That's right, Christmas came early for me this year. It came in the form of a small box, left neatly wrapped on my front doorstep early this morning. You see, I am hard on mice. They get banged, smacked and slapped around more than a hockey player during the season finals. I go through about four a year, yes, four a year. I've tried the wireless ones, the ball-less ones [is that even a word?] and even those $99.00 models that promise to do everything but balance your checkbook.

My neighbor Jane could take no more of my late night antics - the cursor would skip all over the place and I was starting to think that there was a conspiracy between the mouse pad makers and the mouse makers - ever take your mouse apart and see all the stuff built up on the wheels? I tell you – it's beyond gross so if you are a clean freak - you might want to skip trying to clean it and just break down and replace it.

When I bought this computer [after my last one was stolen] – this is the mouse that came with it. I fell in love with the smooth scrolling, quiet buttons and it's never ending service to me. But, like most electronic times in my possession – it fell under my curse. It started to flick around the screen, jump the pages and eventually it was impossible to do anything with it. I switched to a Belkin mouse and it too died a miserable death. [RIP]

I'm not sure where Epinions is getting their prices from, but this mouse is not $29.99. I know for fact that Best Buy has them for $14.99 because I went mouse shopping a few days ago but left empty handed, the choices overwhelmed me. So, after weeks of hearing me swear, scream and beat the mouse, my neighbor decided that enough is enough and did a 'ring and run' early this morning. Well, it was more like a 'knock and run' since she knows the odd hours I keep. Wrapped in metallic green paper with a big red bow, I received my first present of the season. My new Logitech Mouse.

Now, some people need a basic mouse, one without a scroll wheel and only two buttons. I was the same way until I discovered the wonders of the cute little wheel. Others feel the need to have so many extras on the mouse that it’s bulky and hard to master. For me, I'm middle of the road. If you are someone that likes a mouse that is functional, well built, quiet, fairly cost friendly and easy to maintain, look no further.

Size, Shape and Style

The shape of the body of the mouse is fairly ergonomic. I can rest my entire hand over the mouse and use it for a few hours without any hand cramps. It doesn't have contoured buttons or a thumb slot, but for me those are just useless since I never managed to get those types of mice to work properly for me.

The shape is relative to all other mice on the market. Since my hands aren't exactly the smallest the size of it makes it extremely easy to use. If I could improve on one thing it would be the length of the buttons, they are a little too long for me and since it is new – it's very sensitive so I am finding myself double clicking when I only want a single click. This happened with my first Logitech and it only took me a few days to get used to it.

Style. Well, we aren't dealing with a mouse fashion show here. It's your basic egg shell, almost gray color. The Logitech logo in on the top of the mouse [right below the buttons] and from my experience it lasts about 2 months before it starts to wear off. If you are looking for an accessory to show off your computer, this isn't it.

Scrolling Right Along

The scroll wheel is a little annoying the first few hours; it has a slight slicking noise but died down after a few days of solid use. After that it's as quiet as a church mouse [oh how could I resist that pun?]. The scroll feature can be used for so many different applications I'm wondering how I ever survived without it when my laptop was my only means to connecting to the internet. Ever used a laptop that had that silly little read dot in the middle of the keypad? Ick! Talk about frustration.

One minor thing you might notice after a few months of heavy use is that the scroll feature starts to lose it's power. You'll see that it starts to scroll for no reason and then have to give it a good whack to set it straight. This is especially true if you have pets in your household. All it takes is one little strand of hair to get into the chamber and you've got a possessed mouse on your hands.

As a side note, I am right handed. The mouse is designed to be used with either right handed or left handed individuals. Since the form and features are identical on both sides, all it takes is a little configuration on your computer to adjust it from standard [right handed] to the left-handed modes.

Warranty

I swear, this time I kept the box. It's in the closet [along with the sandwich maker, blender and 20 other odd things I never use anymore]. The nice thing about this mouse is that it comes with a 2 year warranty. Now, don't expect to get a new mouse every two years, but for defects and non-specific issues, you'll get it repaired or replaced.

Don't forget to fill out the product card and mail it in. This is a huge snafu that I run into, often times finding the filled out card months after I threw out a product because it broke.


The Nasty Details

You see, for me, I am a partial electronics moron. I won't mince words and call myself an amateur or 'just learning', there are some areas of a computer that I find either too boring or too complicated for me to even bother with. Mouse adaptors, 6 pin, 12 pin, USB to PS/2 jargon … I leave that up to the salesmen [sorry, salesperson]. I take in the dead appliance and say "Uggg, me want new one like dis".

So for those interested parties, here is the information.

The end of the mouse has that flat thingy on it, I don't know where it would go - or if it would even fit on the back of my computer - but alas - there was a small round thingy that slid right into the spot where the other mouse previously took up residence. If you know what that flat thing is called – please leave a comment and I'll be sure to update this and give you credit for it.

The mouse comes with the driver disc [which I never seem to have a need for], a handy dandy AOL free trial disc [are they everywhere?] and the information on the 2 year warrant. Be sure to hold onto this in case you get a bum mouse or need to send it in for repairs. The warranty does not cover abuse [darn it].

System Requirements

Another area where I completely suck. Hey, I won’t lie. But for those who are still awake through this review. Here it goes:

IBM or compatible PC, Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0 or Windows 2000. You will also need a CD Rom drive is you need to add this mouse to your mouse drivers. For those with the Mac system: Mac OS 8.6 or later, USB port, and again, the CD Rom drive if you need to add the mouse information to your computer.

Who Might Love This

Well, if you are hard on mice or do tons of surfing and clicking, this is perfect for you. The brood really loved the old Logitech mouse we had and they had no trouble using it from the start. I'm going to update all the computers in the house to this type of mouse based on a few key items.

Cost

At this price – considering the features and tireless service it gives it – you'd be crazy to pay a penny more for another mouse. This goes double if you are hard on them or tend to take out your frustrations on them.

Clean Up

As with any item that hand your hands all over it, mice shells get dirty. Some are a royal pain to clean - often times leaving it dirtier than when you started. This one cleans up nicely, a few squirts of an all purpose cleaner and a nice paper towel [try to use lint free ones] and you are good to go.

Practicality

I don't like the big mice that have those flashing red lights, make noises, are fashioned after cartoon characters or beep. I like a nice quiet, stable mouse, one that won't get an attitude with me or start to scroll all over the place.

Yes, I Am Almost Done

I promise I'll try to treat this mouse a little better than those that have fallen before it. I won't whack it around when I lose a game of Bingo Madness or type my password in wrong for the fifteenth time. I am hoping that this one lasts as long as its cousin did, but if it doesn't you know I'll come back and update this review!


As always, thanks for the read!

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2004 Freak369


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Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): $14.99