Home > Consumer Reviews > Logitech VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks (Black)

If you've used Logitech mice, you know most of the stuff you need to. The VX Revolution is a neat little mouse that is small enough to take with you, and large enough to replace a desktop mouse if you want to. It isn't one of those tiny travel mice though, so if space is limited in your laptop case you might want to consider something else.

Insert the included AA battery, plug in the tiny USB receiver, and you're off to the races. If you want to use many of the additional features, like horizontal scrolling, zooming, search button, or to set the speed and acceleration, you need to install the Setpoint software. The included CD has what you need for Windows. Mac users will need to download it from the internet.

When not in use the receiver tucks neatly away inside the mouse. When you put the receiver away it shuts the mouse off, and when you remove it, the mouse turns on. There is also a small power button, should you choose to leave the USB plugged into your PC. According to the power meter, the single AA battery will provide 120 days of use. Time will tell how accurate that is.

As far as price goes, you probably can get a mouse with comparable features for a lot less money, but if you don't want to screw around, you won't likely be disappointed with this product.

One little problem is easily corrected. When I used the mouse the first time, I found that scrolling was pathetically slow in some windows (IE6), and didn't work at all in others. What you have to do is go into Setpoint, choose scrolling options, select Internet Explorer, and uncheck the box to "allow Super Smooth Scrolling", and you're back where you should be. I hope this saves others from the frustration of having to search through the Knowledge Base, or calling tech support (which for Logitech mice is NOT toll-free).

So far, I am pleased with this purchase...

I have been using Logitech pointing devices more than 15 years. They are consistently the best quality and the easiest on my joints (since I develop software for a living). At this point I will use nothing else.

The VX is smaller than other Logitech mice (such as the MX 1000 I use at home), but it is reasonably weighted and has a good solid feel. Settings (speed, sensitivity, etc.) are quite customizable, as are all the buttons. It almost goes without saying that if you are going to use this mouse, install the accompanying software and update the software to the latest version from the Logitech website.

I especially like the way the wireless USB dongle stows away inside the mouse when not being used, also turning the mouse off to conserve the battery. As for the battery, it uses a single standard AA, and obtains a very reasonable lifetime out of it.

Even though this mouse is sold as a laptop mouse, and for which it is quite appropriate (it has a small, portable size, and packs up easily for travel), I would certainly use it as my permanent desktop mouse, if I didn't already have a really great mouse, already.

After using the new Revo MX and VX for about a week, I can say that the smaller VX is more useful for Macs in a couple ways. First of all, the Zoom slider on the VX can be programmed to zoom, click, adjust volume, switch application, eject a disc, or just about any other action. The equivalent thumb knob on the MX can only be set to zoom or application switch. Why this is, I don't know. But the Logitech drivers give the VX more flexibility. I also like that the VX takes just one AA battery. The MX has a sealed Lithium battery, so if you happen to run out, you must wait while the mouse recharges. With the VX, you simply pop in a new battery and you are good to go!

One shortcoming of the VX is that the much-hyped Gear Shift wheel does not automatically switch from smooth scrolling to click-by-click -- you have to manually flip a small switch on the bottom. For me, this makes the feature useless. In the middle of a long web page, I'm not going to pick up my mouse, flip it over, slide a switch and set it down again. So if you want it to automatically switch between the two modes, get the bigger MX model.

There are some nice Mac specific things: The search button bring up your Spotlight search -- NICE! You can get the forward and back buttons work better if you change the default keyboard shortcut from left and right arrow to [ and ] brackets. That way you can use forward and back in Finder windows, as well as any web browser -- really handy!

In a nutshell...
PROS
Much improved Mac OS X drivers (per application settings)
Silky smooth gliding
Incredibly accurate laser tracking (works even on high-gloss desks!)
Easy battery swapping
Very tiny USB receiver turns off the mouse when hidden away inside it

CONS
Expensive
Microgear scroll wheel pretty useless
Somewhat tiny if you usually rest your entire hand on your mouse.
Side scrolling is very slow on Mac, even at maximum setting. (you are best off just turning it off with the driver.)

