Logitech VX Revolution Mouse, Part I

[fos]

I have seen promotional material on the Logitech VX Revolution mouse for quite some time. It has a couple of features that appeal to me. It is wireless and has a "flywheel" scroll wheel. It also has a number of other bells and whistles that didn't make a difference to me.

My existing mouse, also a Logitech is getting a little long in the tooth. The button areas and sides have been polished smooth after long years of use. It still works fine but the center button incorporated in the scroll wheel is getting fatigued and activates too easily. I guess my finger could be getting a little too heavy but I'll go with old spring instead.

While I was in Walmart, they had the VX Revolution marked down to $50. I have always had good luck with Logitech so I made the purchase and have been using it for several days now.

Since I am required to work in Windows for my university work, I installed it on that computer. That box is dual booted with Edubuntu based on Ubuntu 8.04 currently. Following the included instructions I removed the existing mouse plugged the wireless receiver into an empty USB port, installed the mouse AA battery, turned on the mouse and then the computer. I arrowed down to the non-default WinXP boot prompt. When it came up to the login screen... "Mouse doesn't work." grrrrr ! Windows is decidedly unfriendly without a mouse. I had to do all kinds of finger dancing on the keyboard to finally log into my user account. Sometimes the cursor would jerk and start but nothing useful. I tried everything, verifying the battery and positioning the mouse closer to the reciver. After finally managing to get the included drivers installed it finally began to work somewhat reliably. Naturally, a reboot was required. :(

After it was up and running again it was still somewhat unreliable. My monitor and key board are across the desk from my windows bos, barely more than a meter as a crow flies. The mouse would only be truly reliable if I used it with my left hand closer to the box. Not wanting to give up or become a switch hitter mouse user, I installed a 4 port powered USB hub on a 5' extension. Now the mouse works about 98%! Instead of one less mouse lead, I now have one more wire in my spaghetti, usb to hub and wall wart power cord to hub.

I say 98% because the mouse exhibits some latency every once in a while particularly with the left button press. I have never used a wireless mouse before, but at times it lags a little compared to my old hard wired mouse. This only happens in Windows not Ubuntu so it may be the software layer that interprets all of the special features that the mouse has. More thoughts on this later.

I have to run an errand. Stand by for Part II

fos

[fos]

After a frustrating week with the original Logitech I called their service department and talked with an agent. He stated that the mouse should have a transmit range of 20 feet. (Mine was less than three.) Since the receiver had to be plugged into a extension port, many of its features did not work.

Logitech sent a replacement. I have been using it for a week now. It is a major improvement! All of the new features now work properly since the receiver can be plugged directly into the computer box across my desk.

Even though the original mouse and the replacement are both labeled VX Revolution, they are not the same. I suspect that Walmart is selling a dumbed down version. The Walmart version is powered by a single AA battery. The scroll wheel clutch is activated/deactivated by a slide switch on the underside of the mouse. The replacement version is the one that has been reviewed on the internet. It contains a 4.1 volt rechargeable Li battery with a recharging stand. In addition, there is no lag effect. All of the mouse functions happen immediately just as the old wired mouse behaved. The lag on the initial mouse was most annoying.

I particularly like the replacement mouse version of the scroll wheel clutch. It toggles between activation and deactivation by pushing the scroll wheel down. The notched clutch is the familiar click scroll you are probably familiar with. When deactivated the scroll wheel has a fly wheel effect. You can spin it in either direction to rapidly scroll through a long web page or document.

The mouse has a couple of buttons on the left side that can be pressed easily by your right thumb. They can be set to move by page forward or backward or to enlarge or shrink an image. There is also a secondary scroll wheel under the right thumb that can "flip" between documents. A very nice feature is a "search" button located just behind the main scroll wheel. It activates a search function whether you are on the internet or surfing the web.

The overall quality of the replacement mouse is what I have always experienced with Logitech. It has a solid, quality feel, much like a Nikon camera. The Walmart version must have been a cheap knockoff to attract mass purchase.