Logitech V270 Cordless Optical Notebook Mouse for Bluetooth

Logitech V270 Cordless Optical Notebook Mouse for Bluetooth

Published August 25, 2008 at 01:15:52 PM, by Thai Tan

For laptop users, the alternative to using a touchpad or pointing stick is to use a laptop mouse. Laptop-specific mice are smaller in size which increases mobility and storage value. Like desktop mice, laptop mice come in either corded or wireless solutions. Corded mice risk being tangled, and wireless mice adds a bulky receiver to the list of items to keep track of when on to go.

The Logitech V270 Cordless Optical Notebook Mouse for Bluetooth features functionalities and design elements that sets it apart from typical wireless and corded specific mice. First, it's a wireless mouse that requires no receiver as it connects to a laptop enabled with Bluetooth wireless technology. To increase its mobility the V270 is equipped with a low-battery indicator, has a power-saving feature to automatically put the mouse to sleep, and has an on/off switch to conserve battery life. However don't expect that it sacrifices performance because it is a Bluetooth mouse; in fact the V270 mouse sports a 1000-DPI optical sensor technology for smooth and more precise tracking - adding a competitive advantage against other notebook mice and is even comparable to some desktop mice.

Available in charcoal or silver colors, the Logitech V270 Cordless Optical Notebook Mouse for Bluetooth sells for $49.99.

Design

The Logitech V270 looks like any other ordinary mouse - you get your typical 2-buttons and scroll wheel. It certainly doesn't have the sexy ergonomic curves like its companion the V500. The design resembles the RF-based Logitech V200 model, but instead is also available in charcoal and bright silver.

There is a slight arch on the mound to rest your palm that is raised about 1.5-inch off the ground, which adds a bit ergonomic considering it's a rather small mouse. The Logitech logo is also engraved here and under the hood is where 2 AA batteries are stationed.

Compared to the Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 4000 , the Logitech V270 doesn't come with any type of ergonomic contour on the sides. The external shell is made entirely in plastic, making us wish Logitech applied rubber grips on the sides for added comfort. The mouse is designed to be used with either the left or right hand and more importantly, it's more comfortable than a touchpad!

Portability
The compact design elements make this mouse perfect for travel. The mouse measures 4.2' long, 0.8' from the front and extending 1.5' thick in the rear, 2.2' wide, and weighs a mere 4.2 ounces (with battery), allowing the mouse to slip inside a pocket or laptop bag. The mouse is the same length as my cellular phone (Motorola RAZR), so it fits in my jeans pocket as well. Since it's a Bluetooth wireless mouse, you don't have to worry about a separate receiver or tangled wires when transporting.

A nice addition is this mouse comes with a convenient carrying case to store it while on the go.

Features

Optical Sensor
You've probably heard companies marketing a mouse's 'DPI' to illustrate its precision and tracking. DPI stands for dots per inch. The V270 features a 1000-dpi optical sensor to deliver fast responsiveness in relation to hand movement - in other words, higher DPI mice allows a user to adjust the mouse speed more precisely. This also means the mouse is capable of tracking on surfaces other than a mousepad such as on an airplane tray or miscellaneous tables. This is great if you travel frequently and don't have an extra mouse pad lying around. So how well does the V270 actually perform? You'll find soon enough in our performance section.

Bluetooth Wireless
In brief, Bluetooth is considered a small-area networking standard that syncs with Bluetooth-enabled devices such as cellular phones, keyboards, printers, headsets, and of course mice. The Bluetooth 1.0 standard has a max transfer speed of 1 megabit per second (Mbps) whereas the newer Bluetooth 2.0 can reach up to 3 Mbps and is also backwards compatible with Bluetooth 1.0. The V270 utilizes Bluetooth 1.2 as it doesn't necessarily need the transfer rates offered from 2.0. Range is advertised to function at up to 30 ft.

One of the advantages of having a wireless mouse is not having a cord to restrict movement or a lengthy cord that is cumbersome when transporting. Furthermore, having a Bluetooth wireless mouse eliminates the need of an external receiver in order to operate, which are typically found in RF-based mice. This allows for a seamless operation & synchronization between your Bluetooth-enabled laptop and Logitech V270.

Power Management
Powered by two (2) AA batteries (included), Logitech promises battery life will last over 3 months. One of the ways to accomplish this is the mouse comes outfitted with an on/off switch to preserve battery life even longer. In addition, the power-saving feature automatically puts the mouse to sleep when it's not in use. A low-battery indicator located on the rear of the mouse will light up to inform you when it's almost time to replace batteries.

Performance

Setup
In judging most computing devices, how easy it is to setup and start using is essential. The Logitech V270 Bluetooth mouse is ridiculously easy to setup. Simply insert the included batteries, switch the mouse on and go through the Bluetooth setup wizard from Windows operating system. Better yet, no additional drivers or software are needed in order for the mouse to function. After Windows detected and paired the mouse, I was able to use it instantly.

