit signals rather than infrared (IR) or BlueTooth. The receiver therefore can be either plugged into to your computer directly or via the extender cable without signal interruption.
Logitech lists the MediaPlay's signal reception as good up to 10 ft max. Now, it is wise for the manufacturer to slightly underestimate this distance in case a certain person's situation might cause the actual max distance to be lessened to some extent. What I found though was nothing short of remarkable. I started testing at 5ft, then went to 10, then 15 all with no lag or skipping of any kind. What the heck, I thought, let's try 20. No problem. Then 25, still looking good. At this point I was standing in my kitchen using the countertop as the mousing surface.
I was starting to get excited. I hooked the receiver up in my office which is on one end of my house. I started iTunes and turned the volume up, then I began to walk the length of my house from room to room all the while hitting the play/pause button and all the while hearing the music start and stop simultaneously with my button presses. I reached the opposite end of my house, a good 55-60 ft away from the receiver and the mouse was still working perfectly over that distance and through several walls. There was still no lag with the play/pause button, and although I couldn't see if there was any cursor lag it's not like you'd actually be doing any real mousing from 50ft.
The software Logitech packaged with the mouse included Setpoint, the mouse's control panel, and Logitech's answer to MS Media Center Edition entitled MediaLife.
This is the initial screen when starting Setpoint and it allows you to assign tasks to the various buttons. As you can see I have the Media button highlighted and I have it set to launch iTunes. According to Logitech's site the mouse works with the following media apps:
- Logitech MediaLife
- Windows Media Player versions 9 and 10
- MusicMatch versions 7, 8 and 9
- MusicMatch 10.0
- iTunes 4.6
- WinAmp 5 or above
- Windows Media Center 2005
- Windows Media Center 2004 and 2004 Update
- PowerDVD 4 and above
- Intervideo WinDVD 4 and above
I tested it with WMP 10, iTunes 4.8, WinAmp 5, Power DVD XP, and of course MediaPlay. All seemed to work without a hitch, both with launching and use of the media buttons. The next screen allows you to adjust the mouse's movement settings.
There is also a settings screen that indicates battery life. For the two AA batteries, this mouse is rated as being able to last up to 1 month according to Logitech. As I've only had this mouse for a few weeks I can't vouch for that yet, but as of right now, with moderate usage the battery levels haven't gone down at all since I got it. Perhaps I'll do an update when the batteries do die to let everyone know how long they lasted and if Logitech underestimated this in the same way they did the signal strength.
Another screen of Setpoint allows for the mouse's game settings to be changed.
Changing things here allows for Setpoint detect a game starting up and then to do such things as turn off mouse acceleration, speed, or button assignments, that you may or may not want to be applied while you're playing games.
Next: MediaLife Software >>
More Peripherals Articles
More By Cyd
/ 24 
