‘Book Mystique Review - Logitech V-550 Nano Mouse Clips to Your Notebook
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
by Charles W. Moore
The marquee feature of Logitech’s V550 Nano cordless laser mouse for notebooks is its Clip-and-Go dock that lets you clip the mouse to your laptop and go, but this mouse is worth a look even if you don’t own a laptop.
The idea behind Clip and Go says Logitech senior vice president and general manager of the Control Devices business unit Rory Dooley, is that company research “revealed that the vast majority of people who use a notebook PC are mobile both within and outside the home, To meet the demands associated with increased mobility, the V550 mouse offers a complete set of features to make it easier to use a mouse with a notebook when moving from the kitchen to the living room or from one’s desk to a meeting. Now, you won’t have to choose between grabbing your mouse or a cup of coffee.”
The V550 Nano also features a Plug-and-Forget Nano-receiver operating with Logitech’s 2.4 GHz wireless technology and so small that in most instances you will be able to just plug in to your computer and forget about it. The Nano-receiver is so compact it rests nearly flush against the side of the computer (protruding just 8 mm), so doesn’t have to be unplugged when you stow your laptop.
The product bundle contains quite an assortment of bits; the V-550 mouse itself of course, plus a 2.4 GHz USB receiver dock with a USB extension cord if for some reason you don’t want to plug the receiver dongle directly into a USB port. There are also two self-adhesive “Clip and Go” docks in silver and black (basically small hard plastic tabs with an attachment nipple on one side and 3M adhesive on the other), plus a nifty metal box in which to store the spare one along with the supplied dock removal tool. Two AA alkaline batteries are also included along with a couple of solvent cleaning wipes to prepare the computer case service for attaching the Clip and Go dock modules, and a Quick-start guide in the multi-language, minimal text style that I find less than ideal.
The V550 uses the same “world’s smallest USB receiver” also found on last year’s VX Nano mouse, and it is indeed tiny, protruding less than a quarter inch from the USB port, and in most instances you should be able to just leave it plugged in when you carry your laptop in a computer case or backpack. Incidentally, if the receiver ever gets lost or damaged, or if you would like a second one so you don’t have to shift it back and forth between two computers, spares are available for $10.00.
The Clip and Go dock modules are for one-time attachment only, and can’t be removed and replaced or switched to another computer. They are engineered with a self-adhesive that sticks tenaciously to a properly prepared (solvent-cleaned) surface, so you need to be careful to position the dock exactly where you want it the first time. If you ever do need to remove the Clip and Go module, the supplied tool will help you do that without damaging the surface of your computer’s case, so make sure to keep the storage box in a safe place.
Of course, with two Clip and Go modules supplied, you have a spare or can use the V-550 Nano mouse in clip-on mode with two computers, and happily Logitech will supply replacement modules for a nominal $2.00. You can find out more about that here.
Attaching the mouse to the dock is easy and it seems fairly secure once attached, although in certain circumstances, such as for example carrying the laptop under your arm in a crowd, there would be some danger of it being bumped off in contact.
The V-550 Nano powers down automatically when the mouse is connected to the Clip-and-Go dock and powers up when the mouse is removed from the dock. In desktop mode, the mouse powers up instantly when moved on the mouse pad or when the computer wakes up by other means. A power button located on the mouse bottom also facilitates manual power-on/power-off, and a small green LED illuminates when the mouse is powered-up. Battery life is claimed to be as much as 18 months.
So what about the Logitech V -550 Nano’s performance as a mouse? Well, I’m happy to report that it’s excellent regardless of how appealing or otherwise you find the docking feature, and indeed I think Logitech could find a ready market for this mouse design in its own right if they offered it at a somewhat lower price without the dock feature. While mice designed expressly for use with laptops have to find a happy medium between portability and usability, and many tend to be too undersized or flimsy to use for extended periods of time, that is not an issue with the V-500, which is larger than some “full-sized” mice I’ve used, and is robustly constructed, and indeed it acquits itself well as a very attractive mouse alternative even if you’re a pure desktop computer user.
