Customer Reviews

Logitech Cordless Presenter

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Logitech Cordless Presenter turned out to be far more useful than I realized when I ordered it. I've always had 3 problems with remote controls for my PowerPoint presentations, and this device solved them all:
1) Most remotes are finicky to use and have limited range. The clickers are sloppy, and they are infrared, so you have to point at the laptop or projector. The Logitech has a 30 foot range, and is non-directional! What's more, the control response is crisp and precise.
2) You can't control your presentation with most remotes, so you have to return to the laptop when something goes wrong. With the Logitech, I can easily backup if I go past the slide I want. Since it shifts from a "presentation device" to a regular optical mouse by flipping a switch, I can put it on any surface and close my presentation and open another without returning to the laptop.
3) I don't want to have a laser pointer in one hand and a remote in the other while I talk. This device is both!

It could be a bit smaller, but it's sexy-looking and easy to use. The installation is a breeze, and -- unlike the other reviewer -- I never came across anything confusing in the set-up or the manual. I speak professionally on the restoration economy, so the Logitech Cordless Presenter is a lifesaver for me, and worth every penny.

I've just received my cordless presenter from Amazon, and it seems like a great product. I've got a laptop with Windows 2000, and when I plugged the Bluetooth receiver in the USB port it immediately recognized the new hardware and installed a driver without rebooting. I then turned on the presenter and voila: it worked perfectly. Even several combinations of sleeping my laptop, unplugging the Bluetooth receiver and turning the presenter on and off couldn't fool the hardware: it always worked when it should. That is a minor miracle for Windows, and should not be undervalued. I never had to install the Logitech software, which I view as a good thing.

In terms of the presenter itself, I think the feel of it is pretty good. The laser trigger on the underside is never shown in product pictures, so that was the big unknown in buying it. The trigger is fairly flat, but it is very pressure sensitive. I had hoped for a more substantial resistance, but I don't seem to be setting if off unintentionally. It falls right under my middle finger, with my index finger supporting the front of the presenter so that the trigger is not accidentally depressed.

The laser quality seems good enough, but it is not as good as the laser pointer I have already. The beam is more focused (good), but the intensity is less (bad). I don't think I'll have trouble with it.

When used as an optical mouse, the action is very good. My only complaint in this regard is that it is slightly heavier than I'd like.

All in all, I think this is a very nice device for people that have to make presentations frequently, and worth the money.

This presentation remote fits comfortably in my averaged-sized hands. The control buttons are easily accessible with my thumb. After a bit of practice, using the laser trigger on the underside with my middle finger is also quite comfortable.

Logitech does not offer support for the Cordless Presenter on Mac OS X. Like some others here, I initially could not move backward in Keynote presentations, whether in presentation or mouse mode. Installing the Logitech Control Software did not help in my case. The Cordless Presenter does not show up as a supported device. But after an hour or so of experimentation, everything is working. In fact, I have more control over Keynote than Logitech supports by default for Powerpoint. Here's what I did to get the controller to work with Keynote 2:

1. Install USB Overdrive.
2. Use the USB dongle supplied with the Cordless Presenter instead of your Mac's built-in Bluetooth connection. (This makes the computer think you have a USB mouse instead of a Bluetooth mouse, so USB Overdrive can manage the Cordless Presenter. Once the long awaited Bluetooth version of USB Overdrive is available, this step may not be needed.)
3. In USB Overdrive, set up application-specific settings for Keynote (left-hand pane). Make sure you make the following changes only for Keynote and not for Global Settings.
4. Configure the left mouse button to send the keystroke "Return". (You'll get a dire warning here, but as long as you have a track pad, its button will work for clicking within Keynote))
5. Configure the right mouse button to send the keystroke "[".
6. Configure Wheel Up to send the keystroke "+".
7. Configure Wheel Down to send the keystroke "-".

Now within Keynote you will have to use your trackpad when editing and starting the presentation. But once the presentation is started, you can use the Cordless Presenter (in mouse mode) to move forward and backward through slides. In addition, the up-down arrows on the Cordless Presenter will bring up the slide chooser and let you quickly scroll through your slides--great for answering questions or skipping part of your talk. To leave the slide chooser, just press the left button.

