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Logitech G500

Will Smith — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:00:00 -0600

This throwback laser mouse is sure to please fans of the classic MX518

At first glance, Logitech’s new G500 mouse looks like yesterday’s model. Its chassis is almost identical to the classic G5, which was in turn a slight redesign of the MX510/518 series. The G500 takes the classic hump design of the MX510/518 and updates the sensor with one similar to the sensor used in the newer G9x line of mice. That’s very nice.

When we say the same laser sensor as the G9x, we really mean that Logitech included an ever-so-slightly upgraded version of the G9x’s sensor. The G500’s adjustable sensor lets you select a setting from 200–5,700dpi, while the G9x limits you to 200–5,000dpi. This isn’t really a significant upgrade, as even the 5,000dpi setting is unplayable outside the small subset of games that let you set an incredibly low sensitivity. Still, we love the silky-smooth action of this mouse.

Logitech's G500 gaming mouse takes the gamer-friendly sensor of the G9x and puts it in a mouse reminiscent of the classic MX518.

With five programmable buttons, plus the clicky mouse-wheel, there are plenty of options for the button-crazed gamer. We’re not necessarily fans of the triple thumb-button cluster, though; it sacrifices simplicity and the ability to instantly know which button you’re pressing for an extra button that we rarely use. Still, players of macro-friendly games—like RTSes and World of Warcraft—will find that it’s simple to program, although getting the timing perfect can be tricky. We absolutely love that the switch that alternates the mouse wheel between its detente-less smooth scroll setting and the more traditional one-click stop setting is squarely front and center—on top of the mouse, directly below the scroll wheel. However, its placement does mean that it’s possible to accidently click should you lose your grip.

Like the other G-series mice from Logitech, the G500 includes a weight tray, allowing you to customize the weight of your mouse in increments of 2g or 5g. Additionally, like the G9 and G9x, you can store profiles containing everything from button assignments to dpi and mouse polling settings on the mouse. This lets you utilize your custom profiles on whatever computer you’re playing on. This is perfect for LAN parties, where you may or may not be competing on a computer you built. While you can save multiple profiles on the G500, you can’t manually switch between them on the mouse itself. It’s a minor feature, but something we liked with the G9-series mice. We were able to set as many as five different sensitivity settings in the Logitech control panel app, but we couldn’t access more than three in our tests with the actual hardware. Which three could we use? No idea, the mouse simply tells you whether you’re using the slow, medium, or fast setting, without displaying the actual dpi setting you’re using.

Where does that leave the G500? While we love the classic shape of the G500, we miss the G9-series’ ability to switch between profiles using just the mouse. If you absolutely detest the shape and interchangeable bodies of the G9 mice, this is an acceptable rodent. However, if you can adjust to the G9x, it’s a superior product.

Microsoft Sidewinder X8

Will Smith — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:30:42 -0500

Can a tasty new sensor save Microsoft's lumbering design?

Microsoft’s latest Sidewinder mouse, the X8, combines a wireless design with the latest in optical sensor technology. Sporting a proprietary BlueTrack sensor, the X8 will work on most any surface, including granite and marble, which are problems for mice with more traditional optical and laser sensors. This is also Microsoft’s first wireless Sidewinder mouse—it utilizes the traditional 2.4GHz band, but updates more times per second than most wireless Microsoft mice.

We love the button placement and scroll wheel on this mouse. All of the buttons are easy to find and quick to press and the scroll wheel is quick and responsive. The top and bottom thumb buttons are especially praiseworthy. Unlike other mice equipped with a pair of thumb buttons aligned in a fore and aft configuration, the Sidewinder’s thumb buttons are aligned vertically, with Mouse5 placed above Mouse4.

Like the Razer Mamba, which we reviewed last month, the X8 features a play and charge cable. Using a magnetic power adapter that quickly and easily snaps into place, you can convert the X8 from battery power in mere seconds, should your battery die. The X8’s connection system is a marked improvement over the Mamba.

The X8 is Microsoft's first wireless gaming mouse, but despite some awesome thumb buttons, we can't recommend it.

