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Written by [t0rc]
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The debut of wireless optical mice changed how we interact with the
computer and changed the industry standard from ancient rollerball to
revolutionary LED technology. The release of the worlds first Laser
mouse is no different; Logitech has raised the bar from LEDs to their
Laser Engine. Boasting an accuracy/performance 20x greater than optical
mice, the Logitech MX1000 is the first of it's kind. A new breed of
mouse has been born - one with quick charging time, long wireless
range, extreme accuracy, comfortable use, and much more. Check out our
review to learn more about the MX1000 and Logitech's Laser Engine.
A quote on the MX1000:
"Logitech's
MX1000 Laser Cordless Mouse is the world's first to use laser
tracking, ensuring perfect operation on just about any surface. With
the pin-point accuracy possible only with a laser, the familiar red
optical glow is suddenly and forever obsolete."
*Quote found at the Reviewers Guide provided by Logitech.
The mouse arrived in a well packaged box, sustaining no damage. The
retail box catches your eye with some shiny effects but could stand to
lose the shimmering. Out of the box the mouse is fairly light weighing
only 7ounces. The dock is similar to previous releases from Logitech.
The physical casing on the mouse is impressive, shaped nicely for most
size hands, although smaller hands may have trouble with the front
Cruise button, it allows your hand to rest in a more comfortable (and
natural) position during use with all the buttons located in close
proximity to fingers. Unfortunately the down side to having such a
specific and precision plastic molding to fit the hand is that lefties
would find this mouse extremely difficult to use. The dock and mouse
each have Reset buttons just in case you're experiencing some
interference or similar issues.
There has been some anticipation towards this mouse and its use of the
new Logitech Laser (class 1) Engine tracking/movement system and how
much of a difference we will see over optical mice. While the mouse has
a rating of 800 DPI, equal to or less than some optical mice, it can
capture up to 5.8 MegaPixels per second (or a maximum of 6000
"fingerprints" per second). These "fingerprints" are the way the mouse
and it's drivers are able to determine the direction and speed of the
mouse's movement. They're compared to each other and compiled into a
report; then sent to your PC for translation. The mouse reports at 125
reports/sec. , the current maximum for USB. Usually most mice don't
utilize this maximum, even though it directly affects smooth mouse
movement. With that said, the mouse is incredibly smooth and accurate
due to the constant and extremely fast data collection from the
tracking surface. Throughout Half-Life², Counter-Strike: Source,
UT2K4, Doom 3, and Far Cry the mouse remains highly responsive and is
great for gaming.
In comparison to optical mice, the Laser's accuracy is far superior as
it is capable of picking microscopic details of the surface it skates
across. This allows the mouse to be used on most surfaces with little
or no ill effect. We tested Lexan (solid black), mouse pads, books,
jeans, paper, and many more items that worked just fine. While the
mouse had issues with clear surfaces such as a clear CD case it still
performed better on different surfaces than nearly every other mouse
we've used over the years.
A lot of concern is generated when a product uses lasers so visibly as
to human safety. Logitech has used an invisible, eye-safe Class 1
laser; which equates to a low power laser that you can stare into with
your naked eye, a magnifying glass, or even a microscope; none of which
will result in damage to your eyes.
Driver installation was a breeze and the mouse actually functions
without the installation of the drivers for the most part. We had some
issues with the mouse working about every other boot; forcing us to
reboot and then the mouse would register. Of course, once the drivers
were properly installed from the included CD, this issue disappeared
completely. The mouse software allows you to utilize all the extra
features of the 8-button peripheral.
| 8 button Features |  |
- Left Click
- Right Click
- Zoom
- Cruise Up
- Cruise Down
- Application Switch
- Forward
- Back
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The ability to use either a USB port or a PS/2 port is an apparent
advantage; giving the user another option if all your USB ports are
full or vice versa. The dock installs easily enough, just connect the
PS/2 or USB connector and plug in the AC adapter and you're ready to
mouse...err frag. Recharging times are quick, 4 hours to go from an
empty to full charge (running around 21 days without another charge),
10 minute charge for one day use. The software even lets you know how
much charge you have left or you can just look at the green LED meter
on the mouse.
An issue we had was with video games; we'd get into UT2K4 or CS:
Source, go to bind buttons, and when you pressed Mouse4 or Mouse5
they'd bind to buttons on the keyboard. We'd seen this before so went
and closed the driver software in the system tray for the MX1000. Sure
enough when we restarted the games the buttons were binding just fine.
You're only able to bind up to Mouse5 but that's to be expected.
Hopefully sooner or later we'll see some games supporting 8-button
mice.
Overall the Logitech MX1000 is pretty much perfect and a revolutionary
product. We recommend the MX1000 to anyone who is serious about
comfort, good response, ease of use, and accuracy from their mouse.
With it's new Laser Engine, the MX1000 may be the beginning of the end
for optical mice; at least, thats our prediction (as long as prices go
down). Despite it's price and minute errors, the Logitech MX1000
receives a rating of 96%, The Moditory Mandatory Award, and an Editors
Choice Award.
Thanks to Logitech for making this review possible.
| Laser: | Rollerball: | - Laser Sensitivity!
- Comfortable
- 8 Buttons
- Easy Installation
- Quick Recharge
| - High Price (in comparison to opticals)
- Horrible for lefties
- Software/Game binding conflict
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