Any quicker, and it would be a neural interface.
Written: Jul 31 '04 (Updated Aug 01 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The best tracking yet, looks awesome, lots of buttons.
Cons: One button is hard to reach.
The Bottom Line: Probably the finest corded mouse you can buy. A definite winner!
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| jeff-o's Full Review: Logitech MXâ„¢ 510 (931162-0403) Mouse |
Wow, this is an impressive mouse. In the past I've owned (in addition to ancient ball mice) a plain optical wheel mouse and a cordless optical wheel mouse, all by Logitech. I've also owned an Apple optical mouse. This one beats them all!
The main reason I purchased this mouse was for the incredible tracking performance. All the reviews said it was the best to date, and I believe them. This mouse features eight buttons and a scroll wheel, and the coolest "paint job" to date. It's ergonomically designed, but only for righties.
TRACKING PERFORMANCE
This mouse was designed for gamers. The MX-510 boasts the best optical tracking system yet, scanning at 5.8 megapixels per second at a resolution of 800dpi. Logitech says that it can track acceleration of up to 15 Gs. While I can't test those acceleration claims, rest assured there's nothing you can do to make this mouse skip a beat. I've tried scrubbing this mouse across the desk as fast as possible, and it never lost track of where it was. Very impressive; this is not a feat the other mice could match.
CONTROLS
The MX-510 features eight buttons: left and right click, two under the thumb, three in-line with the scroll wheel and one as part of the scroll wheel. The cool thing about the left and right-click buttons is that they're essentially built into the blue case of the mouse, so that there is no transition between the buttons and the rest of the body. Still, they have a very nice-feeling click, and are not difficult to push at all.
The buttons under the thumb are designed for easy back/forward control of websites, and are programmed this way by default. Two buttons immediately in front of and behind the scroll wheel are set up as "cruise control" buttons, that automatically scroll a window at a set speed. I have reprogrammed them as "home" and "end." The button in the scroll wheel is tensioned just enough that it won't be pressed while scrolling, yet gives way easily enough when you want to click it. The last button is the hardest to reach, because it's so far back. For me, it's right at the base of my fingers, making it a stretch to reach. By default, it brings up the application switcher.
The scroll wheel is smaller than on my cordless mouse, but this is actually an improvement. It's actually easier to scroll because there's less resistance.
LOOKS + FEEL
This mouse screams "cool." It features a unique holographic paint that's applied to the inside of the case, so it won't scratch off. It's available in blue or red, depending on what store you go to. Black plastic surrounds the sides, with a texture that's grippier than the smooth plastic on the top. Watch as friends grab the mouse just to hold it! Unlike other Logitech mice, there is no clear plastic used on the case, so you can't see the red LED in the bottom.
The MX-510 feels good in my hand, but since I have such big hands, it could be better. When I place my hand on it the way I assume the engineers had designed, my fingers hang off the front. It's a minor gripe, but for anyone with smaller hands this should not be a problem.
The cord is about 6 feet long, enough to reach a tower on the floor. A USB to PS/2 adapter is also included.
SOFTWARE
I tried this mouse on both an iBook and a PowerMac G5, both running OS X 10.3. Unfortunately, not all the buttons did anything right away, so I had to install Logitech's Control Centre software for OS X. This software is easily found on the internet, but strangely is not on the included driver CD with the Windows software. Installing takes only a few seconds.
Once loaded, the mouse is properly recognized by the software, and you can reconfigure every button to do what you want. The only thing I changed was the cruise control buttons, from "scroll up" and "scroll down" to "home" and "end." The software lets you do far more than that; you can have buttons open applications or documents, or perform a certain sequence of keystrokes.
PACKAGING
The packaging doesn't depart too far from the traditional Logitech green and white. Inside is the mouse itself, a PS/2 adapter, a software CD, a quick-setup manual (marked MX-500, the predecessor to the 510) and a little catalog of Logitech's other products. The warranty on this mouse is 3 years.
PRICE
I bought this mouse for $40 CDN on sale (actually it was $50, pardon my memory), and it is (still) totally worth that price. Even if you're not a gamer, it's worth it to get this mouse just for the looks.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 35
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Epinions.com ID:
jeff-o
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Location: Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 3 members
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