Logitech G7 Laser Cordless Mouse

[aKho]

Introduction
Logitech is known for making quality hardware, especially mice, so I was pretty excited about the arrival of the G7. Having never owned a Logitech mouse myself, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d heard that Logitech mice where some of the best, especially the more recent models, so I did have some high expectations of this mouse, especially having used Microsoft mice pretty much all my computing life and personally considering them unbeatable.

The general specification of the Logitech G7 is somewhat amazing (see below) for a mouse, but is it hiding a dark secret? Read on to find out.

Specification
Taken from Logitech.com
• 2000 DPI Laser Engine.
• Full Speed USB and 2.4ghz Cordless.
• Two fast-swap ultra-light Lithium-Ion packs.
• Battery Level Indicator.
• Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) gaming feet.
• In-game sensitivity switching.

Some pretty nifty specs in my view. At first I wasn’t sure if the 2.4ghz frequency might interfere with my wireless router, but it was not a problem.

Look and Feel
This mouse looks amazing. I’m not too sure about the dark metallic green look, but the shape, the placement of buttons and the placement of the battery and DPI setting indicator are perfect. The only gripe I have about the buttons is that it only has one thumb button, I was used to two thumb buttons on my MS mouse, but I did get used to it in the end.

When you hold the mouse, it feels natural on my slightly larger than average hand. I do believe it will feel comfortable on smaller hands too, even for a child. The scroll wheel is smooth to use and is placed in just the right place for your finger to reach.

Previous wireless mice by Logitech have come with a docking station for re-charging. The G7 comes with a small USB station where you charge the spare battery and plug the USB wireless key into. Also, the wireless key looks like a small USB flash drive. The station is small and neat and will fit in well on any desk.

The USB Station
The USB station can serve up to 2 purposes. The first is to at as a charger for the spare battery, of which there are two charge modes, Normal and Boost. Normal takes around 12 hours to charge the battery and Boost takes around 3 hours. Its second purpose is too act as a USB slot for the wireless key so you are only using 1 USB port for both. If you wish, you can use the wireless key in a separate USB port.

The Mouse Itself
The response from this mouse is very precise. It doesn’t lag; the movement is smooth and is overall what you’d expect from the specification. It uses a laser to track movements rather than light from an LED. This allows it to be more precise with its movement as the laser allows for more DPI (Dots per Inch) to be read at any one time.

After a few weeks of using this mouse for general use and gaming, I have to say, I am rather disappointed. The battery lasts for around 12 hours of use, which is quite annoying having to change it every day. It sometimes just stops responding and you have to reset it by the button on the bottom, which then ruins your DPI settings for which you have to restart your computer to fix. At first I though I just had a faulty unit, but after discussion with a few others I know have this mouse, they have been experiencing the same annoyances and problems.

If it wasn’t for the problems I mentioned above, this mouse would be near-prefect. I do feel rather let down, great specs, poor quality.

Software & Drivers
The software and drivers for the G7 mouse come on a CD packaged with the mouse. You can still use the mouse without ever touching the driver CD, but you will not get all the features listed.

Using the provided SetPoint software on the CD you can play with all manner of settings for the G7. You can program buttons to do what you like from scrolling to adjusting the sensitivity of the mouse. You can set the usual mouse options such as scrolling speed, pointer speed, pointer trails. There is also an option called “Smart Move”, although I never noticed the difference when it was on.

SetPoint also provides a battery level indicator, which has never worked properly for me saying it doesn’t know my battery level, yet tells me when it’s low. You can set when you want it to tell you the battery is low i.e. 5%, 10%...etc.

One interesting feature of the software is its game settings feature. Here you can adjust, to within the dot, how sensitive you want your mouse to be on certain axis in certain games, genius. It really does help having separate settings for FPS games and RTS games.

Last, but not least there is the “Tools” tab. This gives you driver version information, tours and allows you to check for updates. Always useful.

Conclusion
After being initially excited by this mouse, I am rather disappointed. I was going to say that this mouse could be great if it’s flaws where worked out, but I feel more inclined to say it should be great because it shouldn’t have those flaws. Other than that I like it, it looks and feels great and the software has some good features, but I will be going back to my MS mouse soon.

Score: 6/10

nice mouse. too bad battery life only 12 hours..


source : http://www.neowin.net/articles.php?a...=1&pagenum= 1

[Dashken]

I still love my MX500. Not going to change to anything else soon.

But I still don't understand how to use the buttons on the same roll with the mouse wheel. Coz you can't exactly reach it when you are using the mouse wheel at the same time. It's either the mouse wheel or those buttons. That's why those buttons are collecting dust on my mouse.

[Chai]

Still waiting for a new MS mouse...

[aKho]

Originally Posted by Dashken

I still love my MX500. Not going to change to anything else soon.

But I still don't understand how to use the buttons on the same roll with the mouse wheel. Coz you can't exactly reach it when you are using the mouse wheel at the same time. It's either the mouse wheel or those buttons. That's why those buttons are collecting dust on my mouse.

once u play F.E.A.R. you'll be able to configure those buttons to do stuff... so don't have to stretch your fingers from keyboard..

[peaz]

Originally Posted by Chai

Still waiting for a new MS mouse...

Yeah... still waiting for the new Explorer versions. Standard versions all 'upgraded' already

I can't wait to get my hands on this MS Notebook Wireless Laser! Whoot! The US$ price is REALLY CHEAP TOO!!!!!!!!!

- http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mo...s.aspx?pid=048
Listed US$49.99 Best Buy price US$39.99 ... converted that's jsut about RM160?

[Adrian Wong]

Wah.. Battery life of 12 hours is actually too short.

My Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 2.0 lasts 2-3 months on a single charge....

[mach]

Looks really nice. Is it the same size/shape as the mx700? I'm not to crazy bout the size/shape of them. The new battery set up seems great to me. i hate forgetting to charge my mouse then having to either search for batteries or charge 5 minutes then play 2 minutes over and over. What is the weight of this new mouse? Hopefully with the lith batt. the weight will be significantly less than its predecessors and make for better gaming.

[peaz]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

Wah.. Battery life of 12 hours is actually too short.

My Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 2.0 lasts 2-3 months on a single charge....

and guess what, the new mouse are suppose to last as long as 6 months on a single AA!!!! :O :O :O!!!!

Should be upgrading once the laser wireless notebook mouse hits Malaysia

[Dashken]

Originally Posted by aKho

once u play F.E.A.R. you'll be able to configure those buttons to do stuff... so don't have to stretch your fingers from keyboard..

For what key you need to stretch your finger?

[Dashken]

Originally Posted by peaz

and guess what, the new mouse are suppose to last as long as 6 months on a single AA!!!! :O :O :O!!!!

Should be upgrading once the laser wireless notebook mouse hits Malaysia

Hey... remember to tell me when you want to get it...