The Sidewinder X8’s sensor is also worthy of note. The BlueTrack sensor uses blue LEDs instead of the more traditional red LEDs or infrared laser to illuminate the surface under the mouse. The reflected blue light is picked up by a CMOS sensor, which tracks the surface’s movement beneath the mouse and translates that into your cursor movements. The big benefit of the BlueTrack sensor is in the number of surfaces the sensor works on—we tested granite, shiny brushed metal, and black surfaces that confound other optical mice. Like other gaming mice, the X8 features an adjustable sensor, which caps out around 5,000dpi (as reported by the screen on the top of the mouse). In our testing, however, the mouse didn’t feel as smooth as other high-end gaming mice we’ve tested recently, the Razer Mamba and the Logitech G9x. In fact, there were noticeable and regular skips when using the X8 in Windows.

Unfortunately, our biggest problem with the X8 is its size. If your hands aren’t larger than average, this mouse is simply too wide and tall for most people’s comfort. After several hours of use, our hands actually cramped from the stretching required to move the mouse. We recognize that large-handed folk need to use a mouse too, but we can’t recommend this mouse to even them, due to the cursor hitching we experienced in testing.

Razer Mamba

Will Smith — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:00:52 -0500

An amazing mouse with an awful battery

There’s really nothing worse than an otherwise wonderful product with one fatal flaw that brings its whole score down. The Razer Mamba is a wonderful wireless gaming mouse, with an absolutely devastating power problem.

For the Mamba, Razer tweaked the kick-ass shape of the now-classic DeathAdder design—perfect for palm-grip mousers—to sneak in a pair of sensitivity adjustment buttons. The changes paid off: The Mamba is eminently comfortable for long-term gaming sessions, and the sensitivity buttons fix our only complaint with the DeathAdder, which offered imprecise on-the-fly sensitivity adjustments using the mouse wheel.

The Mamba would make one helluva wired mouse, but battery-life problems make us wary of its $130 price tag.

The Mamba’s 1,000MHz laser sensor is wonderful as well. After side-by-side testing, we couldn’t differentiate between the Mamba’s 5,600dpi sensor and the 5,000dpi sensor on the Logitech G9x, but that’s a good thing. With five different sensitivity levels, which are tweakable using the mouse’s software, there’s absolutely nothing about this mouse’s sensor that will prevent you from fragging with wild abandon.

What will prevent you from reaching your maximum gaming potential is the Mamba’s quick-death battery. Because the battery only lasted through about 12 hours of gaming before behaving sporadically, it’s a damn good thing that the Mamba also offers the option of plugging directly into the provided USB cable so you can continue playing after your battery inevitably dies. The bad news is that the USB cable is pretty chunky, and making the mouse/cord connection is fiddly at best. Worse, it’s hard to unplug. It required two hands and took us several minutes of fighting to remove every time we wanted to return to untethered fragging. On top of those problems, we absolutely detest that the only sure-fire way to get a full charge on the mouse is to turn off the physical power switch on its underbelly every single time you charge it. That’s just lame.

At the end of the day, we simply stopped using the Mamba as a wireless mouse, instead preferring to leave the cord permanently plugged in. We’d much rather have an awesome wired mouse (at a wired mouse price) than have the battery conk out during a heated TF2 match, when there’s nary a moment to connect the cord. As it is, the Mamba is a great wired mouse at a price that’s high, even for a wireless mouse.

Logitech G9x

Will Smith — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0500

We didn't like the original G9, but we were wrong

When we first reviewed the original Logitech G9 (November 2007), we didn’t like it. Specifically, we thought it was uncomfortable to hold, using either of the removable shells. In fact, we described it as “not particularly comfortable for day-to-day mousing” before complaining that it was unsuitable for people who use a traditional palming grip.

We were wrong. After we made a few small adjustments to our grip, we fell in love with the G9—at least when using the grippy palm-friendly Precision body. We still don’t like the smooth grip—dubbed Wide Load—and we’re generally not fans of having to adjust our grip to suit a mouse, but the smooth response and power-gamer-friendly features that the G9x delivers make this mouse the best we’ve ever tested.

The Logitech G9x upgrades the mouse's sensor, but the rest of the mouse stays the same.

