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Page 1
<B>Intro</B>
With an explosion of wireless input peripherals hitting the market recently, users have but to choose between the various features available. One of those manufacturers that has long been in the forefront of developing new products and that is <a href="http://www.logitech.com">Logitech</a>. One of their newer mice products to inhabit thier lineup is the Cordless Click! Plus Optical mouse, which will be the subject of this review.
<B>Features</B>
- The Cordless Click! Plus uses Logitech's Fast RF cordless technology which delivers a higher transmission rate and lower latency times of previous cordless mice.
- 6 buttons/wheel which includes thier Quick Switch Program Selector button which is mounted on top of the mouse and allows you to quickly call up various programs that you may have running from within a small popup menu.
- Ergonomic design
- Improved optical sensor for more precise control and surface readability
- 5 year warranty
<B>Packaging</B>
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The mouse comes in the standard and unmistakable Logitech green and white packaging, which I found to be quite sturdy and I think even the professional box mutilators at UPS would have a tough time trying to damage your purchase if you ordered this puppy online.
<B>Contents</B>
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Inside you have your mouse, a base RF reciever with USB to PS/2 adapter, 2 AA duracell batteries, manual and CD. No surprises here.
<B>Setup</B>
Setup was basically a snap from my Windows XP box, which already had Logitechs's Mouseware program loaded in since I usually use Logitech's Dual Optical Mouseman. After plugging in the base via the USB, XP properly detected and installed the drivers.
The CD contained a relatively new version of thier Mouseware, which covers the Windows 98 through XP OS's and an older version for those users using Win 95.
The manual was a basically cut and dry affair, with clear and easy to use pictures of your setup procedures, but nothing much else.
Once I was plugged in all I had to do was to press the connect buttons on the top of the base and on the bottom of the mouse and away I went to the Mouseware configuration setup.
The Mouseware software has a very easy to use setup interface and easily allows you to easily select whatever option you desire for button assignments for the mouses 6 buttons/wheel or just leave them at the already pre-loaded defaults. The available options to select from number quite a few from the list and should just about any users needs. You also have a menu tab to keep track of how much power you have left in your batteries. The rest of the tabs in the menu provide you with the standard MS customization options for pointers, motion and the like.
<B>Intro</B>
With an explosion of wireless input peripherals hitting the market recently, users have but to choose between the various features available. One of those manufacturers that has long been in the forefront of developing new products and that is <a href="http://www.logitech.com">Logitech</a>. One of their newer mice products to inhabit thier lineup is the Cordless Click! Plus Optical mouse, which will be the subject of this review.
<B>Features</B>
- The Cordless Click! Plus uses Logitech's Fast RF cordless technology which delivers a higher transmission rate and lower latency times of previous cordless mice.
- 6 buttons/wheel which includes thier Quick Switch Program Selector button which is mounted on top of the mouse and allows you to quickly call up various programs that you may have running from within a small popup menu.
- Ergonomic design
- Improved optical sensor for more precise control and surface readability
- 5 year warranty
<B>Packaging</B>
<center>
</center>The mouse comes in the standard and unmistakable Logitech green and white packaging, which I found to be quite sturdy and I think even the professional box mutilators at UPS would have a tough time trying to damage your purchase if you ordered this puppy online.
<B>Contents</B>
<center>
</center>Inside you have your mouse, a base RF reciever with USB to PS/2 adapter, 2 AA duracell batteries, manual and CD. No surprises here.
<B>Setup</B>
Setup was basically a snap from my Windows XP box, which already had Logitechs's Mouseware program loaded in since I usually use Logitech's Dual Optical Mouseman. After plugging in the base via the USB, XP properly detected and installed the drivers.
The CD contained a relatively new version of thier Mouseware, which covers the Windows 98 through XP OS's and an older version for those users using Win 95.
The manual was a basically cut and dry affair, with clear and easy to use pictures of your setup procedures, but nothing much else.
Once I was plugged in all I had to do was to press the connect buttons on the top of the base and on the bottom of the mouse and away I went to the Mouseware configuration setup.
The Mouseware software has a very easy to use setup interface and easily allows you to easily select whatever option you desire for button assignments for the mouses 6 buttons/wheel or just leave them at the already pre-loaded defaults. The available options to select from number quite a few from the list and should just about any users needs. You also have a menu tab to keep track of how much power you have left in your batteries. The rest of the tabs in the menu provide you with the standard MS customization options for pointers, motion and the like.
Page 2
<B>Testing</B>
Over the course of the past few weeks that I used the Click! Plus and familiarized myself with the buttons, I ran it through my usual usage of browsing and a few games.
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</center>
It didn't take long before the bane of what probably most optical mouse users have experienced at one time or another reared it's head. A slow moving pointer due to the surface the optical laser reads. My desk happens to be made of a light colored wood and has never seemed to be very compatible with most opticals I've used, so that may be any issue with a few of you out there. Breaking out the ole mousepad to slide it on, those problems went away and it performed quite smoothly. Response times were immediate, no matter how much I tried to convince it otherwise. I found this likewise to be the case in all the games I played as well where it performed flawlessly. The dreaded pointer jumping across the screen happened precious few times.
