Logitech Cordless Desktop LX500 and LX700 Showdown

msftmichael writes "CoolTechZone reviews Logitech's latest LX500 and LX700 Cordless Desktop Duo products. The author discusses problems with software, compares and contrasts the two products, and talks about wireless technology in a very in-depth review. Here's a quote: "Both of the products we are reviewing use RF (Radio Frequency) receivers to communicate between the mouse and your computer. It operates on the 27 MHz frequency, which is good for short range communication through less than 2 physical barriers. At this relatively low frequency, interference can occur due to proximity to other electronic devices, which is why Logitech recommends that you keep the receiver 8 inches (20 cm) away from your monitor or computer. They also recommend against putting it on a metal surface, and for good reason. While on top of our steel computer case, we could not get the keyboard or mouse to communicate with the receiver."

Comments

Odd...

[thephotoman]

I use the LX 700 (which I bought earlier this month) as my keyboard and mouse. I don't have any problems with reception with the reciever on top of my box, which is about the only place where I have room for it, due to my desk size.

Furthermore, I use Linux, where the drivers aren't compatable, but the hardware works very well. The side buttons on the mouse even work as an extra center and right click, which comes in handy from time to time.

Of course, the function keys don't work, but that's not a problem. I wouldn't use them even if I was using Windows.

Also, the mouse fits my hand quite well, which is rare for a mouse.

Re:Odd...

[Laxitive]

If you ever decide that you do want to use those buttons.. you might want to look at 'hotkeys'. Not sure about the homepage, but it's an apt-get away in debian.

Most of these fancy button keyboards generally end up mapping their special keys to specific keycodes in X. So all you have to do is trap those keycodes in X and map them to run a command of your choosing. Thankfully, hotkeys does most of the hard work for this (interfacing with X, binding to keycodes). All you have to do is give it an XML file describing what keycodes map to what keys.

Hotkeys comes with pre-specified xml files for several keyboards, but I generally roll my own. You can use 'xev' and a corresponding terminal to grab the keycodes for the buttons you care about. The 'userdef' xml tag in the config file lets you map arbitrary keycodes to commands. I tend to structure it so that for every special button, hotkeys runs: /usr/local/bin/hotkeys-handler BUTTON-NAME.

Then, I can just edit the hotkeys-handler script as I wish, and the changes are reflected immediately. Now, couple that with a couple of handy tools like the command line 'dcop' (I'm a kde user).. and 'osd_cat', and I can get some fancy shit going.

For example, when I press the 'pause' button, hotkeys-handler runs a script that:
checks the status of juk (kde jukebox), and if it's playing, pauses it using dcop. If juk is not playing, it checks the process list for any mpg123 or ogg123 processes owned by my user, and if one exists, it sends the process a SIGSTOP, and records the PID (the 'play' script uses the recorded pid to identify which process to send SIGCONT to). How's that for functionality? One-stop pause button. If it's playing on your computer, it gets paused :) (Well, if you use other apps for music playing as well, it's easy enough to extend the script to handle that, as long as the hooks exist for play/pause/stop/next/previous etc.)

The play/pause/stop/next/previous buttons all check the current playing song, the current progress and display all that info using osd_cat.

The only problem is volume up/down. Turns out that turning the knob a few clicks causes hotkeys_handler to get run about 5 times in a second, and the handler script's osd_cat that displays the volume bar gets run that many times, and the output gets a little bit messed up because all the osd_cats write on top of each other. I think I can fix this with some judicious SIGINTs and some basic IPC between the different instances of the pause scripts.

Anyway.. there are TONS of options for these kinds of keyboards, especially if you know a little bit about programming and are willing to dig around. I love 'em.

-Laxitive

Re:Odd...

[aonaran]

You can use the side buttons properly in X, you have to set these options in your XF86Config or xorg.conf:

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"
Option "Buttons" "7"
EndSection

Then add this to /etc/X11/Xmodmap :

pointer = 1 2 3 6 7 4 5

Voila! next time you restart X you should have forward and back buttons.

Careful With Drivers!

[Steve Cox]

I just got the Logitech MX1000 mouse today. The Logitech driver disk is probably the same as the one that comes with these mice installs additional third party crap even if you unselect everything. Pretty low from a suposedly reputable company - if I'd wanted 'MusicMatch', 'RealOne Arcade' or a handy link to eBay on my desktop I would have put installed them myself. It's fine bundling third party stuff with your (fully paid for) products - just make sure the end user has the option to UNSELECT ALL OF them from the install.

Oh yeah the driver weigh in at an unbelievable 22M. WTF? Its a mouse. With a few programmable buttons.

The drivers are only needed if you want use the extra buttons for non standard uses. If you need them, stop the CD from autoplaying and browse for the SetPoint installer by hand.

Steve.

Boycott Logitech

[null etc.]

