The Logitech MX610 mouse is a great tool for both gaming and everyday use. The user friendly set-up provides setting variability and the variety of function buttons make everything from communicating with other people to surfing the net a snap. At $60, this mouse is a great bargain for the features it supplies.
The Logitech MX 610 Laser Cordless Mouse redefines performance with ultra-precise laser tracking on more surfaces and interference-free 2.4 GHz digital cordless technology. As the world’s first smart mouse, it extends battery life by syncing with your PC; it sleeps, wakes up, and shuts down when your PC does. The MX610 also detects and eliminates wireless interference and alerts you when the batteries are low.
Easy to configure, e-mail and IM buttons light up when you receive new messages from selected friends and associates. Adjust volume directly from your mouse, while speed-browsing on the Web with Forward/Back buttons. The Tilt Wheel Plus Zoom is perfect for viewing digital photos and spreadsheets. The MX610 comes with a 5-year warranty and full product support.
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- Move flawlessly on surfaces where optical mice can´t go. Performance Laser Tracking offers state-of-the-art laser technology for unmatched precision and control. Works on surfaces where optical mice won’t, such as polished wood tables and glossy magazine covers.
- Experience interference-free operation and 2-way communication. 2.4GHz Digital Cordless is 5X stronger with 5X the range –a level of reliability that conventional 27MHz wireless can´t match. The ultra-compact receiver plugs directly into a USB port, eliminating clutter.
- Waiting to hear from one person in particular? Email and IM Notification buttons offer instant, one-touch access to email and messages. Buttons light up so you can see when new messages arrive from selected friends–even if you´re not in front of your PC. Easy to switch on or off and configure.
- View digital photos and spreadsheets. Instantly zoom in and out, scroll horizontally or vertically with Tilt wheel plus zoom. Manage your power wisely! Onboard Intelligence enables automatic on, off, and sleep functions to sync with your PC for extended battery life. It alerts you when batteries are low, and detects and eliminates wireless interference. Battery indicator light provides advance notice when batteries need replacing.
- Control volume and mute, forward and back. Enhance your productivity with fingertip controls for Volume, Mute, Internet Forward and Back. All buttons are programmable so you can customize them to suit your needs.
The MX610 looks and feels great. Its black and silver coloring and curvy shape give it a sleek design. Also, it is not heavy. The two AA batteries towards the back add to the weight, but overall the weight of it is quite minimal. The buttons on the MX610 are comfortable, and have different feels depending on their location; the main mouse buttons are the most easily pressed and deliver a high-pitched click. The side buttons require more effort to press, and respond with a softer and lower-pitched click. The tilt-wheel is very tactile and works exactly like you expect it to, unlike Microsoft’s huge and comparitively complicated tilt-wheel setup. Middle-clicking is easy to pull off without accidentally side-scrolling, and the steps are easy to feel. The two new communication buttons make no noise when clicked.
The mouse is connected to the PC via a 2.4GHz cordless that plugs right into a USB port. It is accurate during online gameplay, incredibly fast, and the connection can penetrate a wall! However, I have heard that depending on your setup the connection is prone to interference, especially with wireless headsets, however I experienced no problems.
The wireless receiver is very sensitive, as the mouse worked great up to 6 feet away, although I did experience skipping from time to time from some unknown interferance. Bringing the receiver closer to the mouse by way of a powered USB hub or USB extention cord could help improve reception.
Another great feature of this mouse is that it is told by the computer when to be on stand-by or to completely shut off. Although this mouse doesn’t come with a cradle, the AA battery life is greatly extended by this feature.
However, sometimes the mouse has difficulty waking up and it requires a short, sharp drag to take it out of its stupor. To enhance battery life further, the mouse powers off when your computer shuts off or goes into sleep mode. Unfortunately, this mouse somehow interferes with my PC’s ability to enter sleep mode, but your mileage may vary.
The MX610 features eight separate and completely customizable buttons. The forward and back buttons are accessible by the thumb and are separated by a small dip. These were most useful to me when I was searching the web. These two buttons are positioned on the mouse so that they are not easy to accidentally hit.
There is a volume up, down, and mute buttons which are reachable using the index finger work perfectly while gaming or other PC activities. Also, the mouse features a stepped scroll/tilt wheel that is quiet and sensitive, making it possible to click without side-scrolling. Perhaps the best feature on the mouse is the two new communication buttons that light up when an IM or email is received. These buttons take you directly to the received email or IM, and can be customized by using the SetPoint software to establish a buddy list. That way the light turns on only when an email or IM arrives from someone on that list and you aren’t bothered by the light when a hundred pieces of junk mail come through.
The SetPoint software is extremely easy to use. The settings window has five different windows used to customize mouse movement, designate each button to certain tasks, notify the user of the mouse’s battery life, choose game settings, and create buddy lists and communication button settings.
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Battery life is rather good with two AA batteries, as they were still good after a month of casual use. The low-power consumer laser, coupled with an aggressive power-saving scheme, allows the batteries to last so long. We had to open this mouse to see what makes it tick…
The top of the shell is electronically tethered to the circuit board, which houses the batteries, laser assembly and CPU (yes, even mice have to have some brains, no matter how tiny). The two main buttons are actually soldered on the main board, and are triggered by pressing “levers” on the top shell. A small ribbon cable gathers information from the thumb buttons and communication buttons, and also controls the three LEDs on the top shell (email notification, IM notification, and battery low).
The tilt wheel looks like it is barely secured, and looks like a rubber tire with its top off. Most of the mouse’s volume is taken up from the battery housing, and there are a mess of wires that connect the battery compartment to the mainboard.
Underneath the battery housing is the mouse’s processor (which looks like an old 16-bit chip) and laser sensor. The laser is an infrared semiconductor laser (also called a diode laser), which are the smallest and lowest powered lasers available. This is the same type of laser used in most CD players and laser printers. They are so safe that the emit virtually no laser radiation, but I still wouldn’t look directly into the sensor!
Conclusion
Unfortunately, this mouse caters primarily to Microsoft junkies with small hands. The email buttons are used specifically for Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, while the instant messenger button works only with MSN Instant Messenger and Yahoo! Because I use AOL Instant Messenger a majority of the time, the IM button is not useful to me and I use Hotmail and Comcast for email so the email button is not helpful to me either.
This mouse is only available right-handed and it is relatively small in size. It fits perfectly in my hand, but I’m a 5’5” girl! When guys try to use it, they accidentally hit buttons and their hands extend way over the right and left click buttons. I cannot see this mouse being very easy for them to use on a day to day basis. The buttons are easy to differentiate between, but when your hand encloses the entire mouse they are way too easy to accidentally hit.
Overall this mouse is easy to use and high-functioning. The drawbacks are minimal compared to the customization it provides and innovation when compared with other mice available.
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