Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5000 Laser (967558-0403)
See it at Amazon.com for $96.99Average Customer Rating
(3.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(4 out of 5)Two steps up, one back
I've owned every top of the line Logitec cordless keyboard/mouse combo's since they began making them.. about 3 years ago. I'm not stating top of the line out of ego but more to let you know that I havent owned the more economical packages they have to offer and cannot comment on how they compare.
The previous version I owned was called the MX700. It was a cordless optical mouse and cordless keyboard that use FM to communicate to a base station/charging station for the mouse. They keyboards all use AA batteries. Funny thing was the first iteration of logitec keyboards took 6 batteries then they learned a little and the newer revisions only took 2.
The MX5000 brings in a few techie changes:
Laser tracking on the mouse
Added bells and whistles to the keyboard
Bluetooth communication and simpler interface to the computer
I just picked this up 4 days ago so I'm not really sure what all the extra stuff on the keyboard is for. But its back up to 4 batteries now. There is an on keyboard LCD display (non-color) that shows its status and other stuff. Lighted sliderbars and media player controls on the left side. This kit is pretty much the top of the line keyboard/mouse setup you can buy today.
Things I like:
Laser mouse tracking seems to have a higher DPI rate (accuracy) over the old MX700
Onboard mouse battery power meter
Bluetooth connection plug is much better than the old ps2/usb connectors.
Updated tilt/scroll mouse, back fwd browser nav thumb buttons.
General functionality of keyboard/mouse can be attained in Windows XP without installing drivers (I hate installing drivers when I dont need to and load my systray with junk programs)
It all just plain looks cool.
Things that kind of bother me but still ok:
The keyboard seems to have a sleep mode thats fairly short. I havent timed it but it seems like 30 seconds to 1 minute. It saves battery life but the fist key you type is delayed around 1/2 a second and you can notice the delay between keypress and when it registeres. Could be a problem if you're playing a game and use more mouse than keyboard.
Rechargeable mouse batteries are no longer easily accessable. On the MX700 version, I had to replace the rechargeable AA batteries after using it for 5 months. With the new battery meter, i can more accurately guess when I need to put the mouse on the charger so I can do a better job of charging (rechargeable batteries die after so many charges).
From the previous sets that I owned, I normally wear the mouse out in about 8 to 9 months and thats with one battery refresh. The keyboards seem to have no issue whatsoever and I never even have to replace the Duracel Alkaline batteries that come with it out of the box. Its always the mouse that I have the problems with. The recharge contacts become corroded. Sometimes the plastic around them gets warped from heat during the charge processess. The plastic guide feet on the bottom all wear completely off. The silver finish on the top of the mouse always wears down to bare black plastic.
Keep in mind though, I use my computer an average of 3500 to 4000 hours a year. So I am very hard on mice.
To sum it all up, I really like this keyboard/mouse combo. I like everything about it except the non-serviceable mouse battery and they short keyboard sleep delay. I think the majority of people that buy this setup, will never run in to the problems I do so you can consider this a 5 star product. Honestly, I dont really use any of the other offerings. I've seen them at the store, but the similiar offering from Microsoft, i hate the way the mouse feels. Actually I really dont like the way anyone elses mice feel. Plus, for cool factor.. Who else makes a laser mouse??? Sure it doesnt have any higher DPI resolution than the next down Logitec optical, but who cares.. Its like sharks with laserbeams!
(3 out of 5)Have to lower my review for this one...
Originally gave this product 3 stars, and now I wish I could lower it to 2. I wound up deciding I just couldn't deal with the keyboard's shortcomings (see below) and decided to return the item. Unfortunately, the uninstaller left some registry keys in Microsoft Outlook and now every time I launch my email, I get an error message saying Logitech software is missing. After 2 hours on the phone with Logitech (as some have mentioned, the email support is REALLY a joke), the support person gave up and said they would call me back with a solution within 24 hours--that was 4 days ago. Probably spent 10 hours troubleshooting my registry and whatnot and still haven't found the registry keys in Outlook that were left by the uninstaller. So even the software on this particular product seems half-baked.
I'm still very partial to Logitech mice, but I doubt I'll ever buy another keyboard from the company. Bought a corded Microsoft Natural keyboard and have been impressed. This bluetooth thing for keyboards and mice just hasn't been done to its potential yet. To that end, the touch sensitive controls on this board are nothing more than a gimmick. For instance, for volume, you have to run your hand over the slider over and over to get the volume down--and there's about a second pause in between each action. It's the most inefficient thing...useless and frustrating. The mute button, also, barely functions and is really tough to access. And that's a button you want to access quickly. Here it's out of position and you have to touch it very precisely for it to work. Really stupid.
For volume, the "wheel" in the center of the Elite keyboard, for instance, was an enormous step up above this mechanism and Logitech should have stuck with that. As a result of these flaws, there's basically no useable volume control on this keyboard--inexcuseable for a keyboard in this price range. The "zoom" control also, mostly a "neato" gimmick feature as shortcuts are much faster controlling zoom in any application.
Also, the digital display is useless as well. A display has tons of potential, but this doesn't even begin to scratch it. Gimmick-city.
