By flung
WhiningDog.NET
12/09/2002

Introduction

The wireless optical mouse has been relatively stable for the last few years with companies targeting business and home users with the promise of solid performance with their regular applications. However many hard core game enthusiasts stay away from wireless optical mouse since the data rates of these input devices are not great enough for their games. Even a slower paced game such as Warcraft III can prove to be too much for a regular wireless optical mouse. Not a gamer? Many optical mouse users often encounter surfaces which prove to be annoying to use with their mouse devices. This can translate to jerky mouse movements as one tries to do simple interactions with their desktops. Enter in the new Logitech MX 700 mouse with its improved optical engine and usage of fast RF cordless technology. Could this be the solution to the gamers out there as well as a solid replacement to regular optical mouse devices all around?

Package and Specifications

The MX 700 mouse comes in a cool looking box show casing the new optical mouse design. The mouse design is a blend between the new Microsoft Optical Mouse for Bluetooth and the current Logitech Wireless Optical Mouse found on their Elite Suite. Before getting into details, let’s take a look at what Logitech has to offer for this mouse as well as some pictures of the box.

Front of the box	Top of the box
Back of the box	The contents

Specifications

- New Optical Engine – Max ratings
Image Processing: 4.76 megapixels per second
Resolution of 800 dpi
Acceleration of 10g’s
Speed: 40 inches/second

- Base station acts as both a charger and a receiver for the RF signals.

- New buttons above and below the mouse wheel which can allow for easy scrolling. A separate button (called the “Quick Switch Program Selector”) below the bottom scroll button allows you to easily switch between active applications.

- System Requirements - The MX 700 supports both Windows 98 and above and the Mac OS operating system versions 8.6 and above. You can get the latest drivers for both OS's on the Logitech website here

Installation

The MX 700 is a cinch to install on the Windows XP platform. The base station contains the USB/PS2 cord that will be directly plugged into your system. From the end of the cord, you connect the AC adapter and power the base station. This is actually a great design since now you won’t have to run a separate AC cord all the way to the base station which will probably be on your desktop. You just run the AC cord to the end of the USB/PS2 cable at the point of connection to the PC. Less wires to deal with is always a good thing.

USB/PS2 connector + AC Adapter	AC plugged into USB connector

Since the base station is also a recharging station, you’ll need to install the two Nickel Metal Hydride AA batteries into the MX 700 mouse. The batteries take only two hours to fully charge – another great enhancement.

Nickel Metal Hydride's installed

The base station may need to be configured to properly receive the wireless RF signal from the mouse. If that is the case, then all you need to do is to press the connect button on both the base station and the MX 700 mouse and you’ll be all set.

Connect button on the bottom of the mouse	Base of the receiver

Connect button on the receiver

You don’t actually need to install the Logitech drivers since connecting the base station to the mouse is good enough for most of the base features. However it is still of course advisable to install the drivers since you can then customize the feature set of the mouse.

Installing the software was straightforward and after a reboot, we were off and running. Here are some of the pictures of the Windows XP setup and from the Property Window tabs for the Mouse.

You can configure the buttons to basically do different actions other than the defaults. The one button I can definitely get used to is the Quick Switch Program Selector – it’s a very cool replacement to those of you who use Alt-Tab to switch between applications. Pressing the button brings down a menu from the cursor showing all the running applications and documents. Here are various shots of the mouse and cradle.

The Mouse and Cradle	Front Angle
Side Angle	Back Angle

Usage

Ok so now we’ve spent a good deal of money for a high end mouse – is it worth it? In short – yes! This MX 700 is everything that a wireless optical mouse should have been and more.

If you’re a gamer or even someone who uses the mouse day in, day out – this is the mouse to get. Gamers will appreciate the way the mouse just keeps up with their actions. I had to make sure that this mouse was indeed wireless at times. There is no loss of signal as you run down the hallways in Quake or Unreal Tourney shooting up your foes. Using the mouse on my IKEA desk was also a joy – where my Microsoft Optical Mouse had problems tracking the surface, the Logitech MX 700 had no problems whatsoever.

Losing your battery stremgth? No need to buy new AA batteries – just slide the mouse into the cradle and watch it come to full strength in a matter of hours. The entire setup resembles a PDA cradle.

Ergonomically, the mouse feels very comfortable in my hand – more comfortable than the Microsoft Bluetooth mouse design. The weight of the mouse is just right for everyday use – it is light enough to move across your desktop surface without tiring your hands.

Here are some pictures comparing a couple of different wireless optical mouse with the left mouse being the Logitech MX 700.

Comparison of various mice	A side angle

As far as I'm concerned - this mouse will also replace the mouse on my iMac which up until now had been the Kensington Mouse.

Summary

This is perhaps the closest to perfection that a Wireless Optical Mouse can get. I threw every mouse intensive application at it and found that the MX 700 was more than up to the task. Does this nullify the standard optical mouse from Logitech or from other vendors? Not at all. The MX 700 is not the cheapest input device by any means but it is targeted to those in need of a high performance mouse. Gamers will appreciate the speed of the transmission rates while others will love the optical resolution of its engine. If you have the cash and could use a better mouse – consider the Logitech MX 700. A fast optical engine, rechargeable batteries, and smooth feel makes the MX 700 the mouse to beat.

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