We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
Using a laptop’s touchpad requires a lot of patience. You can’t help having a notebook mouse even though it’s one more piece of equipment to carry along. There are several choices available on the market, from tiny mice to bigger cordless options like the Logitech VX Revolution. It’s almost a desktop mouse due to its size and ergonomic contour. The VX Revolution features the most comfortable and precise scrollwheel that we’ve used so far. Even though it’s not that portable for a notebook mouse it more than makes up for the space it requires on your laptop bag.
Figure 1: Logitech VX Revolution mouse.
[nextpage title=”The VX Revolution Mouse”]
The VX Revolution is part of a new future-oriented family of mice created by Logitech. It shares the same futuristic/ergonomic design, laser resolution, revolutionary scrollwheel and web search button with its desktop cousin, the MX Revolution Mouse. The laptop model we tested operates on a single AA battery, while the MX uses a charging cradle.
Figure 2: VX Revolution upside view.
Bellow the scrollwheel there’s a small button that activates a web search engine (it defaults to Yahoo! Search but you can change to Google through the installation software). Just pass the cursor over a word or phrase in a text or website and click to do an instant search. The scrollwheel itself is far from normal: it’s a new design from Logitech that allows for a smooth and quick scrolling through pages and pages of text. With a flick of a finger the wheel keeps spinning – and a 150 page PDF file flies by easily. It takes a few moments to get used to it because sometimes the wheel scrolls ahead the page where you want it to stop on. But it’s difficult to get back to a regular desktop mouse after using the VX Revolution for a while.
Figure 3: Side buttons.
There’s a thumb rest on the right side of the mouse and four nearby buttons (the device is not adequate for left-handed users). The first one is a sliding zoom button for applications like Photoshop and Acrobat Reader. Above the thumb rest there are buttons designed for web browsing with features like “back” and “forward”. A battery meter indicates how much juice the AA battery still has.
Below the VX Revolution there’s a slot for the AA battery, the on/off button and the USB micro-receiver ejection control. The tiny wireless device is stored inside the mouse itself – and that turns the VX Revolution off preventing it from turning on when it’s being carried in a bag. It’s a great energy saving feature.
Figure 4: The VX Revolution inferior side and the micro-receiver.
[nextpage title=”Using the Device”]
The VX Revolution doesn’t require an actual set up. Just insert the battery, eject the USB micro-receiver and plug it to an available port on your laptop. Windows instantly recognizes it and gives control over the cursor to the mouse. When you switch USB ports Windows repeats the recognition process again until all ports on your laptop are configured – it doesn’t matter which one you use afterwards. If you want to reprogram the buttons or change the default search engine just install Logitech’s proprietary software, Set Point.
The laser tracking precision is outstanding and works on many surfaces. We tested the mouse over a leather sofa, a wooden table and even a poker table felt; the device worked properly. The 2.4 Ghz wireless receiver functions at a 6-feet range, more than enough for a presentation. We left the laptop on the table and used the mouse over a leather couch nearby – again the VX Revolution proved trustworthy.
During our test we noticed two details that require attention. First: the micro-receiver ejection is quite strong. Be sure to have your hand ready to avoid letting it fall down (we let it slip a few times but it didn’t broke, phew!). The other detail concerns power usage. You don’t have to turn off the mouse if you just shut down the laptop; but if you are gonna let it on during the night, for instance, be sure to turn the mouse off to avoid spending the AA battery.
The VX Revolution is so good that we considered using it as our desktop mouse since it’s not as tiny as most laptop mice. Even though it’s a lot bigger than the competition its precise tracking system and fantastic scrollwheell more than justify its “super size”.
[nextpage title=”Specifications”]
- Cordless laser mouse for notebooks
- Depth: 4 in (17.8 cm).
- Width: 2.5 in (6.35 cm).
- Weight: 4.2 ounces (120 g).
- Buttons: 7
- Power source: one AA battery
- 2.4 Ghz USB micro-receiver
- More information: https://www.logitech.com
- Average price in the USA*: USD 55
* Researched at https://www.shopping.com on the day we published this review.
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
Strong Points
- Precise laser tracking on many surfaces.
- Works at a long range.
- Fast and confortable scrollwheel.
- Ergonomic design.
- Great storage solution for the wireless device.
- Zoom and web search buttons are quite useful.
Weak Points
- Somewhat big for a notebook mouse.
- Strong wireless device ejection requires attention.
- Quite expensive for a device of its kind.