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Logitech Cordless MouseMan Optical Review - PAGE 1
Austin Bailey - Wednesday, May 9th, 2001 Like Share |
The Making of a Mouse
The biggest concern for making a wireless optical mouse was power consumption: an optical mouse sensor uses quite a bit more power than conventional mechanical sensors, so battery life of a cordless mouse could be seriously compromised. Logitech was ready to tackle this problem head on and teamed up with Agilent Technologies, one of the pioneers in optical sensor technology, to find a solution. Together they developed a proprietary next generation chip that would allow a 3 month battery life under normal office usage. This chip not only combined advanced power saving modes, it also featured an 800DPI resolution -- around twice the resolution of current optical sensors. Armed with the new chip, and Logitechs existing Palomar wireless radio technology, Logitech introduced the Cordless MouseMan Optical.
Mousing Around
To kick off this newest mouse, Logitech came up with a completely new design that deviates from their current MouseMan line. Youll find the same elegant blue theme with the new beautiful logo button and the standard buttons (2 on top, a thumb button on the side, and the mousewheel), but the shape is smaller and even more oval. Being used to a Microsoft Optical Mouse, I at first found the new shape uncommonly small. A longtime user of the older MouseMan series will find this a more compact mouse then they are used to, but anyone should become accustomed to the ergonomic shape quite quickly. I have always found Logitech to be one of the premier companies when it comes to ergonomic design of peripherals, and this newest revision of the MouseMan exemplifies this tradition.
As with other MouseMan mice, rubber pads on either side of the mouse make for a comfortable and slip free grip. The wheel is solid and rolls with a sturdy resistance. The wheel also requires a conscious effort to depress, so there is little chance of accidentally activating the button function when you only intended on scrolling the wheel. The primary buttons are actually more tactile then older generation Logitech mice, a welcome change for me. The thumb button is also more easily depressed then on previous Logitech mice, which is EXACTLY what I was waiting for. Although a small detail, the thumb button is now placed more closely to the resting position of your thumb. In combination, this placement and the reduced resistance make the thumb button infinitely easier to access then the thumb buttons on either of the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer or older Logitech MouseMan series something which I applaud. This new positioning and design allows the user to activate the thumb button with a simple rocking motion of the thumb.
The Cordless MouseMan Optical is a delight to use, whether in games or in everyday office applications. Ergonomics aside, the optical precision is astounding, and especially appreciable in graphics applications or any application that requires finite control. As has been pointed out by other users, cordless mice tend to have a more free-flowing feel when used, because there is no cord to add drag and resistance to your mouse movement. This, combined with the lack of the resistance naturally present in a mouse ball, and the added precision, make for a unique and pleasant mousing experience.
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How difficult can it be?
This is a valid point on Logitech's side, but I think that a more useable solution is like what you suggest: basically batteries that can be charged inside the mouse, by docking it into a charging station.
Maybe the problem now is that there is an added cost to that sort of solution that would make the mouse undesirable?
Kind of an odd shape which you
will mostly adjust to, but sometimes
even after a week I had trouble hitting
the right mouse button.
I've gone back to my MS IntelliMouse Optical
complete with cord.
The Logitech weighs about 6 oz with batteries.
The MS mouse weighs closer to 3 oz (Yes,
I weighed them).
The added weight makes the Logitech harder to move
and increases stiction. There are occasional lags
in response which are noticeable. Perhaps due to RF
interface, or perhaps just due to the Logitech's optical tracking system.
This mouse has 5 feet as opposed to the 4 on the MS mouse,
but it just it just can't be made to slide smoothly -- too heavy == too sticky.
I used it on an off white with gray speckles formica surface
which should have been about ideal for the optical pickup
as well as for sliding.
Live and learn. I won't use it again. It's too much work!
Secondly I can't set it to a comfortable speed in Windows. It's set to the lowest now and still feels strange (might be because of the first problem).
All drivers are installed (MouseWare 9.28) and I run Windows 2000 SP2.
Can anyone help?
Can you make sure that the mouse is close enough to the receiver. And also check to see if the batteries are ok. You also want to make sure you are not using a very reflective surface.
Here are my opinions about it.
I love this mouse.
It's lighter than the Boomslang, and, no cord (duh:P)
There was problems with Quake 3 and the boomslang, the sensitivities were all off, and there was a considerable lag and no DirectInput support, switching from PS/2 and USB did not solve this. The Mouseman worked right off the bat in Quake 3, and I never had problems in UT.
In Winders when I move it too fast, it does screw up and move into the corner of my second monitor and I have to move it ALL the way back to my primary one. But, i just learned to not move it too fast, as my MS Intellimouse Optical did this as well, which is also a great mouse.
I love this mouse, it is by far the best mouse I have purchased! I returned the boomslang, and got $99 to spend in EBX, So i bought the Mouseman, a Spawn Action figure (Jyaaku The Nightmare, to accompany diablo on my monitors)and a 100 disc CD wallet.
First off you would have to pay extra for a recharger, and that would bring up the price a little. Also, you have the problem of Cell Memory.
If say you were to plug in the Mouse once a week, when it was only halfway drained, it would form crystals between the halfway line and the fully discharged line. This would happen because the Cell would "think" the halfway line is fully drained, because you would always recharge it at that level.
But really, it would only be half drained. This would cut the mouse's uptime in half and slowly deteriate the battery to the point where you would have to A) Get a new battery if it was replaceable, or B) Get a new mouse.
Overall, from what I hear and hopefully I will know for myself soon, this mouse is a great bargain and would greatly reduce my desktop clutter.
The lag seems to come from the fact that this mouse (and another cordless not optical from Logitech I tried) can't send simultaneaously to the receiver informations concerning buttons state change and movements informations. This is for example noticeable on the Windows desktop, when you drag the mouse at constant speed and press a button: the pointer stops for a short period of time. Or from the Ps2Plus utility. This is logically more a trouble in action games like Q3, where you always move your mouse and fire at the same time.
But does anyone know if this problem exists on every cordless mouse ?
the problem you are describing is the reason why the Lithium (or Lithium ION) accus were invented. They don't have the memory effect you were describing and can be reloaded at any moment without harming the lifespan of them.
Nickel Cadium accus are really outdated. My 2-year old cell phone even didn't include those old Nickel Cadium accus
No. My old mouse doesn't have this problem. I ordered Logitech Cordl. Opt. "Special ED", because I have to recharge my old mouse after just a few hours, and it has an irritating power-save funtion (ironic!) where I have to click a button everytime it has not been moved for 2 min. My friend had a logitech, and he hadn't recharged for months, so I wanted to try it.
I got the new mouse today, and its a piece of crap! The responce lag thing is driving me nuts. I discovered it after 1 min use. This mouse will be returned tomorrow!
BTW: My old mouse is A4tech Wireless Optical mouse (RFOP-35)
Exept for the thing mentioned above, it's a good mouse. Great range, I can have the pc in another room!