Logitech VX Revolution Mouse

Logitech VX Revolution Mouse

Published August 25, 2008 at 01:16:04 PM, by Raymond So

If the Bottom Line and Pros verbiage didn't already catch your attention by now, then I'll say it right here and right now: I absolutely love this mouse. Priced at $79.99, Logitech's VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks (that's a mouthful!) is a surefire winner with its comfort, design and features. But is it right for you? Read on and find out!

Logitech has been making mice and other peripherals for quite some time and they've gotten pretty proficient at making products that work just as good as they look. The VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse is a fine example of a slick looking mouse designed around performance, comfort, and convenience. Just what makes it so revolutionary?

Design

Logitech certainly knows how to design a really comfortable mouse. The VX Revolution is in fact so comfortable (and feature packed), that I started using this as my desktop mouse. My hand wraps around the soft contours of the device and everything - the shape, the buttons - feels very natural. Even though it is designed as a laptop mouse, it's big enough to be a desktop replacement. That said, the device is on the bigger side of the typical 'compact' class, but it is still small enough to throw into a bag and carry it around.

Adding to the sleek design are the quality materials used. The black rubber sides give you a nice grip around those sexy curves and the slate blue plastic shell gives off a cool two-tone contrast.

The sturdy plastic shell has seamless left-and-right click buttons.The revolutionary near-frictionless scroll wheel has a hefty feel thanks to rubber surrounding a metallic ring. The back and front browser buttons are placed close to the thumb for easy reach and navigation. Everything is where they should be except for smart search button, oddly placed below the scroll wheel.

Portability

The compact design of the VX Revolution makes this mouse perfect for travel. At a scant 4.2 ounces, it's light too! As mentioned earlier, the device is a little bigger than many compact mice of this class but Logitech clearly chose comfort over size and in this case, it was a wise move. This mouse is great as a laptop mouse or for a desktop without feeling too small or big in either situation. I have pretty long fingers and its compact size felt great. It's almost perfect.

Sculpted to feel good in your hand.

Logitech also deserves kudos for ingeniously designing a USB wireless receiver that is so small, it can be stored inside the mouse itself! That's right, the tiny 1.75 in x .50 inch Bluetooth receiver can pop out with a simple push of the eject button, turning the mouse on automatically. And when not in use, simply pop the USB receiver back inside the mouse and you're good to go. Brilliant!

Features

By this time, you're probably wondering what's so revolutionary about the VX Revolution. Aside from the mouse's exceptional comfort and wireless design, there's plenty to love about this feature-rich device.

Hyper-fast Scroll Wheel

Perhaps the biggest draw Logitech tries to promote on the mouse is the near-frictionless alloy scroll wheel that allows you to freely zoom through lengthy documents and spreadsheet entries with a simple flick of the wheel. With minimal resistance, the wheel spins quickly and smoothly. While a welcome feature, I find that it's too easy to scroll past where you want to go since it's overly sensitive. Users who deal with very long spreadsheet entries or work with hundreds of document pages may appreciate this feature, but the average user will find this more of a novelty. Not to mention, it's not particularly useful for games. But I did find it useful when browsing through my iTunes library.

Fortunately, you can switch from hyperscrolling mode to a more practical click-to-click mode. The notched feel between scrolls is great. Of course, for a mouse of this class, you can push the wheel down and tilt the scroll wheel left and right, making this a 4-way functional wheel.

One-Touch Search Button

Directly below the scroll wheel is a dedicated search button that when pushed, launches a web browser redirected to your default search engine. It's a convenient feature but in my opinion, not particularly useful in my daily computer usage. Instead, I reprogrammed the button to launch my preferred program of choice.

High Resolution Zoom Slider

To the left of the left-click button lies the zoom slider allowing you to zoom in and out of your photos, spreadsheets or word documents. It's another welcome feature that works well with photo editing. As great as this feature is though, I ended up reprogramming it to adjust the sound volume.

Laser Precision

The VX Revolution employs the use of laser tracking technology for smoother and pinpoint accuracy. The mouse worked well on most surfaces. Laser technology outperforms optical mice with a higher DPI tracking.

Wireless

The benefit of having a wireless mouse is obviously to cut down the clutter of having a wire coming out of the laptop. Logitech employs the use of 2.4GHz Bluetooth wireless technology with the pop out wireless receiver. Bluetooth allows the mouse to operate up to 30 feet.

The VX Revolution has an ingenious pop out receiver that also serves as a power saving feature

Power Management

It would be nice to have a rechargeable wireless mouse but to keep things as compact as possible, Logitech chose to power the mouse on a single AA battery. They even claim it can last up to 120 days on one battery alone. Impressive you might say and certainly attainable as Logitech employed some very smart power saving features to ensure long lasting operation.

First, there's the battery meter at the top showing how much juice is left. Then there's the auto-sleep feature when the unit is left untouched for a long period of time. Perhaps the greatest power saving feature comes from the unique design of its docking USB receiver. By pushing the eject button on the bottom of the mouse, not only does the receiver pop out but it automatically powers on the mouse ready for use. When finished, simply store the receiver back inside the mouse and mouse shuts off. Ingenious!

Performance

Setup

You can immediately begin using the mouse once the USB receiver is plugged into the computer - there are no drivers to set up or software to install. Just plug it in and you're instantly connected.

However, to truly take advantage of the Revolution's advanced features, installing Logitech's Set Point 3.0 utlity (Mac and Windows compatible) opens up the mouse's seven programmable buttons.

Using the wireless mouse is as simple as plug and play.

Comfort and Performance

As mentioned before, this is one of the most comfortable mice I have ever used and I just absolutely love the feel of it. The soft and shapely contours feel very natural around the hand and fit is just right. It never feels too small nor too big. The buttons are right where they should be and have a reassuring quality feel when depressed. The scroll wheel has some heft to it thanks to the use of alloy.

Logitech clearly did its homework on ergonomics and the VX Revolution has become my desktop mouse replacement. Yes, the mouse may be designed for laptops, but I truly think this works just as well as a full-featured desktop mouse too.

Advanced features such as a 4-way frictionless scroll wheel, dedicated search button, zoom slider and browser action buttons make this an exceptional mouse.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Exceptional comfort and feel
• Looks good - sleek, sexy and compact
• Zoom slider and search buttons
• Programmable buttons
• Wireless!
• Fast response & accurate laser precision
• Wireless receiver stores inside mouse with smart power saving feature
• Battery meter
• Works well as a desktop mouse too!

Cons:

• Designed for right-handed users only
• Expensive ($79.99)
• Hyper-fast scroll wheel

Recommendation

This is an exceptionally comfortable and well-designed mouse. Logitech clearly has done a good job at providing a full-featured device aimed for those on the go. It's my favorite mouse and if you look past its hefty price tag, this one is a keeper.

Availability/Warranty

Suggested retail price of $79.99 with 1 year warranty.

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Technical Specifications

No specifications are available.