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</center>
How did the mouse leash hold up? Apparently Logitech's new Fast RF mouse leash is a strong selling point, which I found impressive. I have a bad habit of accumulating items on my desk that might hinder the base's ability to receive incoming signals. My lazy self was only to happy to oblige in an effort to block the signal. No matter what I piled in front of or on top of the base, it never broke once. How far does this leash go? Putting a full 15 feet of distance between the mouse and base receiver had no effect other than I just plain lost sight of the pointer on the monitor, which should make those of you like to remote surf on your TV plenty happy.
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</center>
So what about the button placement and fancy contours this beastie has in the name of ergonomics? I found this to be a bit of a sore spot for this otherwise nice mouse. Whereas the feel and shape of the mouse I found to my liking, the positioning of the thumb buttons which I tend to use very frequently for going back and forth in my browser where hard to work with. I found that they were placed a bit to high and to far back to make for smooth usage on a continual basis. The thumb grip area is basically a smooth plastic surface and it made for a hard time trying to get a grip on the mouse. My dual optical Mouseman has a far better placement of the thumb button and a rubbery surface that keeps the mouse from almost wanting to slip out of your hand. On a good note I did find that the buttons and scroll wheel had that same nice balance of needed pressure to click or scroll with, along with what feels to be the right amount of weight to the mouse.
<center>
</center>
How about battery usage? Logitech claims that with the improved cordless technology they are using that the batteries should last approx. 3 months. In the span of almost 3 weeks and continuous on time the battery indicator in Mouseware hasn't dropped one bit and I'd venture a guess that it should last the claimed 3 months or close to it, which should should keep the battery replacements to a minimum.
<center>
</center>
<B>Conclusion</B>
Pros -
- Impressive RF that provided both seamless, quick response times and distance
- Easy installation
- Easy to configure with the Mouseware software
- Low battery usage
- Optical sensor read most surfaces
Cons -
- Could have better placement of the thumb buttons
- Could use a better gripping surface in the thumb area
<a href="http://ase.dealtime.com/dt-app/SE/KW-mouse optical wireless logitech click plus/FD-0/linkin_id-3002062/NS-1/GS.html">Priced at around $45-50</a> it compares quite favorably with other cordless mice with similar features and should provide most users with a pleasant experience in both performance and features.
Thanks to Nathan from <a href="http://www.logitech.com">Logitech</a> for sending this mouse for review.
<B>Testing</B>
Over the course of the past few weeks that I used the Click! Plus and familiarized myself with the buttons, I ran it through my usual usage of browsing and a few games.
<center>
</center>It didn't take long before the bane of what probably most optical mouse users have experienced at one time or another reared it's head. A slow moving pointer due to the surface the optical laser reads. My desk happens to be made of a light colored wood and has never seemed to be very compatible with most opticals I've used, so that may be any issue with a few of you out there. Breaking out the ole mousepad to slide it on, those problems went away and it performed quite smoothly. Response times were immediate, no matter how much I tried to convince it otherwise. I found this likewise to be the case in all the games I played as well where it performed flawlessly. The dreaded pointer jumping across the screen happened precious few times.
<center>
</center>How did the mouse leash hold up? Apparently Logitech's new Fast RF mouse leash is a strong selling point, which I found impressive. I have a bad habit of accumulating items on my desk that might hinder the base's ability to receive incoming signals. My lazy self was only to happy to oblige in an effort to block the signal. No matter what I piled in front of or on top of the base, it never broke once. How far does this leash go? Putting a full 15 feet of distance between the mouse and base receiver had no effect other than I just plain lost sight of the pointer on the monitor, which should make those of you like to remote surf on your TV plenty happy.
<center>
</center>So what about the button placement and fancy contours this beastie has in the name of ergonomics? I found this to be a bit of a sore spot for this otherwise nice mouse. Whereas the feel and shape of the mouse I found to my liking, the positioning of the thumb buttons which I tend to use very frequently for going back and forth in my browser where hard to work with. I found that they were placed a bit to high and to far back to make for smooth usage on a continual basis. The thumb grip area is basically a smooth plastic surface and it made for a hard time trying to get a grip on the mouse. My dual optical Mouseman has a far better placement of the thumb button and a rubbery surface that keeps the mouse from almost wanting to slip out of your hand. On a good note I did find that the buttons and scroll wheel had that same nice balance of needed pressure to click or scroll with, along with what feels to be the right amount of weight to the mouse.
<center>
</center>How about battery usage? Logitech claims that with the improved cordless technology they are using that the batteries should last approx. 3 months. In the span of almost 3 weeks and continuous on time the battery indicator in Mouseware hasn't dropped one bit and I'd venture a guess that it should last the claimed 3 months or close to it, which should should keep the battery replacements to a minimum.
<center>
</center><B>Conclusion</B>
Pros -
- Impressive RF that provided both seamless, quick response times and distance
- Easy installation
- Easy to configure with the Mouseware software
- Low battery usage
- Optical sensor read most surfaces
Cons -
- Could have better placement of the thumb buttons
- Could use a better gripping surface in the thumb area
<a href="http://ase.dealtime.com/dt-app/SE/KW-mouse optical wireless logitech click plus/FD-0/linkin_id-3002062/NS-1/GS.html">Priced at around $45-50</a> it compares quite favorably with other cordless mice with similar features and should provide most users with a pleasant experience in both performance and features.
Thanks to Nathan from <a href="http://www.logitech.com">Logitech</a> for sending this mouse for review.