The distinguishing feature of this mouse is the heavy metallic flywheel for scrolling. You can set it to free rotation (without clicks) mode where it will scroll on like a gyroscope flywheel, or the old standard clicky mode. As for the rest, such as shape and materials, are not entirely new from Logitech. Let's try to break it down here:

Pros:
- The wheel is actually quite useful in free-wheeling mode once you get used to it. It sorta replaces the center-click browsing feature, and I just liked the feel of a freely rotating wheel as it is very satisfying. I adjusted the mouse setting to have one line per mouse scroll. It became more manageable.

- The laser tracking feature is a definite plus as it works on all surfaces and is far more reliable than the optical mouse it replaced. The radio signal is pretty reliable too at a fair distance compared to the other cordless mice I tried.

- It uses only 1 AA battery, which greatly reduces the weight of the mouse which can be a problem. I used to have a 2AA battery mouse where the balance was horrible and it affects precision and induces fatigue (little things matter over time). The battery also lasts for a long time (I haven't depleted the first one after a month), which is no small feat by Logitech (and that they are famous for).

- The size is really not small for a portable mouse, but you can stow the transmitter away and it is probably more comfortable than any other portable mouse I tried. It may just be worth toting around for comfort's sake.

- Buttons are nice to the touch and are responsive with minimum effort. (not all mouse are like this, and it's important as it gets to you over prolonged use). However the center click and the zoom slider are not as well implemented.

Cons:
- The software. It crashed within my first restart after installation, and it was the nastiest crash I had in a while. The system totally froze where I couldn't even shut it down, CPU was running some loop task and fully loaded, and I had to use the hardware button to shut-off the machine. The software adds configurable features to the side buttons, sroolling click, scroll tilt, search button, and the zoom switch. Without it, the scrolling click is just the regular center click, tilting doesn't work, and zoom slider doesn't work. The side buttons becomes forward and back buttons, and the search button actuates a standard windows search (as opposed to possibly a page like google). I left it this way, and I think these remnant features works better than Logi software's parallels (e.g., the center click-scoll is different when you run logitech's software, and it's somehow awkward and not as responsive).

- The flywheel is a metallic wheel with rubber surrounds wrapped on it. The rubber actually became loose after a few weeks, and start showing a bit of "lumps". It's not a big deal, except it may have contributed to the stickiness of the wheel since the wheel bay is very tight.

- The wheel became sticky after just three weeks. It doesn't scroll very smoothly and will get stuck. You can also feel the bearing becoming rough instead of smooth. I am not sure if it's due to dust or the rubber surrounds getting stuck on the wheel bay, which has a VERY tight space tolerance(I opened it up to clean it, to only minor improvement). I can remove the rubber surrounds, but then the wheel will just look terrible with a deep center groove.

- The wheel in its free-mode can be hard to press as a center button. For example, if you want to center click on a link in firefox, sometimes you will end up scrolling first, because the finger would have actuated the wheel rotation much more easily. The center click really isn't as effortless as a regular mouse, even with the standard clicky-scroll turned on. (I wonder if it has anything to do with the tilt feature, in that design sacrifices must be made to accommodate two more side switches). You really have to curl your fingers and work a method where you keep the wheel stable and press it down at a certain angle. Center-clicks have become a mental and physical exercise of sorts.

- The zoom sliders really don't slide very easily. There's no feedback and requires much effort. For me, the software supplied text zooming feature really isn't that useful, and I ended up messing up the text size in my system for some reason (now many dialog windows/fields display text that's either too big or too small), even after I uninstalled the software.

