Logitech Cordless Optical Mouse for Notebooks review

12 November 2003 9:56 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Travelling on business can be pain when it comes to taking your laptop and all the accessories that entails. All laptops come with the ability to control the mouse via a touch screen or nipple, but most take sometime to get used to. Nine times out ten you’ll find that laptop users pack a separate mouse. Yet more cables to get tangled, yet more wires to struggle with when using it out an about.

A couple of years ago mouse manufacturers solved one of the major problems - working on uneven surfaces with a ball mouse - now it seems that Logitech is providing the solution to fix the annoyance of the wire. The company’s latest mouse is the Cordless Optical Mouse for Notebooks. The mouse comes into two parts, the mouse itself powered by two AA batteries, while the connection is provided by what looks like on the surface to be a USB key.

The mouse itself is small and compact offering the usual two buttons and a scroll wheel. The underside offers optical control rather than the old ball and runners and a nice feature is the inclusion of a on-off switch to save battery power.

For desktop users wanting to get a piece of the action the device ships with a mini cradle to allow you to easily plug the USB connector key in and this is a nice thought from Logitech.

Verdict

Any device that saves on wires when travelling to us is a god send. This mouse with its little pouch and simplicity to install appealed to us. It would have been nice to see other buttons included on the mouse itself - perhaps a programmable forwards backwards button but you can’t have everything and in all fairness these aren’t usually included on mice for the laptop. Top marks.

Score

Review Recap

Made by: Logitech
Price as reviewed: £33
The good: Design, execution, price
The bad: Still better pack extra batteries but that’s all.
Quick verdict: Great looking, works well and you can turn it off to save power- at £33, brilliantly executed for portable work (if not necessarily play).
Score
Winner