Customer Reviews:
 You say you want a Revolution? Well, you can have mine. December 10, 2006
Jeanette L. Martinez (Mountain View, CA)
17 out of 22 found this review helpful
This mouse is pretty darn cool in concept. So cool, in fact, that I could almost convince myself that I liked it. I mean, how could I not like such a cool looking mouse? AND it's called "Revolution," yeah! Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed by this Revolution, and I switched back to the old regime (the MX 1000).
I am a stickler for ergonomics. I want a mouse to feel comfortable in my hand. My fingers should slide easily over the surface, the buttons should be comfy and smoothly contoured, and I should naturally find the buttons and wheels in a convenient location. The shape of this mouse IS nice and comfy, and the thumb rest is nice, (though the MX 1000 thumb rest is smaller, it's more than adequate) but I find the buttons and scroll wheels to be awkward, and in the case of the forward/back buttons, actually uncomfortable to press.
Starting with the aforementioned forward/back buttons, they are placed a bit too high from the sculpted thumb rest, so that I have to move my thumb more than I think is efficient or comfortable. You also kind of have to do this "out and up" motion to get to the buttons, due to the deeply sculpted thumb rest. Second, the buttons themselves are, unlike the rest of the mouse, completely UN-contoured. I thought it strange actually, that the buttons seemed to not fit the rest of this very ergo-looking mouse. They actually have uncomfortable corners and edges that make their use somewhat unpleasant.
The left scroll button that defaults to a document switch button works as intended, feels fine, etc. however, it is placed a little too far down on the thumb rest, and often gets in the way. In particular, if I'm gaming, I will often squeeze the mouse excitedly, and accidentally click the button. Usually this leads to death (game death of course), as the little program switch window comes up and I must click frantically to close it. Funny in retrospect, but actually quite irritating.
The main left and right buttons are unexceptional (which is fine), but it's the scroll wheel and "search" button that really irritate me. The scroll wheel has two modes, both of which are bothersome. The smooth speed scrolling mode is somewhat difficult to control, even after tweaking the settings extensively. The "regular" mode is very "clicky," meaning that you feel a very pronounced click-click-click when you scroll. It was also quite loud so that my boyfriend who has his computer about 10 feet away found the sound distracting. Also somewhat funny in retrospect, but quite annoying in reality.
I'm not certain if I'm in the majority here, but I also use my scroll wheel as a middle click - and quite extensively. The problem with this mouse is, that while it can be reconfigured as a middle click (after extensive searching and troubleshooting - it was NOT obvious how to do this), it is most uncomfortable when used in this way. The wheel is quite stiff to press and is made this way intentionally because it is intended to be used to shift between the two scroll modes, something you probably don't want to do accidentally while scrolling. It actually makes this clunking noise when you press it, like you're dropping your car into first gear, but it's a MOUSE.
Since the scroll wheel was completely unusable as a middle click, I decided to reconfigure the "search" button to serve this purpose. While I must admit this is much better than the middle-clunk offered by the scroll wheel, it is set just too far forward on the mouse to enable comfortable middle-clicking.
All in all, if you're a mouse connoisseur, go with the Logitech MX 1000. Granted, it doesn't look as cool as the Revolution, and the name isn't as catchy, but it's much simpler design can be configured to do almost everything that the Revolution does, except for the "speed scroll," something which I can clearly live without.
 Be aware of battery issues September 26, 2007
J. Humphreys (Studio City, CA United States)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
I've never written a review here at Amazon, but I felt compelled to let other potential buyers know what they *might* experience if they buy this mouse.
Before buying, please be aware of the (reasonably common) issues with the built-in rechargeable batteries in this mouse. Go to the Logitech forums (forums dot logitech dot com) and read what issues people have been having with the batteries (inability to recharge, frequent loss of mouse precision due to battery issues, etc).
Don't get me wrong: this is a lovely mouse, truly well designed and a joy to use when it's working. Unfortunately, there's an apparent flaw in the battery charging system that makes some mice unusable.
Until Logitech either issues a recall or openly admits that there's a quality control issue with the MX Revolution, I'd suggest anyone seriously reconsider purchasing this mouse.
 An incredible work of design and engineering... August 26, 2006
Thomas Duff (Portland, OR United States)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
Imagine my pleasure (being the techno-geek that I am) when I received this in the mail from Amazon and Logitech for review... The Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse. I'm wondering if I can somehow sneak this into work... Very nice!
I shifted to an optical mouse some time back, thinking I'd have less skipping issues with the ball getting gunked up. But the keyhole design of the optical area still collected fuzz and caused skipping. With the MX, no skipping whatsoever. And with no cord (a new thing for me), I don't have to worry about scattering paper and stuff over my desk as I drag the mouse around. Those two things right there would be enough to make me pretty happy. But wait! There's more...
The feel of the MX is the best I've experienced in my far too many years of working with PCs. The weight is just about right... not too light or too heavy. And the thumb groove for right-handed mousers is perfect for how my hand normally rests on a mouse when I work with it. Any minor issues with hand cramps after long hours online are gone. Again... if I stopped there, I'd be extremely pleased. But it *still* continues to get better...
