Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse | List Price: $202.11
Discount Price: $95.00
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Brand: Logitech
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 3 years warranty
Features: - Bulk/Retail - Retail
- Connectivity - Cordless
- Button Count - 8 buttons
- Buttons -- 8
Interesting concept... takes some getting used to. [Posted on 2008-08-03]
As part of the Amazon Vine review program, I received a review unit of the Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse. This is one of those items that sounds interesting in concept, but it takes a bit of work to get comfortable with it. I definitely will keep and use it, especially in certain circumstances. But I don't know that it will replace the current optical mouse that I use...
The feature that sets the MX Air apart from other mice is the fact that it can function as both a desktop mouse and an "air" mouse. If you pick up the mouse and hold it like a remote control, you still have full control over the cursor activity on the screen. The left and right mouse buttons blend into the overall flow of the mouse design, and it takes just a slight amount of pressure to activate them. The mouse wheel, a feature I can't live without in a mouse, is replaced by a touch-sensitive strip that allows you to slide your finger up and down to get the screen to scroll. You can also press on the upper or lower range of the strip to get continuous scrolling. Underneath the touch strip are four buttons that are set to navigate back, navigate forward, start/stop video, and control the volume. The start/stop button also allows you to "freeze" the cursor on the screen so you can reposition your hand without having the cursor react.
When I first started using it as an air mouse, my cursor was all over the place. Any slight shake or tremor in your hand will, of course, show up as cursor movement. I found that trying to hit smaller targets on the screen wasn't exactly a piece of cake. I got better at it, but it's still not a natural sensation. Also, due to the strangeness of not resting your hand on the desk, the mouse wheel and buttons were a bit harder to control as you had to think about what you were doing. Again, it got better with use, but still isn't completely smooth yet. The fact that it can also be used as a regular desktop mouse is nice, in that you don't always have to be holding it. At that point, it starts to become a simple matter of whether it feels good in your hand. I've been a bit spoiled with my MX Revolution mouse, so I can't say that this would be my first choice to replace my normal desktop mouse.
Where the MX Air would really shine is during presentations. Just think... You could roam around a bit, have a real application up and running, and still maintain some level of control without having to bend over or sit down. Granted, keyboard input would still bring you back to your laptop, but other than that, you can interact much more freely with the audience. Given that I do present on occasion, this will likely become part of my techno travel bag. I just have to remember to practice with it occasionally, otherwise the effect on the screen could be more distracting than useful.
If you have issues with using mice, this may be a good alternative [Posted on 2008-08-04]
I jumped at the chance to try this new "air" mouse out as I suffer from repetitive strain issues in my elbows from my long hours at the computer. This isn't something that can be cured, just managed, so I'm always looking for ergonomic alternatives that help. These types of mice are often marketed mainly for doing presentations, but they really can be a boon to people like me that have RSI issues. Being able mouse while leaning back in a chair and without having to reach up to the desk is something that always helps me a lot. I decided to try this mouse out on my backup system, where I don't have a decent desk setup and often notice arm strain in just short sessions of work. I have a tablet on my other computer which is another good mouse alternative, so didn't really need this air mouse on that system.
One issue I've had with mice like the Gyration one that I used many years ago is that the accuracy with it in the air simply is never sufficient for my needs and it was a pain to switch from air to desk. The Logitech Air does not have this issue, you can easily switch from using it in the air to using it on the desk and back again and it works nice in both ways. I found it to work quite nicely in the air compared to similar mice I have used, it was steady and reasonably accurate for things like reading email and browsing. For finer control, even after several weeks of using it, I still find it requires steadier hands than I personally have so I do have to go back to the desk for such tasks. This is where the easy switching of this mouse really is much appreciated. In the air, it does sometimes need a second or two to sort of recalibrate and find center, but I didn't find this too cumbersome in general. Sometimes it would just stop working though, and has to be manually clicked back on.
The mouse has a fairly unique scroll bar, that has the Logitech Turbo scroll ability that I really love. Having had another Logitech mouse with the Turbo scroll, I would hate to be without it, and was glad to see this mouse included it as well. You can either press the scroll key at the top or bottom to scroll, or just lightly run your finger over it to scroll slowly, or a fast flick to use the turbo. It allows for really nice control of scrolling. The only issue I have is that I find the flat scroll area hard to use with my middle finger the way I normally would (keeping my index finger on the left mouse button). So I find I often have to go back and forth with my index finger which is simply not as easy as having a raised scroll wheel that I can easily work with a different finger. The buttons on the mouse take some getting used to as well, they are not easily used without looking at them, as they pretty much all feel the same, and you have fewer buttons than most mice in this price range. The play/pause and volume buttons though are certainly ones you would not have a problem looking down when using, and an interesting addition.
Overall, this is not a mouse I'd recommend for the average user. If you have a need to use a mouse remotely (such as for presentations) or have RSI issues from mousing, this may very well be worth looking at as a replacement for your current mouse. With the price cost of it though, a wacom tablet is also going to be an alternative well worth considering, and one that has other good uses as well.
Much Better Than Expected [Posted on 2008-08-27]
I was a bit skeptical and only picked up this item because I had several gift certificates I didn't know what to do with. Turns out, the precision you can obtain from using the mouse 'in the air' is a lot better than I expected. Still not as precise as 'on the table' i.e. I wouldn't recommend it for editing pictures or cutting and pasting down to the character. However, it does very nicely for internet surfing, exploring your files, viewing media... it's nice to be able to get out of the "hunched over" position, lean back, put my feet up and control my cursor from an armrest instead of a mousepad.
Go For it,, [Posted on 2008-10-30]
I bought the MX Air few weeks back and so far I can say that its the perfect wireless mouse I ever had especially controlling the laptop remotely its really outstanding and I can say It`s quite accurate but needs some training, it is very light and has an extremely smooth
motion on desk,
Logitech MX Air Cordless Air Mouse [Posted on 2008-11-20]
I exercise routinely on a stationary bicycle trainer that operates a computer driven video of courses/programs and, when seated on the bike, I am about 10-12 feet from the TV monitor. From atop the bike, I want to control the PC application, including switching training programs, video courses, parameters, etc. I tried a regular wireless mouse, but the range was only 6 ft or so -- not quite enough. This air mouse extends well beyond the minimun distance I need and works quite well. My only gripe is that there does not appear to be a right mouse click option (for selecting/disabling system tray apps). Other than that, I can easily and reliably execute the various mouse commands to launch the app, change menu options, select different courses, etc., without having to dismount the bike until I am finished riding. Nice solution!
KenB
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