For the most part, the G9x and the original G9 are identical. The removable shells are the same, the internal weighting system accommodates up to 28 grams of weight, the onboard memory stores up to five profiles, and the scroll wheel switches between crazy-fast click-free scrolling to a more traditional click-to-click scroll at the press of a button. The only difference between the original G9 and the new G9x is its enhanced laser sensor.

Replacing the original G9’s variable-sensitivity, 3,200dpi laser sensor is a 5,000dpi laser sensor, for true twitch gamers. At the highest sensitivity settings, moving the mouse a fraction of an inch will blast the cursor across the screen—giving you an edge in fast-paced shooters or RTS games where you need to cover a lot of ground quickly. Want to slow it down for a little sniping? Crank the mouse down as low as 200dpi on the fly, using the sensitivity adjustment buttons directly below the left mouse button. The mouse updates Windows up to 1,000 times per second, for accurate cursor movement no matter how fast you move it.

In its naked, shell-off form, you can see the G9x's removable weight tray. Whether you prefer a light or heavy rodent, you can have it your way.

As before, we love the G9x’s profile feature, which lets you switch between pre-configured profiles on the fly on any PC, whether you have Logitech’s software installed or not (you will need to have Logitech’s software installed to configure the profiles initially, though). The on-mouse LEDs change color based on the profile you’re using, so you won’t accidentally find yourself in your RTS shooter profile when you fire up Left 4 Dead.

As with the G9, the seams between the G9x’s removable shells and the main mouse body get pretty crusty over a long period of time. But everything else about this mouse—from the braided cord to its pair of thumb buttons—is awesome.

Hands-on with Microsoft's Fashionable and Futuristic Arc Mouse

Norman Chan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:35:52 -0500

Really, that’s a mouse?

That’s the first thing we thought when we saw the new Arc Mouse, which Microsoft claims with “raise the style stakes” in peripheral design. We have to admit, it certainly looks different from any mouse we’ve handled before. The foldable design makes it extremely compact when snapped shut for travel purposes. Yet when expanded, the arch is spacious enough to fill out our manly palms. The Arc felt very comfortable in our hands as we moved it around a table, but was noticably lighter and not as solid as the gaming mice we're accustomed to. A micro transceiver snaps into the bottom of the mouse using a magnet, and only sticks out a single centimeter when plugged into a USB port (it uses the same 2.4GHz wireless tech as Microsoft’s other mice).

And if you’re worried about sturdiness, the Arc’s hinge has been tested to withstand 25lb’s of downward force, though we didn’t exert that much force in our test (we didn’t want to break it!). Surprisingly, it doesn’t use Microsoft’s new BlueTrack sensor, instead opting for a traditional laser tracker (no word on DPI). Look for the Arc to go on sale later this month (launching with black or red options) for $59.95.

Everything You Need to Know About Microsoft's BlueTrack Mouse Technology

Norman Chan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:00:00 -0500

The next-generation of Microsoft mice has arrived and – surprise! – this peripheral don’t feature any fancy lasers. The new Explorer mouse is the first that sports Microsoft’s new proprietary Bluetrack technology, something they’ve been hinting at on their website for the past few weeks. The big innovation is that a BlueTrack mouse will work on virtually any surface type, whether its granite, wood, or even carpet (glass and other reflective surfaces are this mouse’s kryptonite). We got some hands-on time with this handsome wireless mouse and were impressed by its tracking accuracy, stylish design, and mesmerizing blue glow. We also spoke with Mark Depue, the Platform Engineer Manager at Microsoft’s Hardware Group, to find out exactly how BlueTrack works.

More details:

The Explorer runs on 2.4GHz wireless technolgoy, which has a range of 30 feet. It comes with a charging station, and is powered by one recharage AA battery (which provides three weeks of use). The transceiver snaps into the mouse to offer extra portability as well. You'll be able to buy the mouse in November for an estimated retail price of $99.99.

