I bought the MX900 off eBay from ICTCompany, refurbished for 50.00 delivered to my door to be used with a Dell Inspiron 9300 that also has built-in Bluetooth. Even though it came with a Bluetooth hub my original intent was not to use the hub. It was 80.00 retail + tax. The eBay seller had 100% positive feedback and other mouse buyers were happy so why not.
Having said that it came with everything except the original box (CD, manual, hub, mouse and batteries) and it was all sealed in plastic. I have also bought a refurbished Asante router off eBay and not a hiccup for the past 2 years. I’ll have to say, I should buy refurbished more often. Both items came without a scratch, like new.
For the first 2.5 days I was using the mouse straight out of the box, no recharging necessary. It works very well, larger and a little heavier compared to a Logitech mouse I use at work which is wireless as well but it has that dongle. A friend had loaned me a Microsoft wireless mouse (not Bluetooth) to use with the Dell before I got the MX900 but it was erratic. The pointer would jump to a corner on occasion or it would disappear altogether and you would need to click a button to make it come back. Microsoft also has a Bluetooth mouse but I don’t like their design and who knows, it may have worked like my loaner.
You need to install SetPoint and connect the hub to your computer to program it. This software also lets you customize the buttons for other than the default settings. After that you can unhook the hub and run the mouse using the built-in Bluetooth. If you don’t have Bluetooth the hub acts as a Bluetooth receiver and you can also run other Bluetooth devices with the hub. A word of caution, you will lose the use of the Application Switcher button without the hub, the rest of buttons will continue to function.
The mouse is a little larger than what I am used to and I find it rests in my palm more which makes for a warm palm and mouse, no breathing room. The ‘Logitech’ logo on the back of the mouse is also raised so I feel it my palm as well. It’s not really bothersome but I would rather have it smooth like the Bluetooth logo that’s also on the mouse.
Having Bluetooth built-in can save you a USB port. Just use the hub to recharge the batteries, recharge them in a separate charger or just pop in regular AA batteries. Using regular batteries is handy because you don’t need to take the hub with you when traveling. A proprietary Lithium would require you to take the hub.
Since I bought refurbished I got 2300 mAh NiMH which are the strongest rechargeables out there. I read somewhere that the new ones come with 1800 mAh NiMH so it’s like getting a bonus buying refurbished not to mention cheaper. What’s odd is that Logitech says that NiMHs with a rating of 1500-1900 mAh should be used.
Distance testing from a good 7 metres away it worked like a charm so I believe the claimed distance of 10 metres. There is a slight delay of about 2 seconds to wake the mouse if it goes into standby mode, I didn’t see an option to specify standby time. No biggie.
The mouse tracks very well, no skips or hesitations. Scrolling is smooth and free, no jerking. The auto scroll, forward and back buttons work as you would expect. I never used a mouse with these buttons before but I can see their usefulness. Forward and Back I don’t normally use because I surf with Netscape/Mozilla and use tabbed browsing. These buttons are very handy for those who use Internet Exploder unless you like a million windows opened.
The application switcher button works just like Alt-Tab but since I don’t plug the hub in I have to use Alt-Tab. No compromise here because I’m used to going for that keyboard combination and not the button.
Day 3, I finally had to a recharge, a small red light on the mouse flashes to indicate it’s time to juice it up. Put it into the hub and the light will flash green to indicate charging and a steady green to indicate a full charge. After several hours it was still flashing and the batteries were very warm. It may have to do with the battery rating of 2300 NiMH because the light never stayed a solid green to indicate a full charge.
The hub may not be able to handle NiMHs with a rating of 2300 mAh. I threw the batteries into my other recharger which can and in a few minutes a full charge was indicated. The hub was almost there but not quite. If I travel I take that charger anyway so I don’t even need the hub. Both are bulky but my regular recharger is much faster.
I have noticed one thing, the mouse pointer speed drops down to the default setting in the mouse control panel which is the middle setting if starting the computer warm or cold. This is because I don’t use the hub. Annoying because I find the pointer speed too slow for my tastes. Lastly, there is no off button so when traveling the mouse will lose battery strength because it turns on when moved. If you don’t want to deal with that then you need to take the batteries out before packing the mouse.
Conclusion
All in all a very good mouse with smooth accurate tracking and scrolling. It doesn’t have a tilt wheel but I have a 17” screen so this really isn’t an issue. I also have an old laptop with a 14.1” screen with lower resolution and I did very little side-to-side scrolling on that so I don’t consider this a CON. If I can figure out how to stop the pointer speed from going back to default on a reboot then I would be set. It’s an expensive mouse but if you have built-in Bluetooth getting rid of an extra dongle may be worth it and you can use regular AAs so you don’t have to take the hub when traveling. I have no regrets buying refurbished and saved 30.00 to boot. If you don’t want to go the eBay route try Overstock.com, 50.95 + 1.00 shipping until Wed. Aug 31, 2005. A recommended buy.