So some definitely silliness and gadgetry prevents this keyboard from being truly superb. Why did Logitech have to overthink this? However, aside from the fact that the rechargeable battery in the mouse can't be removed (like the MX700, etc.) the mouse is close to flawless. Very smooth, comfortable, and accurate. No complaints here. But the software problems and idiotic keyboard layout prevent this from being a workable unit IMO.
(1 out of 5)Buyer beware
I got this keyboard/mouse to accompany a new computer and I had generally had good luck with Logitech in the past. All luck was gone with this product - the bluetooth signal continually dropped out, leaving me with either just a mouse or just a keyboard or neither. If the product works for you, consider yourself fortunate, as worse than the lousy product is the customer service provided by the company. The support phone line is not toll free, they operate bankers' hours (Monday through Friday only), and after the usual 20 minute wait for a live person, I was asked to read off the serial numbers of all 5 pieces, necessitating crawling around with flashlight and phone to get this "critical" information to them. (I can understand the mouse and keyboard numbers, but do they really think I switched out a power cord on them and am trying to con them?)
Then, after a couple reboots, which failed to accomplish anything (I told them I had done that at least a dozen times, but they were not convinced, apparently), I was told that "probably" it was a bad USB plug on my computer, and the company could do nothing for me.
They did not stand behind this product even a little - it was as if they knew they had a lemon on the market and didn't want to get into replacing faulty equipment. For the record, I have a keyboard plugged into that suspect USB port and it works fine.
My $150 investment in this Logitech equipment? It is in a box gathering dust in the garage as it was so undependable and spotty I couldn't continue to use it. For what I paid for it, one would think some help troubleshooting, or some offer to replace faulty equipment, might come with the price.
Logitech has lost my faith and all goodwill I felt for the company.
(1 out of 5)Extremely disappointing and frustrating
Like many of the previous reviewers, I have owned a number of Logitech keyboards and mice, most of them the top of the line. This is, without question, the first and only one that I have truly been disappointed with.
The keyboard is the major problem. Logitech's implementation of Bluetooth just is not ready for prime time. The keyboard has a very serious issue with lag time. There is a very slight, but definitely perceptible lag time between the time you hit a key and the time when a letter appears. For someone who can type reasonably fast, this is very annoying. Also, if the keyboard has been resting for several minutes, it often repeats the first key you hit. This is a very serious problem if the first key you hit is a number you are entering on an on-line auction like e-bay. If you aren't careful, you will find yourself bidding $550 when you intended on only bidding $50. This is VERY frustrating.
The so-called touch sensitive medial controls are totally worthless. They rarely work, and they are hardly touch sensitive. I find that the only way to get them to work is to literally press on them with some fairly significant force.
Just typing this review has been a problem because the keystrokes lag behind what a normal keyboard does.
The mouse, on the other hand, is generally pretty good. I don't think the laser tracking is as accurate as Logitech claims, or as accurate as regular optical mice I have had in the past. I suspect that the problem is, again due to the poorly implemented Bluetooth technology.
I have been waiting for Logitech to post some fixes on their website, but as of this date I have found none. If Logitech does not fix these issues, I suspect I will be very quickly tossing this keyboard in the trash and looking for a new one. Its a shame because I have always liked my previous Logitech products.
*****
UPDATE:
I couldn't take it any longer. The delayed keystrokes and multiple key strokes were driving me crazy. I tossed the MX5000 and bought an MX3100. I'm back in love with Logitech. The difference is dramatic. The MX3100, using the "old" technology, works perfectly. Key strokes are accurate, the mouse and all other functions work instantly without delay.
Bottom line: Do not buy the MX5000. The Bluetooth technology is not yet ready. Stick with what works. If you were considering the MX5000, you will be much happier with the MX3100 (and a little richer too).
(1 out of 5)Extremely poor software package that makes it very disappointing
I had a very poor experience with the Microsoft Media Center infrared keyboard and I wanted to replace it with a bluetooth solution that would - I thought - get rid of all connection problems.
I was wrong. The hardware is very nice but the software keeps on dropping connections.
AS usual, I was very careful: I always read manuals and properly install the software before using any product - I don't want to fail the installation for a very simple reason: the package doesn't come cheap... I am a software developer - I have half a dozen computers at home - and I did everything as instructed. I found the software to be very average in terms of usability (why do they try to do all these fancy effects??), but that's not very important when it works fine.
Unfortunately, after just a couple of days, the keyboard stopped working. I finally managed to get it back by removing the batteries and rebooting the computer (both step were required - the on/off switch didn't work - same thing for the connect button which is totally ineffective). Now, the mouse keeps on dropping connections. After a couple of hours of inactivity, the mouse simply stops responding.
This is simply unacceptable. Logitech knows that this product doesn't work and keeps on charging customers for something that is simply not usable because it wasn't tested properly.
It is a very frustrating experience because the hardware is great. Don't buy this product, you could be very disappointed.
Note that I have seen another installation done by professional Windows system administrators that had the exact same problems.
Now don't get me wrong: the hardware is very nice. I would highly recommend the Logitech VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks
which is great and had none of the issues I have mentioned there.