Hit the next page for our technical interview

Q&A with Mark DePue, Platform Engineering Manager, Hardware Group

Q: Can you summarize the feature highlights of the BlueTrack technology?
A: Microsoft Corp.’s new BlueTrack Technology — the world’s most advanced tracking technology — allows consumers to take their mouse anywhere and work with confidence on virtually any surface. It combines the width and power of optical technology with the precision of laser tracking to allow consumers to mouse on virtually any surface, from a granite kitchen countertop to the living room carpet.

Q: What led to the development of BlueTrack? How long as it been in the works?
A: As one of the inventors of BlueTrack, I have to say that it was my wife who inspired me to make this technology a reality. As both a business professional and new mom to our son, I was watching her drag her notebook and mouse all over the house – trying to get work done while following our crawling boy around. From the carpet in his room, to the granite counters in our kitchen, to even the back deck – she was always complaining that her mouse couldn’t perform. I knew we could do better!

We have been working on the technology for the past 18 months.

Q: How does it work? Why are BlueTrack mice able to work on any surface?
A: Microsoft BlueTrack Technology performs well due to several factors:

Microsoft-Designed CMOS Chip
The Explorer Mouse and Explorer Mini Mouse use a proprietary, Microsoft-designed complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chip with advanced algorithms and pixel architecture for more precise tracking. It is Microsoft’s fourth-generation application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) using CMOS technology.

Blue Specular Optics
Microsoft’s proprietary high-angle imaging optics generate more exact surface images — even of shiny surfaces such as granite and marble — instead of blurry, out-of-focus images, as can be produced by many of the leading laser mice. And blue light helps create high-resolution, high-contrast images for better navigation.

Four Times as Wide, More Diffuse Beam for Better Imaging and Tracking
The wider beam enables illumination of a larger surface area and allows more light to return to the sensor. This helps for tracking on irregular surfaces such as carpet, where smaller laser beams often get lost between the individual fibers. The BlueTrack Technology light source is optimized to provide illumination at the tracking surface that is more uniform than current laser or optical mice. This illumination is accomplished by using a new optical element, never before used in a mouse. The light source is encapsulated in a diffusing optic that smoothes out hot spots within the illumination profile. While the concept of diffused lighting is well known, the application of diffused light sources to mice is a Microsoft proprietary technology.

Incoherent Blue Light
Laser mice use coherent light that’s easily disrupted by dust and dirt, leading to poor tracking. The Explorer Mouse and Explorer Mini Mouse’s incoherent blue light doesn’t have the extreme sensitivity to dust, so the signal quality is maintained. This means your mouse will provide excellent performance even in a less than clean environment — you’ll get great precision performance in a dusty workshop or outdoors just as you do on an ideal clean surface.

Q: What’s so special about the CMOS navigation chip in BlueTrack mice?
A: Unlike many mouse manufacturers who buy their chips off the shelf, Microsoft actually created this chip at our lab in Fort Collins, CO. By creating our own proprietary chip, we’re able to tweak it for our purposes, exactly how we want it. A lot of what goes into BlueTrack is part of a “secret sauce” of sorts that I can’t share publicly.

Q: Why is a Blue LED light better than a red one or a laser? How does its DPI compare to other mice technologies?
A: Blue light allows the sensor to capture a high-contrast image of the surface. For example, the blue light beneficially interacts with fluorescent dyes in some surfaces to increase the amount of reflected light relative to an infrared laser beam. The physics is similar to that of the “blue light” used in crime-scene TV shows to examine surfaces for police investigations.

Explorer Mouse and Explorer Mini Mouse perform at 1000 dpi, which we find is the ideal speed for productivity mice.

Q: Will all Microsoft mice eventually use BlueTrack technology?
A: We can’t comment on our specific plans, but we hope to continue bringing BlueTrack Technology to more of our products down the road.

Q: Will BlueTrack stay a proprietary Microsoft technology, or will it be licensed for other mice manufacturers?
A: At this time BlueTrack Technology is available exclusively in Microsoft mice, but we’re always looking at the needs of consumers and may offer licensing opportunities in the future.

