Logitech V550 Nano

Logitech V550 Nano

Published November 19, 2008 at 07:32:54 PM, by Daniel Shain

Overview

Logitech adds to its family of high quality mice with its latest member, the Logitech V550 Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks. This mouse is compact without being undersized, lightweight without feeling flimsy, and features a unique Clip-and-Go dock that allows you to physically attach the mouse to your notebook. And did we mention the battery life is rated by Logitech at a fantastic 18 months? Throw in the usual perfect tracking from the laser sensor technology and the hyper-fast scroll wheel and you've got a mouse that has a lot to offer.

Design
The package includes a pair of AA batteries, a pair of Clip-and-Go docks (one silver, one black), a Clip-and-Go storage box, 2 cleaning wipes, a Clip-and-Go removal tool, and a desktop USB extension stand.

The mouse is pretty plain looking but it does get a few style points. Our unit was silver with a curved gray section separating the top from the black base, but there's a version with bluish hues available on the Logitech website. There's also a black line running down the middle as a continuation of the separation between the left and right buttons, and a reflective Logitech logo on the bottom right of the mouse.

The V550 Nano is smooth all around with a relatively small arch, and it feels just as comfortable in our left hand as in our right. It is an excellent size for travel at only 4" deep, 2.25" wide and 1.25" tall at its peak, and it weighs a mere 3.6oz before you put the batteries in.

Features
Although it's missing a few things, Logitech does give this mouse its usual host of decent features in addition to its newest, the Clip-and-Go dock. The mouse is powered by laser precision, which offers superior tracking and smoother control than optical mice do. It also comes with the family's standard Plug-and-Forget Nano-Receiver, which plugs into a USB port and extends a mere 8mm while operating at 2.4GHz. The V550 Nano also comes with a hyper-fast scroll wheel. This feature enables you to switch between a ratcheted scroll for better control or a slick quick spinning scroll to rapidly move up or down a page. You switch between these modes by clicking the scroll wheel. On many other mice clicking the scroll wheel brings up a special function, so Logitech has placed a small button directly below the scroll wheel which can be customized with their downloaded software instead.

We really found the Plug-and-Forget Nano-Receiver to be a useful feature, as we could truly forget about it as we moved our laptop around the office or in and out of its case. Another feature designed to let you forget about your mouse as the computer moves around is the Clip-and-Go dock. It is essentially a small metal clip which attaches securely to your laptop, allowing you to clip your mouse directly to your laptop. It attaches securely and saves you the trouble of trying to carry two things at once, although depending on your laptop case you may not be able to fit your notebook in there with the mouse still attached.

We do wish Logitech had seen fit to equip the V550 with forward/back buttons on the side. They make up for it by allowing you to configure the left/right side scroll to act as forward/back, but to do this you have to sacrifice your side scrolling functionality.

Power Management
If Logitech's theme was to let you forget about your mouse, then the 18 months of battery life off of a mere 2 AA batteries is right in line with the rest of the features. When traveling you can insert the receiver into the mouse under the hatch and it will turn off, and there is also a manual on/off button on the underside of the mouse for additional conservation. The downloadable SetPoint software keeps track of your battery life – ours is listed at well over 500 days.

Comfort
Notebook mice tend to be designed for portability and not for comfort, and while the V550 Nano attempts to do both it is unfortunately no exception. The mouse was comfortable enough to use, but we found ourselves missing the familiar ergonomic arch support we've become used to on larger desktop mice. Logitech did raise the back of the mouse enough that we felt some support though. The left and right mouse buttons are a little on the noisy side, but the mouse wheel is smoothly silent (except in ratcheted mode, where the clicks are arguably desirable) and the center button is also quiet.

Set up and Extras
Setting up the mouse is extremely easy. Batteries are included so you simply open the hatch to insert them into the mouse, turn it on, and then plug in the receiver and you're good to go. That will give you basic functionality, with the center button acting as a standard middle button for scrolling up and down. To utilize the center button more effectively, you must go onto Logitech's website and download and install their SetPoint software.

The Clip-and-Go dock is also extremely easy to set up - simply peel off the sticker and apply it to the desired section of your laptop. There is a diagram in the quick start guide which can guide you to the ideal locations.

Real life performance
In use the mouse performed very well. The laser technology was as responsive as we could ask for, and the features were all useful. In particular we enjoyed the center button. At first we were concerned at its location, since being behind the scroll wheel we had to lift our pointer finger up out of its home position on the mouse to click it, but we quickly got to like it there. The Clip-and-Go dock we found to be as secure as advertised, as well as convenient in the right situations.

Conclusion
Logitech has provided a pretty useful mouse in the V550 Nano. It's not as comfortable as a desktop mouse but about as good as you can get from a mouse this portable. The precision is excellent and the scroll wheel was perfect for whizzing up or down large documents. The tiny receiver, in particular when in concert with the Clip-and-Go feature, helped us truly forget about our mouse when moving the laptop, along with the phenomenal battery life. It is missing forward/back buttons, but at least there's a way to get something close. In the end it was a portable, feature rich mouse that we simply enjoyed using.

Bottom line
If it's a choice between this and a trackpad you'd be wise to upgrade ASAP, and even if you already have a wireless mouse for your laptop it's still worth a long look. The mouse is smooth and has a few nice features we're sure you'll enjoy. We highly recommend this mouse.

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Technical Specifications

• Weight: 3.6 oz
• Battery Life: 500 days