The button and wheel features of this mouse put it over the top. The side wheel is a document switcher. You roll it back, and you get a display of all open windows. You can then select the window and click on it to quickly jump around. It'll take me awhile to get used to, but I can see it becoming a habit after that. The scrolling wheel at the top has a smooth glide mode as well as the clicking mode. You can switch between the two just by pushing down on the wheel. You can also tilt the wheel from side to side to get horizontal scrolling. I didn't realize that until I went into the software configuration screen. I don't know how much I'll use that feature, but it's a great idea. The two little buttons above the side wheel are forward/backward buttons, much like the buttons on your browser. Again, ingrained habit will still lead me to my browser icons, but I'm going to work on breaking that one. And finally, the button below the top wheel is set up to allow you to highlight a word or phrase on the screen, then you can click the button to do a search against that term. If you do a lot of browser work, this mouse can become a major navigation tool all by itself.
The only thing I disliked about the mouse was the packaging. There are actual instructions on how to pop the mouse out of the plastic casing it's shipped in. Even with the instructions (how hard can it be???), it took me nearly a minute to remove it from the case. I didn't want to break the mouse, and it seemed like I was applying too much pressure for something as basic as removing an object from plastic. I nearly grabbed the scissors to do something that should have been intuitive. But having griped about that, there's no way I'd give the mouse back... :)
A computer mouse is one of those things that is easy to take for granted. But when you have the opportunity to use something that's as finely designed and engineered as this, you realize what you've been missing. I would award this device the highest rating that a reviewer colleague of mine can bestow on something sent to him... the "Reviewer Refuses To Return The Device" rating. :)
 Tries To Do Everything August 30, 2006
Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States)
14 out of 31 found this review helpful
I am a computer professional and have been in the field for just short of 30 years. I have worked with all levels of systems from mainframes, time share option, micros, minis, and just about every peripheral around. My work has kept me on the bleeding edge of more technology than most people ever work with. I have worked with all manner of keyboards, mice (1, 2, 3 buttons and combos), trackballs, pointers, pads and other input devices. In the end I just like to leave my hands where they are. If they are on the keyboard, I want to stay on the keyboard. If they are on a mouse, I want them to stay on the mouse. The Logitech MX Revolution mouse feels like it was the brainchild of someone like me.
Before ever operating the mouse I read the enclosed copy. I had to find out what was supposed to be so special. The copy is mostly concerned with the mouse's scrolling capability. The copy claims it takes 7 minutes for an ordinary mouse to scroll through 10,000 lines of a spreadsheet. I tried it with several regular mice and I was always under half a minute. The copy says a single spin will scroll through all those lines but I have been unable to get that sort of performance. The scroll wheel located between the main buttons is really a flywheel. Give it a flick and it will keep spinning. Clicking the wheel will toggle between a smooth scroll and a ratchetting scroll but both are capable of speed.
But scrolling in not all this mouse does. Lets look at some of the other features.
Side scrolling. The scroll wheel can be pushed side to side to allow sideways scrollings. Now this is a feature I find usefull with a big spreadsheet.
It is ergometric. That means it is shaped to fit a right hand. Left-handers are out of luck. Sure, you can reprogram the buttons but you still have to use your right hand. I have not seen evidence of a left-hand version despite the growing percentage of left-handed people.
I wear a size large glove but some of the features of the mouse are just slightly out of comfortable reach. This could be a problem for some people.
Wireless. This means there is a charging cradle for the mouse. I have not used it long enough to test overall battery life through repeated charging but the unit has power saving capabilities. The mouse will power down after a short period without use. A single charge will last a long time (I currently have 6 days left on my charge) so you won't find yourself having to recharge all of the time.
Power. The battery should last a long time between charges but I am curious about the design of the charger. It has a two-prong plug. This is somewhat unusual but the real oddity is the plug looks like something decades old. Both prongs are the same width. I can not remember the last time I encountered such a thing on new technology.
Laser. No easy to clean track ball on the bottom, just a laser. Preference is a personal thing but the whole industry is moving away from those little rollerballs.
Forward and Back. These are two buttons on the edge of the mouse. They can activate some features in certain Microsoft software. On e such feature is that in Windows Explorer you can jump back and forth between folders you have been in.
Document Flip. This is a wheel-like button on the side. It acts like Alt-Tab so that you can switch between open applications. Unlike Alt-Tab there is no wrap feature to the list. Top is top, bottom is bottom and they are always at opposite ends.
Programmability. You can program all of the controls to act differently in different programs. This can take a while but can be very useful if you use a lot of different types of programs like CAD as well as standard office suite programs. Most users will probably stick with the defaults for the majority of their software and only reprogram for a select few.
Search. Yes, this mouse has a search button. Highlight a word or phrase, hit the button and your favorite search utility will go looking. This will be useful to some but my searches are usually not for something I can already select.
Well, there you have it. Lots of features some of which you will find useful and some you won't. But you don't have to use all of the features. Provided the device fits your hand, its programmability and flexibility will allow it to meet your own needs and preferences. Persnoally, while I like some of the features, the not-quite fit and the fact some of my household can't use it result in a low rating.
No sleep mode makes this mouse flawed June 12, 2007
T. Tom (SF Bay Area, CA United States)
14 out of 22 found this review helpful
This mouse is flawed because it doesn't go to sleep after a period of inactivity like my optical cordless mouse does. This means that if you forget to turn it off on the bottom of the mouse (a hassle) or don't return it to the recharge base before retiring for the night-in the morning the mouse will be nearly dead and will require a recharge before you can use your computer. A word to the wise.
If it went to sleep automatically, you would not have this problem. Since I wanted a laser mouse for more precise movement over an optical one, I'm keeping my MX400 cordless optical mouse for now as it does go to sleep automatically.
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