I hope someone finds this useful. I gave this product only 4 stars because of the hoops you have to jump through to use it on a Mac. However, the ergonomics and build quality are great. Windows users won't go wrong getting the Cordless Presenter, and adventuresome Mac users should also find it to be a nice addition.

Pros:
- Everything is in 1 package - laser pointer, mouse, powerpoint controller. For road warriors this is important.
- Wireless.
- Battery life is excellent.

Cons:
- Mouse driver seems to forget to load unless you login to your computer with the wireless USB dongle plugged in already.
- Mouse is difficult to wield in the hand. It doesn't seem to glide on the table smoothly.
- Would have prefered a shorter, wider mouse rather than a long thin one. Long thin form makes it difficult to use as a table top mouse.
- Pricey.

The fact that you can now interact with your audience and still maintain control of your laptop presentations makes this a great way to polish your presentations.

The set up with the s/w on the CD was a bit confusing, but the device works even when you are not pointing it at the laptop. It's is a bit bigger than it looks and what the product literature makes it out to be, but they ship it with a nice neoprene carry case that will help protect it from the bumps on the road.

This will get a lot of use on the road with me.

I have used this remote for a while now and it is excellent for what it does - run PowerPoint by remote control. The "remote mouse" feature is pretty much useless, but for just presentations - it's fine. I found that you have to remove the batteries from it when you store it in its case, because the on-off switch turns on pretty easily. I also keep a whole box of "aa" batteries in the projector case in case I forget...

Plus:
Easy to use - plug and play. I've let others use it and as long as they have Windows XP - it works very easily - just plug in the receiver and boot up!
Bluetooth Range is incredible
Looks like a Star Trek Phaser

Minus:
Shutoff switch
Remote mouse - worthless
Bluetooth receiver does not work with any other Bluetooth device
Remote does not appear to work with any other Bluetooth receiver, but I haven't tested extensively.
Software overrides other mouse software - a minor problem if you use a regular mouse with your laptop.

Please make some effort first before writing a review. This works GREAT with Mac OS X. Yes the "Back" button (right) will not work out of the box. You need to:

- Install Logitech software for OS X(comes with it)
- Configure the right button for "Keystroke" and assign "Arrow up" or "Page UP" key to it.
- Be in the mouse mode, not presentation mode.

If you do that left and right buttons will work as supposed in Powerpoint slide show mode.

Excellent product.

I've been using this presenter for about two years now. It functions as a mouse or as a presenter. In the mouse mode, it's a very reliable wireless mounse. As a presenter, it's a great tool. It has a switch at the bottom that switches between presentation mode and mouse-mode. In the presentation mode, the left and right buttons function the same as the 'page up' and 'page down' keys which makes navigating powerpoint a breeze. I give dozens of presentations a year and always take along the cordless presenter. Another plus is that if you have a bluetooth-ready computer you don't have to use the Bluetooth dongle.

Battery consumption is not an issue but you do need to remember to turn it off when you're done.

I've used this only on PCs, with Windows XP installed.

The mouse function is terrific! It works just like a regular mouse for me, and for mouse-heavy teaching of a software class, this is a wonderful boon. I love the fact that it has a 5 second restart, no matter how long I've been ignoring it.

One out of the three computers I've installed the software and used it on, had random intervals of either the presentation forward button or presentation back button not working (but the other Powerpoint presentation button worked fine, and the mouse function worked fine). Perhaps it was the age of the computer itself? Perhaps the USB port was not up to current standards. However, it has consistently worked fine on more modern computers.

I was initially somewhat dubious about the size of the unit itself -- it doesn't fit into a pocket as I walk around the room -- and I have to give up valuable packing space to it as I travel. However, I have decided that its usefulness far outweighs these two minor drawbacks.

I use it as a school teacher. I can point out things on the screen with the laser pointer and move around with the mouse. The presenter mode is good with PowerPoints. Only drawback I see is that you still have to put the mouse mode on something solid to move the cursor. I've seen cheaper gadgets that do pretty much the same thing.