- While this may not be a problem for most, but this mouse is designed so the user cannot disassemble/open the mouse easily. I attempted to clean the scroll wheel as I imagined there must have been dust trappings, which then resulted in the sticky wheel. There are 5 screws, but they all hide under the pads/feet at the bottom of the mouse. Those feet are not really removable, as they have rubberized layers that separates the adhesives from the sliding surface when you try to peel them off. So once you remove them, you either need to get new ones, or you have to stick it back on with glue, and the feet/pads would have become thinner. Not very user serviceable at all, and it was probably intentional. Yet given the fact that the wheel became sticky after just 3 weeks, and how I did find some dust trapped in the bearing and the VERY TIGHT wheel bay, AND how it actually alleviated the problem, I think it really would help if the mouse had a more user-serviceable design. Now I am stuck with mouse feet that look horrible with crease lines and have been glued back on. I imagine I will probably have to open it up again pretty soon, as the stickiness problem is developing.

- The shape: now depending on who you talk to, this can be a plus or minus. I had a biomorphically shaped mouse from logitech before (in fact it looked very much like this one). This is really not that much improved from the previous designs. You can't help feel that logitech wants you to hold the mouse a certain way, and that would be the only way that can be called "comfortable". However, putting your hand on the mouse comfortably doesn't mean you can use it comfortably. I usually ended up holding the mouse differently than the design intended after using it for a while, then I kinda wished it's more flexible as the shape gets in the way if you hold it in any way other than "intended". I actually found the classic logitech teardrop shape to be more pleasant to use.

- build quality: It's probably an [...] retentive gripe, but my mouse came a bit scratched up at the shiny bottom and the rubberized sides, and some are pretty deep. You can tell the mouse has been tossed around a little bit. With the kind of money Logitech is asking for, I think they can use better quality control. Mine may have been a singular case, but it can happen to anybody.

Overall, this mouse has great features, but some of the buttons are rendered useless if you remove the software, which really shouldn't be running at all if you value your work and want to avoid crashes. The hardware has a few gripes, and the most prominent feature--the flywheel--may become disabled/handicapped with use. It is not very user-serviceable so you can't really clean it up easily either. However, the mouse still works very well otherwise, and redeems itself with pluses such as great button clicks, long battery life, laser tracking, relatively light weight and reliable wireless transmission. [...]

This is the very best mouse I have ever owned. I love everything about it, except one thing - it doesn't work.

As for the features, this mouse rocks! I gotta hand it to Logitech, they make beeeauuutiful products. They really think them through, and each feature is carefully crafted. I consider them unmatched in the creative design department.

The problem is, their build quality just sucks. It seems that every logitech item I buy is a wonderful, passionate affair - that ends very quickly. I love it, use it, and then a few weeks later, it breaks.

As for what I like about this Logitech model - oh, where to start!?

- on/off switch (you laugh, but a lot of mice don't have this, and the batteries run down faster)
- battery indicator; you can tell when the battery is getting low
- infra-red eye; better than the laser eye, uses less battery too
- very resposive; it got 'twitchy' at one point, but then I just cleaned the eye (got a bit dusty), and it went right back to normal
- great comfy shape; some say it's small, but I think it's the perfect size and feel
- slick, classy look
- small, thin USB antenna; does not get in the way of other USB devices
- USB antenna stores neatly inside the mouse
- one-click search button; calibrate to your fav search engine, highlight any text, click button, it takes you to search results instantly; sweet!

In short, I thought this was going to be the perfect mouse for me. I was HAPPY to pay the inflated price for such a gem. I got it home, used it, loved it, and really thought we were going to live happily ever after...

Then, quite unexpectedly, it just stopped working. Just stopped.

Okay, I said, don't panic, I said. It's a super-duper mouse, and worth a little extra effort. Quick trip back to the store, and I had a replacement in hand; even trade. Welcome home.

And then about 3 weeks later, that one stopped working too.

AARRRGG! What is it with this Logitech stuff!? Someone is not doing their job! Their design department gets an A++ in my book, I really could not be happier. But their engineers/builders? They must be out to lunch! It passes all tests with perfect 10's, except for the most important. And sorry, but even a perfect 10 x 10 x 10 x zero is still ZERO.

I very much wanted to love this mouse and give it 5 stars, but alas, it is now just a fancy, little (not to mention, expensive) paperweight. Very, very sad.