Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse
On your desk, advanced laser technology gives you precise tracking and instant response. In the air, innovative Freespace motion sensing transforms hand motions into natural, responsive cursor controls. Sit back and listen to music, browse photos, or surf the Web from your desk or across the room. Intuitive wave-and-click control, an easier and more natural way to enjoy your favorite media An operating range of 30 feet lets you navigate media from anywhere in the room
The Logitech MX Air optical mouse tracks motion even after you lift it off the surface, making it great for home theater PC users and presentations. In the air, it works like a cross between a remote control and a wand as you simultaneously wave the mouse in all directions and press its buttons to navigate. It sounds wieldy to use, but I was able to get the hang of it within a few minutes. Holding the mouse in my palm like a remote control, the cursor ably followed my hand movement but it got a little tricky trying to hone in on smaller icons and button selections. Another issue was I'd often catch myself in an awkward hand position while still needing the cursor to go in a certain direction. But with the freeze button, I could hold the cursor steady and recenter my hand into a more comfortable position. For desktop use, optical sensitivity was comparable to other mice and picked up subtle movements, however the mouse did not have any side buttons that I am used to for back and forward browsing. The extra buttons (back, volume, play/pause) are placed in the middle of the mouse, which are easily accessible when you hold the mouse in the air, but not so much for desktop use because your palm sits directly over them. The SetPoint software can customize the buttons into functions that you may ordinarily use, such as copy and undo. I was also able to fine tune the cursor and scroll speed for even greater control. The mouse definitely stands out on your desktop, its sleek black design might fool you into thinking it's something else, but upon touch the buttons light up to display each function. The shiny plastic casing doesn't feel cheap, but the smoothed look seems prone to scratches. The mouse also tracked up dirt pretty easily within a few days of use, however a cleaning cloth is provided. The smooth design is conspicuously missing a scroll wheel. That's because that section of the mouse is a touch panel sensor where you directly slide your finger up and down. It's a surprisingly comfortable and natural feel, and you start to wonder how you ever got by with wheels. The rechargeable lithium ion battery typically provided about 20 hours of use. After placing the mouse onto the base charger, it took about two hours to reach a full charge. I was able to get a workable range of about 30 feet from the receiver before the signal went out. Overall, it's a nifty mouse that shows its stuff in the air, a convenient device for home theater PC's and couch browsing as well as a more versatile tool than a laser pointer in presentations. --Bradley Tran Pros: - Excellent range of up to about 30 feet
- Good battery life with fast recharging
- Stylish, black look with display lights
- Unique wheel-less scroll design
Cons: - Slight learning curve, requires a good deal of customization
- Button placement and selection
- Often needed to recenter hand position while in the air
- Not as accurate tracking movement in air than while on desktop
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Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse Reviews
KenB From atop the bike, I want to control the PC application, including switching training programs, video courses, parameters, etc. Nice solution. 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.
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. My only gripe is that there does not appear to be a right mouse click option (for selecting/disabling system tray apps). 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.
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,.
Turns out, the precision you can obtain from using the mouse 'in the air' is a lot better than I expected. However, it does very nicely for internet surfing, exploring your files, viewing media. I wouldn't recommend it for editing pictures or cutting and pasting down to the character. 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. Still not as precise as 'on the table' i.e. 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.
Sometimes it would just stop working though, and has to be manually clicked back on. 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. 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. The mouse has a fairly unique scroll bar, that has the Logitech Turbo scroll ability that I really love. 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 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. 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. 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). Overall, this is not a mouse I'd recommend for the average user. 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 play/pause and volume buttons though are certainly ones you would not have a problem looking down when using, and an interesting addition. This isn't something that can be cured, just managed, so I'm always looking for ergonomic alternatives that help. 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 have a tablet on my other computer which is another good mouse alternative, so didn't really need this air mouse on that system. 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. 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. This is where the easy switching of this mouse really is much appreciated.
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. 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. 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. It allows for really nice control of scrolling.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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. Granted, keyboard input would still bring you back to your laptop, but other than that, you can interact much more freely with the audience.
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. Again, it got better with use, but still isn't completely smooth yet. 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. Given that I do present on occasion, this will likely become part of my techno travel bag. This is one of those items that sounds interesting in concept, but it takes a bit of work to get comfortable with it. Underneath the touch strip are four buttons that are set to navigate back, navigate forward, start/stop video, and control the volume.
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. Just think. I found that trying to hit smaller targets on the screen wasn't exactly a piece of cake. I just have to remember to practice with it occasionally, otherwise the effect on the screen could be more distracting than useful.
I got better at it, but it's still not a natural sensation. I definitely will keep and use it, especially in certain circumstances. 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. 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.
But I don't know that it will replace the current optical mouse that I use. 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. As part of the Amazon Vine review program, I received a review unit of the Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse. At that point, it starts to become a simple matter of whether it feels good in your hand.
Where the MX Air would really shine is during presentations. You can also press on the upper or lower range of the strip to get continuous scrolling. 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.
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