Posted 11/18/09 at 07:03:21 AM by Paul Lilly

Recent maneuvers by networking bigwigs Cisco and Logitech seem to indicate that videoconferencing technology may be headed towards the mainstream market. That hasn't been the case up to this point, as high prices and somewhat complicated equipment have relegated virtual face-to-face meetings to enterprise applications.

But that's rapidly changing. Cisco, Logitech, and a handful of smaller companies have been wheeling and dealing with a focus towards morphing the market into a mainstream gold rush. Cisco, for example, increased its $3 billion bid for Tandberg to roughly $3.4 billion in an attempt to entice investors who felt that the original bid wasn't enough. In addition, Cisco is expected to introduce a consumer-level videoconferencing product at CES this January, Businessweek reports.

Logitech meanwhile has opend up its purse and will pay $405 million for LifeSize Communications, a company which makes high-end HD videoconferencing equipment.

By themselves, each deal isn't particularly telling, but when looking at the overall picture, it appears imminent that videoconferencing is headed towards becoming a natural part of business, both big and small, with the cost of entry on its way to being removed as a barrier.

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Posted 11/11/09 at 07:05:06 AM by Paul Lilly

Logitech announced it has agreed to acquire LifeSize Communications, a privately held company specializing in high-definition video conferencing equipment, for $405 million in cash. The deal gives Logitech instant access to some 9,000 video conferencing customers across 80 countries in businesses both big and small.

"We expect this acquisition to enable Logitech to extend our leadership in video communication beyond the desktop," said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive office. "Together we can make life-like, HD-quality video communication as mainstream and seamless as a telephone, for meeting participants in the boardroom, at their office desk, in a remote-location meeting room, telecommuting from, or on the go with a laptop."

Logitech said it plans for LifeSize to continue to operate as a separate division under the direction of Craig Malloy, the start-up's co-founder and CEO.

The deal also thrusts Logitech into direct competition with market heavyweights such as Cisco, Microsoft, HP, IBM, and others. Cisco especially will be one to look out for, as the company just recently announced it would spend $3 billion acquiring Tandberg, a Norwegian video communications company, following share holder approval.

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Posted 11/08/09 at 10:00:00 PM by Will Smith

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.

Continue reading this review after the jump.

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Posted 11/03/09 at 08:30:39 PM by Michael Brown

We haven’t auditioned many cheap speaker systems lately. Why? Well, let’s just say we don’t enjoy subjecting our ears to the sonic equivalent of waterboarding. But Logitech has a knack for packing big sound into inexpensive boxes, so we agreed to review its new two-channel Z520 system.

You’ll have to decide for yourself if the Z520 system’s $130 price tag really puts it in the “cheap” category, and we imagine the folks at Logitech will cringe to hear us describe them as such; but you can cut only so many corners before we begin to ask, “Why bother?” Judging by these speakers’ performance, Logitech’s engineers know just how low they can go.
 
When we see small speakers, we usually pigeon-hole them as near-field monitors: short-throw speakers that produce a small stereo soundstage that collapses as soon as you move more than three feet away from the cabinets. There’s nothing inherently wrong with near-fields, especially in a PC environment, but they have their limitations. So we were surprised to hear Logitech boast that the Z520 could provide a “great listening experience throughout the room.” We decided to put that claim to the test as soon as we took the speakers out of the box.

Continue reading this review after the jump.

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Posted 10/15/09 at 03:21:55 PM by Bart Salisbury

It’s not going to help my game, but it just might yours: Logitech has introduced a new gaming keyboard, the G110. The G110 takes a big numerical leap over the Logitech’s existing G15 and G19 keyboards, and comes with some interesting new features--new for Logitech anyhow.

The G110 personalization starts with backlit keys, in your choice of red, blue, or any combination of red and blue (which makes purple!). There are 12 programmable “G-keys” and three “M-keys” which allow you to assign up to 26 single keystrokes, multi-key macros, or complex LUA scripts for each game you play. Logitech’s contribution to the keyboard arms race is the inclusion of integrated USB audio, simplifying the hook-ups for in-game chatter.

Logitech expects to have the G110 in the stores in November for a suggested retail price of $79.99.

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Posted 09/14/09 at 02:44:38 PM by Logan Decker

If you ask a gun enthusiast why he needs that M4 SOPMOD to hunt squirrel, you’re asking the wrong question. It’s not that the average squirrel in the Adirondacks is on PCP and likely to require two magazines to put down; it’s that the M4 SOPMOD is a fine and uniquely crafted weapon regardless of whether it ever sees action worthy of its true potential. So, please, don’t ask us why you’d want to spend $200 on a keyboard with up to 36 macros available across 12 programmable macro keys (recordable on the fly from the keyboard itself), customizable keyboard backlighting, and even a 320x240 color display. If you’re a gamer, understand that you’re buying more power than you may ever need, but absolutely should have.

The key action is cush and quiet (preferred by most gamers and characteristic of Logitech’s boards), and the plastic is smooth yet never slippery beneath sweaty digits. The keyboard itself includes a hardware switch to disable the Windows key, and both macro and function keys are slightly elevated for easier nailing. We appreciate the slightly larger than usual Mute button below the media control keys to the upper right, and love the barrel-style volume control (if only it were reprogrammable for use as a scrubber or dial).

Continue reading this review after the jump.

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Posted 09/07/09 at 08:30:13 AM by Paul Lilly

Forget about fumbling for batteries in your kitchen junk drawer once your remote loses its juice. If you owned Logitech's new Harmony 700, you could just plug it into the wall with the included adapter to bring it back to life. According to Logitech, the Harmony 700 can go several weeks between charges.

Other tricks include one-click activity buttons for  tasks such as "Watch a DVD,"  a color LCD screen, support for more than 5,000 brands and over 225,000 devices, online setup so you don't have to punch in codes on the remote, and the ability to replace up to six other remotes.

Logitech is taking pre-orders for the $150 rechargeable Harmony, which the company says will ship this month.

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Posted 08/17/09 at 09:45:39 AM by Paul Lilly

Whether you lost your license for racking up too many points for speeding and reckless driving or just can't stand to be anywhere else other than behind the wheel, Logitech has you covered. The gaming peripheral company today announced the G27 Racing Wheel, which it says is "designed to deliver the definitive sim racing experience."

For three Benjamins, the G27 will have you gripping tight corners and feeling the road courtesy of a dual-motor force feedback mechanism. A hand-stitched leather wheel helps justify the cost of admission, as does a six-speed gated shifter complimented by a new LED RPM/shift indicator. Other features include steel-constructed gas, brake, and clutch pedals, and more programmable buttons than the G25.

Logitech says the G27 will be available in the U.S. and Europe sometime in September and will work with both PCs and the Playstation 3.

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