Pros
Smooth, Accurate tracking and scrolling
Long battery life
Forward, Back and Auto Scroll buttons
Excellent connection from 7 metres away
Buttons are customizable
Can use regular AA if you don’t want to take the hub on travels
Cons
Pricey
Bulky mouse and hub
Application Switcher button does not work without the hub
Cannot program mouse without the hub
Pointer speed drops to default settings on reboot if you don’t use the hub
No off switch
Right-Handed only
No Tilt scroll wheel (not too sure this is a CON)
Having said that it came with everything except the original box (CD, manual, hub, mouse and batteries) and it was all sealed in plastic. I have also bought a refurbished Asante router off eBay and not a hiccup for the past 2 years. I’ll have to say, I should buy refurbished more often. Both items came without a scratch, like new.
For the first 2.5 days I was using the mouse straight out of the box, no recharging necessary. It works very well, larger and a little heavier compared to a Logitech mouse I use at work which is wireless as well but it has that dongle. A friend had loaned me a Microsoft wireless mouse (not Bluetooth) to use with the Dell before I got the MX900 but it was erratic. The pointer would jump to a corner on occasion or it would disappear altogether and you would need to click a button to make it come back. Microsoft also has a Bluetooth mouse but I don’t like their design and who knows, it may have worked like my loaner.
You need to install SetPoint and connect the hub to your computer to program it. This software also lets you customize the buttons for other than the default settings. After that you can unhook the hub and run the mouse using the built-in Bluetooth. If you don’t have Bluetooth the hub acts as a Bluetooth receiver and you can also run other Bluetooth devices with the hub. A word of caution, you will lose the use of the Application Switcher button without the hub, the rest of buttons will continue to function.
The mouse is a little larger than what I am used to and I find it rests in my palm more which makes for a warm palm and mouse, no breathing room. The ‘Logitech’ logo on the back of the mouse is also raised so I feel it my palm as well. It’s not really bothersome but I would rather have it smooth like the Bluetooth logo that’s also on the mouse.
Having Bluetooth built-in can save you a USB port. Just use the hub to recharge the batteries, recharge them in a separate charger or just pop in regular AA batteries. Using regular batteries is handy because you don’t need to take the hub with you when traveling. A proprietary Lithium would require you to take the hub.
Since I bought refurbished I got 2300 mAh NiMH which are the strongest rechargeables out there. I read somewhere that the new ones come with 1800 mAh NiMH so it’s like getting a bonus buying refurbished not to mention cheaper. What’s odd is that Logitech says that NiMHs with a rating of 1500-1900 mAh should be used.
Distance testing from a good 7 metres away it worked like a charm so I believe the claimed distance of 10 metres. There is a slight delay of about 2 seconds to wake the mouse if it goes into standby mode, I didn’t see an option to specify standby time. No biggie.
The mouse tracks very well, no skips or hesitations. Scrolling is smooth and free, no jerking. The auto scroll, forward and back buttons work as you would expect. I never used a mouse with these buttons before but I can see their usefulness. Forward and Back I don’t normally use because I surf with Netscape/Mozilla and use tabbed browsing. These buttons are very handy for those who use Internet Exploder unless you like a million windows opened.
The application switcher button works just like Alt-Tab but since I don’t plug the hub in I have to use Alt-Tab. No compromise here because I’m used to going for that keyboard combination and not the button.
Day 3, I finally had to a recharge, a small red light on the mouse flashes to indicate it’s time to juice it up. Put it into the hub and the light will flash green to indicate charging and a steady green to indicate a full charge. After several hours it was still flashing and the batteries were very warm. It may have to do with the battery rating of 2300 NiMH because the light never stayed a solid green to indicate a full charge.
The hub may not be able to handle NiMHs with a rating of 2300 mAh. I threw the batteries into my other recharger which can and in a few minutes a full charge was indicated. The hub was almost there but not quite. If I travel I take that charger anyway so I don’t even need the hub. Both are bulky but my regular recharger is much faster.
I have noticed one thing, the mouse pointer speed drops down to the default setting in the mouse control panel which is the middle setting if starting the computer warm or cold. This is because I don’t use the hub. Annoying because I find the pointer speed too slow for my tastes. Lastly, there is no off button so when traveling the mouse will lose battery strength because it turns on when moved. If you don’t want to deal with that then you need to take the batteries out before packing the mouse.
Conclusion
All in all a very good mouse with smooth accurate tracking and scrolling. It doesn’t have a tilt wheel but I have a 17” screen so this really isn’t an issue. I also have an old laptop with a 14.1” screen with lower resolution and I did very little side-to-side scrolling on that so I don’t consider this a CON. If I can figure out how to stop the pointer speed from going back to default on a reboot then I would be set. It’s an expensive mouse but if you have built-in Bluetooth getting rid of an extra dongle may be worth it and you can use regular AAs so you don’t have to take the hub when traveling. I have no regrets buying refurbished and saved 30.00 to boot. If you don’t want to go the eBay route try Overstock.com, 50.95 + 1.00 shipping until Wed. Aug 31, 2005. A recommended buy.
Pros
Smooth, Accurate tracking and scrolling
Long battery life
Forward, Back and Auto Scroll buttons
Excellent connection from 7 metres away
Buttons are customizable
Can use regular AA if you don’t want to take the hub on travels
Cons
Pricey
Bulky mouse and hub
Application Switcher button does not work without the hub
Cannot program mouse without the hub
Pointer speed drops to default settings on reboot if you don’t use the hub
No off switch
Right-Handed only
No Tilt scroll wheel (not too sure this is a CON)
Yeah, but I get it. For those other users... (e.g. Powerbook/iBook with only two USB ports).
