Hand-Held Heaven
Written: May 17 '03 (Updated May 17 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Super Comfortable, Fast Charging, Long Life
Cons: Some people complain about the weight, but it doesn't bother me. Designed for Righties.
The Bottom Line: Unless you are a lefty, this will increase your enjoyment and satisfaction with everything that you do on your computer for years? to come.
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| Turin's Full Review: Logitech MX 700 (930754) Mouse |
What can I say about the MX700? A few months ago, I would have said no mouse is worth $80. Do to an Advertising typo, I got a Logitech MX300 from Staples for $15. So I had forgone on this bizarre shaped alien looking device. Surely that can’t be comfortable, I thought. And those side buttons will get in the way, I’ve never seen a mouse with them when they didn’t. And it’s $80!!
However, less than a week later, www.monarchpc had the MX700 for $55 + Logitech offered a $10 Mail in Rebate. I spoke with a friend who told me he had one, and questioned the battery life on the mouse. Most cordless mice go through batteries like crazy. He said he never had a problem using the mouse all day long, even after he forgot to put it in the charging cradle one night. So I gave in and got one. Sometimes it pays to go out on a whim and try something new. In this case it was an understatement.
Buttons
There is a plethora of buttons on the MX700. More than I thought I would ever need or use. However, I also felt that I would never use a scroll-wheel until I got a mouse with one. Now, I don’t know how I’d live without it.
There are two side thumb buttons on the MX700. While in the past, these tended to get in the way, the shape of the MX700 allows for the buttons to be placed higher up on the left side. Older mice, with a standard mouse form, have the buttons right against your thumb. They can actually get in the way and impede what you are trying to do, since by default they are programmed to be forward and back when web browsing. I don’t use these two buttons much, but they have never been in my way either. I could definitely see them being beneficial in computer games, especially since the complexity of games has gone up over the years (IE. Most games have at least two or more different scroll functions: One for Magic, one for items, one for weapons, etc). The scroll wheel became the quick weapon changing method of choice for First Person Shooters quickly after it was introduced. Your left hand is busy running, jumping, and strafing while your right hand is shooting. Stopping to hit the [] or -= keys which were old defaults for switching weapons and items can easily hurt you in your game. These two buttons would be great for switching magic spells or items, though I always forget to program my games to use them. I never use them for forward or back, but I rarely use those functions to begin with when browsing the Internet. Rather, I always open new windows.
Aside from the scroll-wheel, there are 3 new buttons on top. One button is placed just above and just below the wheel, while the other buttons is located a little further back to the middle of the mouse. The first two buttons are scroll buttons. I use these, and they are quickly replacing the wheel for me for browsing purposes. Instead of having to keep scrolling, or sliding my finger up and down, I merely have to click and it will auto scroll up and down for as long as my finger is pressed. THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING!
The last new buttons is the one in the middle of the mouse. It acts like hitting alt-tab. I don’t use this button much either though it can also be a time save if you multi-task a lot.
Comfort
With it’s strange atypical design, the MX700 can look a bit disconcerting. Especially, since $60-80 is a phenomenal expense for a mouse! I mean come on, you can get a decent solid Logitech OEM scroll mouse for like $8. You can get a good Logitech optical mouse for less than $20. Is it worth spending $60 on this mouse? What if I don’t like it? Well, I can’t guarantee you will like it. I would suggest you go to Best Buy or a store as such where they have them on display for you to try. I can honestly say that I feel it was well worth the $60 that I spent. It is the most comfortable mouse that I have ever used. The buttons are placed where they won’t interfere are but are easily accessible. I have no problems with the weight of the mouse. If it was an old fashioned ball-mouse then it might be problematic, but since it’s an optical mouse it glides nearly effortlessly for me.
Convenience
I think the fact that you don’t have that mouse cord which always seems to be pulling against you on corded mice more than makes up for the additional weight of this unit. I can begin to convey how much nicer it is to not have the cord to deal with. It’s not even just about having freedom to take your mouse around the room with you. Just having your mouse where it normally is and going through its normal range of motion, without that cord pulling on it is amazing.
The mouse does have to be charged though. When I first got it, I forgot to charge it for a few days and low and behold it died. This happened several times before I got used to putting it in its caddy every night. Fortunately, this mouse charges fast. When I say fast, I mean FAST. You can put it in the caddy and walk away for fifteen minutes and come back and get maybe another two hours of use out of it without interruption. Those times may not be accurate, but that’s sure what it feels like. I have never had a problem, even when I am home sick and miserable and on the pc all day, with having this mouse die on me if it was charged the night before. That’s a huge step up from other cordless mice, which eat batteries like crazy.
Setup
This is a USB mouse. Plug the cradle into the wall and then attach the USB connector to your pc and it will install and be good to go. You may have to hit the connect buttons on the mouse and cradle, I don’t remember to be honest. It’s super easy; you won’t have a problem. To turn on the non standard buttons and customize the mouse, you need to install Logitech’s bundled software, or get the latest version from their website: www.logitech.com .
Optical
This is an optical mouse, so there is no mouse-ball and no rollers to clean. If you are a disgusting slob, I suppose you can gum up. Logitech tried to protect this from happening by recessing the laser a good inch or more from the bottom of the mouse. So unless your kids like to fill every void of your life with peanut butter, you should be ok. The MX line from Logitech is supposed to be more efficient and more accurate than their older optical laser engines. I haven’t really used the older opticals much, and when I have I have never noticed a difference. They got the job done. Suffice to say that I have no problems at all with this mouse’s tracking abilities.
Conclusion
The only reason not to get this mouse is if you are left-handed. It may still work fine for you, I wouldn’t know. However, it was designed with a right hand in mind. I would put extra emphasis on trying this mouse in person if you are a lefty. Other than that, if you have the money, buy this mouse. If you spend $50 on a single computer game this year, then you can’t say this mouse is too expensive. That game will last you maybe a month, maybe a little more. This will increase your enjoyment and satisfaction with everything that you do on your computer for years? to come.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 60
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Epinions.com ID:
Turin
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Reviews written: 77
Trusted by: 63 members
About Me:
23 year old Computer Technician/Network Admin into Games, Music, and of course Computers.
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