I wish we could, but their products are too damn good.

Anyways, what problems do I have with logitech? I hate the fact that they change their wireless receiver base every time they come out with a product. I just upgraded my wireless mouse to a 1000 series laser mouse, but I had to buy the new laser / keyboard combo because I didn't want two RF adapters on my desk. Can't logitech figure out a better way to deal with this?

Also, I hate the mouse button compatibility that Logitech has yet to resolve. Microsoft mouses just seem to support all the buttons.

Re:Bluetooth

[the_rev_matt]

I went through quite a few BT mice before I found two that work consistently and have reasonable battery life.

The MS and Kensington mice were buggy on OS X and slightly better on XP. The Logitech bluetooth mouse was a complete joke, didn't work with anything but XP and not very well at that (tracking was hopeless, battery life was worthless). A few other brands I don't recall were OK, but weren't very comfortable.

I ultimately settled on the iogear bt mouse for the laptop and the MacMice bt mouse for the desktop. I hear Apple's mouse is solid but I can't give up my scroll wheel.

Re:Bluetooth

[SoCalChris]

I've got the Microsoft Bluetooth Explorer mouse for my laptop, and wouldn't want anything else.

I don't notice any lag on it, but I don't really play any FPS games either. The only annoying thing about it is that if you don't use it for several minutes, it goes into sleep mode, and it takes about half a second to wake up when you start using it again. Other than that, I don't have any complaints about it.

I was originally skeptical about the battery life on the mouse, because it doesn't have any way to turn it off. It sits in my computer bag, constantly on from moving around in there. Even with that, the batteries typically lasts about a month before having to replace them (2 AA).

Every now and then, Fry's will have them in stock for $79, but I have seen them on Overstock.com for $50, with $1 shipping. I think a lot of stores don't carry them because PCs with bluetooth aren't all that common. Most laptops that have bluetooth are Apple, and most Apple owners wouldn't want a Microsoft mouse, so it is a niche market for this mouse.

Also, I think MS made a stupid mistake by including a bluetooth dongle in the package. Most people who are paying more for a bluetooth mouse already have a bluetooth receiver in their computer, and are paying the extra so they don't have to use an RF mouse that requires a dongle. They should skip the dongle, and lower their price some.

Also, I just checked Overstock.com. Right now, they have the MS Bluetooth Desktop Elite for $79, or just the bluetooth mouse for $38 with $2 shipping.

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=ENDEC A&SEC_IID=8770&N=0&keywords=bluetooth&x=0&y=0

Re:I don't get the whole "wireless" thing

[Sponge Bath]

Wireless mice/keyboard/and such peripherals are stupid. You are using the thing NEXT to a computer.

From a practical standpoint I agree.
I bought a wireless keyboard and mouse set because it looks great on my fancy, modern art style desk. The cords would ruin the effect. That's right, I bought it to look good.

Re:I don't get the whole "wireless" thing

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, maybe you like the wire/cord mess: I don't. There are enough cables that can not (yet?) be gotten rid of (monitor cable, external drive connectors, power cords) that I sure as hell do not need 2 more (keyboard, mouse).

Perhaps you should try out cordless mice and keyboards before spouting nonsense. They make perfect sense esp. for desktop machines.

By the way, I certainly do not use a mouse/keyboard next to the machine itself. To reduce noise, the box itself is located under the desk; and that distance is actually bit of a problem with cheapo keyboards (2 feet cords or so). As to battery usage; I use rechargeables, it's a non-issue. And cost: gee, yes, I can quite easily afford 40$ for the combo (logitect mouse+keyb) for my desk top machine. Much more so than some actually idiotic thing like an SUV, big-screen tv, or 6 dvd LOTR geek box.

Re:Security? Hello?

[shinigam]

I know logitech has software(windows only) that you can establish a secure connection for your keyboard.

Logitech Elite Duo and LX700

[Anonymous Coward]

I had a Cordless Elite Duo for 2 years and then it began randomly bugging out- more than it does initially- and not working (I think because I dropped it a lot) but the range was wonderful, I could go outside my dorm room and down the hall and it still worked (out of view of my computer, through cinder block walls).
Furthermore, they have a 5 year warranty on their products and when I was no longer able to use my keyboard, they allowed me to keep it and sent me an LX700 for free as a replacement, no shipping charges or anything. WONDERFUL customer service. I don't notice any lag. I really haven't had too many problems with my new keyboard and mouse combo and the range is great. For those of you who think it's ridiculous to have a charger for the mouse- it is WONDERFUL. No need to switch batteries, just dock it on your receiver overnight. I can type in comfort. The only reception problem I have is when I face it away from my reciever and it has to bounce off and through multiple objects.
The software could definitely be much better. Maybe it's not worth the $100 price point but if you could get a deal, go for it. It's very much worth it.