Logitech V450 Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks review

Nano by name nano by nature?

10 October 2008 16:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

If you're looking to buy a mouse for your laptop the choices are limited. You want something small and easy to carry however one that isn't going to require you to contort your hands too much. Logitech thinks it has the answer with the V450 Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks, a small ambidextrous mouse for working on the go, but does it work? We get pointing and clicking to find out.

Available in three colours, black, silver, or red, the V450 Nano is larger than your average laptop mouse and sits in the middle between the ultra small models you've no doubt seen around the office and the big mammoth desktop variants.

The move means that it's comfortable in the hand, with the additional contours of the sculptured design, helping to improve rather than annoy in the usability stakes. Design wise the sides are rubberised giving better grip while the top is more glossy meaning it won't be abrasive on your palm.

The V450 Nano mouse features Logitech's "Plug-and-Forget" Nano-receiver so called because of its small size, meaning you can plug the USB receiver once into the side of your laptop and then forget about it.

Using a 2.4GHz wireless signal, the mouse is responsive and shouldn't interfere with other networking kit in your house (it's the standard mouse wireless frequency). The small dongle means the mouse is always ready for use (as long as you've got the dongle plugged in). If you really must put it away every time, the USB dongle can be plugged into the back of the mouse in the battery compartment out of sight.

That battery compartment, which houses two AA batteries, promises 12 months of battery life and while we weren't able to test it, based on previous battery claims from Logitech, we would presume this to be correct.

Button wise the V450 is a bit thin on the ground. You get the regular left and right click options plus a scroll wheel with both a clickable button and vertical and horizontal scrolling.

Verdict

At £30 this is an inoffensive offering from Logitech that is likely to serve you well if you are on a budget, but looking for something a little more than tat from a no-brand offering.

The mouse is comfortable to use, worked on most surfaces we tried it on (from combat trousers to the carpet to a plate full of cake crumbs) and does the job properly.

Criticisms? It's a touch on the large side for a truly portable offering (an advantage in some people's minds) and we would have liked more programmable buttons if we were being picky.

Overall though if you aren't looking to spend more, this will do you nicely.

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Review Recap

Made by: Logitech
Price as reviewed: £30
Latest price: Compare prices
The good: Responsive, comfortable, cheap, small USB dongle
The bad: Still quite large for the name, not many buttons
Quick verdict: At £30 this is an inoffensive offering from Logitech that is likely to serve you well if you are on a budget
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