Microsoft Sidewinder X5

Will Smith — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:00:00 -0500

Sporting an ever-so-slightly trimmed-down shape compared to the original Sidewinder gaming mouse, along with a stripped down featureset, the Sidewinder X5 delivers great performance at a very reasonable price. Like the original Sidewinder, the design works great for gamers who use either a claw or a standard grip (or who like to change between them), but it’s not particularly comfortable for people with small- to medium-size hands. After a couple of hours of play using a standard grip, our hands cramped.

While its height seems trimmed down a little, the Sidewinder X5 is still designed for a large hand.

Missing from this updated Sidewinder are the original mouse’s adjustable weighting system, the interchangeable foot pads, the sensitivity display, and the weighted cable anchor. While we especially miss the cable anchor, extra features (like the one that have been omitted) aren’t something we’d expect in a mouse that costs $60.

The Sidewinder X5 mouse retains the killer high-and-low thumb button studs, which make it easy to tell precisely which thumb button you’re hitting, regardless of the grip you use on the mouse. We’re also pleased to say that Microsoft has improved the scroll wheel with much better tactile response. And, when it comes to the sensor, the X5’s 2000DPI laser sensor is simply as good as any other gaming mouse sensor we’ve tested.

We typically test mice using a mixture of fast action games—think Team Fortress 2 and Quake Live—as well as slow-movement challenges, such as the sniper mission in Call of Duty 4. At the fast sensitivity setting, the X5’s sensor was pixel accurate even at extreme speeds. When sniping, we cranked the sensitivity down for smoother movement and got similarly accurate results.

We’re not fans of Microsoft’s mouse software. While it lets you customize each of the three sensitivity settings to your personal taste, we wish that it let you establish more than just three different sensitivities. As for the Sidewinder button, which launches the Intellipoint software on XP and the Games Explorer on Vista, it ably fulfills Microsoft’s “weird proprietary button” rule. (In our experience, there’s always one odd proprietary button on every Microsoft Hardware product. Always.)

All told, this “budget” gaming mouse is an improvement on the more expensive Sidewinder original, but there are still cheaper, more comfortable budget mice out there. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: If you can’t palm a basketball, your hand is probably too small to comfortably use a Sidewinder.

Steelseries Ikari

Will Smith — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:00:00 -0500

Steelseries delivers a one-two punch of awesome with its first mouse—the Ikari, a standard five-button, right-handed design suitable for gamers who use either the palm and claw-style grips. With its low-profile design, the Ikari doesn’t provide sufficient support for folks who like to rest their palm on the mouse; our palm-gripped tester had a stiff hand after a few hours of play. Nonetheless, the Ikari’s other features and kick-ass sensor make us almost willing to ignore the less-than-ergonomically perfect shape.

We love the Ikari’s tournament-friendly, driverless design. Using the screen on the bottom of the mouse, you can tweak the sensitivity of the mouse on any PC, without any dependence on drivers. The settings you create are stored in the mouse’s flash memory, so they’ll work on any PC you use, even a tournament rig that you’ve never even played on before. Once you configure the mouse’s high and low sensitivity settings, you can swap between the two using the sensitivity button directly below the scroll wheel. A pair of white LEDs on the side of the mouse light up to show you which sensitivity you’re using.

The Ikari’s most notable feature is the bottom-mounted LCD display,
which you can use to adjust the sensitivity settings on-the-fly, sans driver. Tres cool!

Now let’s be realistic: The sensitivity indicator lights are really just a gimmick. In the heat of an online firefight, you’d have to be suicidal to glance down to make sure you’re on the proper sensitivity! Harmless gimmicks are forgivable, but the real problem here is that the Ikari only lets you switch between two sensitivity settings, on-the-fly. It’s not a deal-breaker, but on the sensitivity front, we hate having to choose just two sensitivities. Hell, three settings is barely enough! But aside from this quibble, the Ikari’s six-button design is positioned for quick and easy access, even in the most heated of battles. The button layout includes two top buttons, two thumb buttons, a single button on the scroll wheel, and the sensitivity adjustment button.

With a sensitive laser sensor and a driverless approach designed to appeal to hardcore tournament players (who play their most important matches on machines not their own), the Ikari Laser leaves us undeniably stoked. With a few tweaks for comfort and one more sensitivity setting, this mouse could easily reach Kick Ass territory.