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Hands-On with Logitech's 5700dpi G500 Gaming Mouse

Norman Chan — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:30:00 -0500

Just a few months after we awarded Logitech with a perfect score for their superb G9x mouse, they've announced the new contender for best mouse ever. The G500 is the long-awaited update to the G5 gaming mouse, taking its familiar ergonomic chassis and cramming the G9x's laser sensor into the body. The wired peripheral has a minimum resolution of 200dpi, which can be adjusted on the fly up to a whopping 5700dpi (the G9x only had a max of 5000dpi). Logitech claims that the G500 can process sensor data at a rate of 12 megapixels per second, and can detect movement as fast as 165 inches per second (as if your twitch skills are that good).

The usual gaming mice features are also present, including removable weights (range of 165 grams to 192 grams) and 10 programmable buttons. But the standout improvements are in the inclusion of a hyper-fast scroll wheel mode (for web browsing), and the relocation of the dpi adjustment buttons to the front of the mouse so you don't accidentally hit it in the middle of a game.

Hit the jump for more of our hands-on photos, but you'll be able to try the G500 yourself when it goes on sale in September for $70.

The Computer Mouse Scrolling Towards Its Grave

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:14:46 -0500

Prentice believes that not a single technology but a collection of navigational technologies are gradually, over the course of 3 to 4 years, going to render the mouse obsolete. He believes that technologies like iPhone’s multi-touch screen and gesture-sensitive cameras are moving people from “the idea of the one- or two-button mouse.” Few reasons why the mouse might be soon reduced to a relic of yore:

The iPhone effect: The uncomplicated navigational interface of gadgets like the iPhone has spoilt us. All of a sudden the mouse seems to be a ponderous navigational device compared to highly responsive multi-touch screens. Microsoft has announced Windows 7, a Vista-based multi-touch compatible Microsoft OS. And after Windows 7 is released next year, the mouse’s demise might be hastened.

Gesture-sensitive cameras: Cameras that can not only fathom the slightest of movements but appropriately respond to them are going to hold sway in the future. In fact, Lenovo is already shipping PCs with facial recognition features. Also Toshiba’s new range of notebooks with the Cell-based SpursEngine chip is tailor-made for gesture-based navigation.

Cerebral Navigation: Even the most delicate of taps and gestures seem like a chore against the luxury of controlling a computer with one’s brain. A few brain control headsets for controlling games are in the works and might be soon available commercially. But if videogames can be controlled using brainwaves, so can be computers.

The mouse is certainly on its way out, however, it won’t all of a sudden vanish into thin air but slowly wither away. Having read this through, you are now free to recount all the wonderful moments that you have had with your soon-to-be-relic computer mouse.

Image Credit: Morgans Musings

Logitech G9

Will Smith — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:22:45 -0600

It’s difficult to improve on something that’s already damn near perfect. That’s the problem Logitech faced when designing the follow-up to the kick-ass G5 gaming mouse. The new G9 features an innovative, but not necessarily improved, design.

Sporting changeable shells, the mouse accommodates all hand sizes. The petite “ladyhands” shell is perfect for people with finer fingers, while the “meathooks” shell is big enough to accommodate everyone but the largest of giants. We continue to dig Logitech’s weighting system, which lets you adjust the heft of your mouse. With room for four weights, you can add as much as 28g of mass to your rodent—not as much as the G5 allows but still more than enough to elicit a gliding action.

Logitech also added the MicroGear scroll wheel, which uses haptic technology to switch back and forth between super-speedy smooth scrolling and traditional detent-style scrolling. Unlike the Logitech MX Revolution, the G9 allows you to swap scroll modes by pressing a button on the bottom of the mouse, so switching modes won’t cause problems in games that use mouse3 (the Revolution’s toggle button).

That’s what we like. We don’t, however, like this mouse’s physical design. The G9 is designed for gamers who hold the mouse with the tips of their fingers—Fatal1ty-style. The problem is that mice designed specifically for such claw-style players aren’t particularly comfortable for day-to-day mousing, and they’re not good for gamers who use a standard grip; the thumb buttons and sensitivity-adjustment buttons are located inconveniently for people who use a conventional grip.

The G9’s sensor, like the G5’s, is precise and perfect. The only real flaw that this mouse exhibits is its claw-friendly design. We just don’t think that this grip-style is very popular. In a decidedly unscientific poll of 15 gaming editors of all ages, not one used the Fatal1ty-style grip. Maybe the G9 should be labeled “For Professional Use Only.”