I find the shape of the the V-550 very comfortable, and I’m picky about mouse ergonomics. I didn’t even find my frequent bugbear with wireless mice - battery weight - a problem issue with the the V-550, which glides across my mouse pad easily and smoothly even though it carries two relatively heavy AA batteries. It’s not as light as my MacMice Danger Mouse, but the engineering can compensate for such challenges.
The left-right mouse buttons have a very positive and precise light action and short travel, all to my liking, and the MicroGear metal-alloy scroll wheel may be the best I’ve ever used, feeling substantial and precise, and can be shifted between freewheeling and click detent action by pressing the wheel downward. In a freewheeling mode the metal wheel has enough inertial weight to keep rolling for some time when spun with your finger.
The V-500 Nano mouse is designed to be plug-and-play so you don’t need to install any software drivers in order to use the basic mouse features, but if you download Logitech’s Control Center driver software (or have it already installed to support another Logitech device as I did), the scroll wheel can also be configured with scrolling and acceleration speeds to your preferred levels of response, and to support horizontal scrolling by nudging the wheel to the left or right.
There is also an application button located behind the scroll we’ll that allows you to configure your choice of Finder review actions in the Control Center. For me it was a saw-off between revealing the Desktop and bringing up the Spaces thumbnail view, but I finally opted for a letter. All good stuff.
There is also a screen in the Control Center that allows you to adjust mouse tracking speed and monitor the state of battery charge.
I did encounter a couple of what I assume to be software bugs in the Control Center drivers while using the V-550 mouse. The most serious one for me is that there seems to be some sort of conflict between the Logitech scroll wheel driver and Tex Edit Plus, which is my most-used software application along with email programs and browsers. In TE+, touching the V-550 Nano’s scroll wheel will erratically but incessantly about two times out of three bring up a gaggle of “Error Detector - 9870” dialog screens. I haven’t a clue what Error 9870 signifies, but it is more than annoying having to close all those dialogs and makes the mouse essentially unusable with that application, although I didn’t encounter the problem with any other program. The other bug I’ve noticed also has to do with scrolling. When I bring up the image upload dialog on the Applelinks news posting CGI in Firefox, I can get one scroll swipe and then scroll support craps out for that dialog box until it’s reopened.
Back in the plus column, I also want to highlight that the Logitech V-550 Nano is the first wireless mouse I’ve had the opportunity to try out that has no perceptible response latency. Logitech says its 2.4 GHz wireless technology substantially reduces interference and has a data rate transmission 300 times faster than conventional 2.7 MHz cordless technologies, which is no doubt what we have to thank for the instant, lag-free response, so bravo to Logitech’s engineers for that refinement.
In general, I’ve found that wireless mice that operate on proprietary frequencies using a USB receiver rather than Bluetooth exhibit less latency, and you also don’t have to bother with the hassle of Bluetooth pairing. The downside of course is at the receiver occupies a precious USB port, always in short supply on laptop computers, especially port-stingy Apples.
The receiver dongle conveniently stores inside the mouse between the battery bays for transport and storage. The top of the the V-550 Nano’s case snaps off after depressing a latch for access to the battery bays and the receiver storage slot.
I really like this mouse, which I find comfortable with very satisfying tactile feedback from its controls. I would be inclined to adopt it as my everyday mouse if it weren’t for that unfortunate error issue with Tex Edit Plus. Perhaps the next revision of Logitech’s Control Center will address that problem. In the meantime, if you’re not a TE+ user, this is a super mouse, even if the Clip and Go feature isn’t of particular interest, and of course if it is, then the Logitech V-500 Nano will be uniquely interesting.
The V550 Nano is offered in two colors - gray with silver accents and silver with cool-blue accents. It’s compatible with both Mac (OS X 10.3.9 up) and PC computers, and the Clip-and-Go dock is compatible with all notebook styles. For more information, visit:
http://www.logitech.com
The Logitech V550 Nano cordless laser mouse for notebooks sells in the U.S. for $59.99.
Product page:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/mice/devices/4611&cl=us,en
Note: Letters to PowerBook Mystique Mailbag may or may not be published at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.
Opinions expressed in postings to PowerBook Mystique MailBag are owned by the respective correspondents and not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Editor and/or PowerBook Central management.
If you would prefer that your message not appear in PowerBook Mystique Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.
CM