Invented in the 60's by Doublas Englebart, the mouse was a simple
and yet complicated device which forever changed the way of
computing. Let's take a look at two of them from Logitech, the
G700 and Anywhere MX.
<Logitech G700>
Logitech G700 is the latest mouse to their G-series line up
and the very first thing many will notice is the amount of button it has.
On the left side there is four, three on the left click,
and one near the center below the scroll wheel. By default, four of
them at mouse's top side are assigned to perform a task, but all of it
can be reassigned through Logitech software called SetPoint. One
other button not mentioned is for the scroll wheel. This let the wheel
operate in two modes: traditional ratchet effect and hyper scroll where
it greatly benefits for viewing long documents, web pages,
and forums.
Unlike other gaming mice which are mostly wired, Logitech G700
is wireless. This keeps the amount of wires to a minimum
and gives users freedom no other gaming mice can. It uses a
single AA battery and it's rechargeable thus you won't have to
buy new ones all the time. It's also easy to replace once it
it can't be recharged. Battery life depends on the mode
this mouse it set at. At maximum, the battery just last about a
single day. Set it at normal with polling of 500/s and a average use of 6 hours, it
last 5 days. Charging the battery to full capacity takes
about 4 hours. While other wireless mice cannot be used as it's being recharged,
the G700 still can, which makes it function both as wired and wireless.
Performance is top notch even in wireless as there is no lag,
skip, and especially delay many users have experienced when the
mouse was first released, but may have been fix with their latest
SetPoint software. Speed of the mouse pointer is blazing fast thanks to
its Avago ANDS-S9500 laser. The sensor supports a wide
range of resolutions as it starts out at 200 DPI for precision and can
accelerate all the way up to 5700 DPI for games that requires wide movement
or helps with those working on large screen monitors. Users can access the
DPIs via the G-keys on the mouse and 3 LEDs lights up red to indicate which
DPI settings they have picked. Users can also further tweak their DPIs with
SetPoint, plus with the option to set it independently for each X and Y axis.
Note the LEDs isn't only for DPIs, they also used for battery life--green and
profile selection in orange.
Speaking of profiles, the G700 can store up to 5 in its internal memory.
Each individual user can then make changes to what each buttons does and other
fine tuning. For example profile 1 is for web browsing while profile 2 is for multimedia
where all buttons can be changed just for that purpose.
Pricing on the mouse varies depending on the place you get it from and even at
cut deals it ain't cheap. With a MSRP Of $100 bucks, it's difficult to make a decision as to
whether you need to spend that much, but with all the features this mouse has to offer,
pricing may be well worth it.
<Anywhere MX>
Designed for ultimate mobility, Logitech Anywhere MX starts out with a
black matte finish and rubber sides gives users a sense of a
solid grip and includes a unique feature not found on other other mice in its class.
The performance MX has your standard set of buttons such as left/right click, forward/back, but
sadly there is no middle click. The scroll wheel's middle click isn't a button, but
a mechanical switch that sets the scroll wheel to function as standard click effect you'll find on
most mice and hyper scroll where it runs in a frictionless state. There is another
button call application switcher where it bring all open application into view.
The Anywhere MX is wireless, thus it also keeps cables to a minimum and unlike the G700
where it has a cable for recharging, this does not.
The mouse uses 2 standard AA batteries, but can still operate if there is only one installed.
Battery life ranges depending on the setting you use, but with normal settings, according
to SetPoint it should last about 100 days until it needs to be replaced.
Communicating with the computer uses the included nano USB
receiver and unlike others it's unifiying, therefore a single receiver can support up to 6 unifying devices.
Users can conserve on battery life with the on/off switch located at the
bottom and it also acts as a cover for the sensor.
Looking at the sensor, this is where Anywhere MX's unique feature comes into play as it uses a new
type of tracking called Darkfield. In your typical optical and laser mice where laser has a better tracking,
both technologies have limits to the surface it works on. Darkfield on the other hand breaks that
barrier and lets users run their mouse virtually on any surface including even on glass.
Testing out Darkfield on a variety of surfaces available such as wood, glass table, aluminum,
denim, mirror and others, tracking was excellent as the cursor didn't even skip a beat.
Users who wants a bit more out of their Anywhere MX can do so with Logitech's SetPoint software.
In it, there are lots of options and settings for users to tinker with. Some of the options
includes button modification, gaming mode, and pointer acceleration. As for pointer acceleration,
it's not the same as DPI although you do get a sense, the speed of your mouse pointer has
either increase or decrease depending on the settings you've made. And from the looks
of it, Logitech Anywhere MX is the perfect companion for those on the go.
Logitech G700 at the bottom and Logitech Anywhere MX on top
Logitech SetPoint. Only Logitech's gaming mice gets the red interface. All others like Anywhere MX uses the
standard type.
DPI adjustments for G700 and pointer acceleration on the Anywhere MX
Comparison between the two in the following order G700/Anywhere MX
Number of buttons: 13/7
Sensor: Avago ANDS-S9500/Logitech Darkfield
Sensor position: front center, middle center
Battery: 1x AA rechargeable/2x AA Alkaline
Hand orientation: Both right hand
Price: $100 USD/ $60 USD
Contents for G700
-Logitech G700 Mouse
-G-series nano receiver
-nano receiver extension cable
-micro USB to USB recharging cable
-documentation / Sanyo Eneloop battery (may vary depending on locale)
-A free game (depends on where you get it from)
Disc not included, must download from website
Contents for Anywhere MX
-Logitech Anywhere MX mouse
-Logitech unifying nano receiver
-Documentation/Logitech Setpoint installation disc
-Carrying pouch
-2x AA Alkaline