Since the V270 is also compatible on the Mac platform, we tested it to make sure it works as advertised. Setting up on Mac OS 'Tiger' 10.4 is also extremely easy. Using the built-in Bluetooth Setup Assistant, the software detected and synced with the V270 effortlessly.

Comfort
Most laptop mice I've used tend to be uncomfortable due to their minute size and poor design arrangement. Although the Logitech V270 is small and compact similar to other laptop mice, its larger ergonomic arch made it comfortable to use for the most part. For example, I also have the Logitech Notebook Optical Mouse Plus , which is a tad bit smaller & more compact but is unbearable after using it longer than 20 minutes. Users with larger hands might find the V270 (or most laptop mice in general) uncomfortable, especially after long term use; but personally I didn't find any discomfort after using it for more than 40 minutes and I particularly prefer larger sized mice.

As I've mentioned in the preceding section, the mouse is housed in a plastic casing and it doesn't come with rubber side-grips like found in the Microsoft Notebook 4000 . This would add extra comfort & grip support. Further, the buttons exhibit loud noise when clicking - an annoyance if you tend to compute in quiet areas like the library. The scroll-wheel button is useable as a click-button so you actually have 3-buttons. Despite a couple of missing 'wishful features', the mouse is suitable for both left and right hands and overall is more comfortable than a touchpad.

Performance
After leaving the mouse idle, it did fall into 'sleep mode' as one of the advertised features, and it woke up within 1 second after I activated for use, which is quite fast.

For navigating Windows and the internet, the mouse performed extremely well. The cursor responded almost instantly regardless of how fast I shifted the mouse around. Since most icons, text, buttons, and links on my laptop screen are fairly small, I was able to direct the cursor to the desired link accurately almost every time. It tracks very precisely as advertised.

The mouse was able to handle most hard surfaces I tried, even on a wood surface and surfaces that varied in color.

What about lag you might ask? None that I noticed! Lag was no where to be found on the Sony VAIO TX with Windows XP or on our Apple PowerBook 15-inch with Mac OS X. This Bluetooth mouse performs substantially better than the Logitech MX900 Bluetooth mouse I used previously. I also want to mention Bluetooth wirelesss will not interfere with the 802.11b/g Wireless LAN network as they use different wireless protocols.

Using a wireless mouse (including a Bluetooth mouse for that matter) is typically not ideal for graphic designing or any of type of computing where precision matters. This is not the case with the Logitech V270 Bluetooth mouse. The mouse was useable to edit and crop some images with Adobe Photoshop, like the ones in this review! If you use the mouse for basic editing, there shouldn't be an issue.

For gaming test, I tested the mouse by playing Doom 3 on the Macintosh. To my surprise, it was very responsive regardless how fast I shifted the mouse around. Aiming, shooting, and killing those monsters were successfully done with this mouse. Once again, lag was not noticeable at all.

Just for your reference, our Apple PowerBook 15-inch 1.67GHz [high-resolution model] uses Bluetooth chip made from Cambridge Silicon Radio and the Sony VAIO VGN-TX650P uses a Bluetooth chip from Toshiba.

Pros:

• Moderately comfortable
• No external receiver to deal with
• Fast response & accurate precision
• Long battery life
• Simple setup
• On/off switch
• Carrying case included
• Low-battery indicator

Cons:

• Plain design
• Loud clicking noise
• Only two buttons
• No horizontal scroll
• No rubber grips

Recommendation

The Logitech V270 Bluetooth mouse provides numerous functionalities that are useful for portability, mostly based around the use of Bluetooth instead of standard RF wireless or regular old cords. Bluetooth offers a fast connection and eliminates any type of external receiver, for laptops that have built-in Bluetooth. If you want a Bluetooth mouse for the range but don't have built-in Bluetooth, you can always add a USB Bluetooth adapter. The V270's power-saving features automatically put the mouse in a sleep-mode state and the on/off switch is useful to preserve battery life when not in use. It's extremely simple to setup and use, just switch the mouse on and go through the Bluetooth Add Hardware Wizard in Windows to establish a connection between 2 devices and there is no additional software or drivers needed in order for it to function. In terms of performance, this is one of the most responsive and precise Bluetooth enabled mouse we've tested yet!

This is certainly a nice replacement to your touchpad and other wireless laptop mice as Bluetooth offers a more seamless integration compared to regular RF mice. Of course, your laptop must have Bluetooth built-in or at least a Bluetooth receiver (not included with the V270) for this mouse to work. We feel the best way to describe using a Bluetooth device is 'automatic' and 'simple.' The popularity of Bluetooth is certainly growing; consumers are demanding it thanks in part to Bluetooth-enabled cellular phones, so expect to see more laptops with Bluetooth integrated.

This is a no thrills mouse with respect to design -- its all about functionality here. Ultimately, it is designed to replace your touchpad: simply, seamlessly, and precisely.

Priced around $35 street with the choice of two flavors: charcoal and silver, this won't hurt your wallet too much either.

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Technical Specifications

No specifications are available.