Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse

by Logitech

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.9 x 3.2 inches ; 1.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000T8CWFE
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 931633-0403
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 12, 2007

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The Logitech MX Air optical mouse tracks motion even after you lift it off the surface, making it great for home theater PC users and presentations. In the air, it works like a cross between a remote control and a wand as you simultaneously wave the mouse in all directions and press its buttons to navigate.

It sounds wieldy to use, but I was able to get the hang of it within a few minutes. Holding the mouse in my palm like a remote control, the cursor ably followed my hand movement but it got a little tricky trying to hone in on smaller icons and button selections. Another issue was I'd often catch myself in an awkward hand position while still needing the cursor to go in a certain direction. But with the freeze button, I could hold the cursor steady and recenter my hand into a more comfortable position.

For desktop use, optical sensitivity was comparable to other mice and picked up subtle movements, however the mouse did not have any side buttons that I am used to for back and forward browsing. The extra buttons (back, volume, play/pause) are placed in the middle of the mouse, which are easily accessible when you hold the mouse in the air, but not so much for desktop use because your palm sits directly over them. The SetPoint software can customize the buttons into functions that you may ordinarily use, such as copy and undo. I was also able to fine tune the cursor and scroll speed for even greater control.

The mouse definitely stands out on your desktop, its sleek black design might fool you into thinking it's something else, but upon touch the buttons light up to display each function. The shiny plastic casing doesn't feel cheap, but the smoothed look seems prone to scratches. The mouse also tracked up dirt pretty easily within a few days of use, however a cleaning cloth is provided. The smooth design is conspicuously missing a scroll wheel. That's because that section of the mouse is a touch panel sensor where you directly slide your finger up and down. It's a surprisingly comfortable and natural feel, and you start to wonder how you ever got by with wheels.

The rechargeable lithium ion battery typically provided about 20 hours of use. After placing the mouse onto the base charger, it took about two hours to reach a full charge. I was able to get a workable range of about 30 feet from the receiver before the signal went out. Overall, it's a nifty mouse that shows its stuff in the air, a convenient device for home theater PC's and couch browsing as well as a more versatile tool than a laser pointer in presentations. --Bradley Tran

Pros:

• Excellent range of up to about 30 feet
• Good battery life with fast recharging
• Stylish, black look with display lights
• Unique wheel-less scroll design

Cons:

• Slight learning curve, requires a good deal of customization
• Button placement and selection
• Often needed to recenter hand position while in the air
• Not as accurate tracking movement in air than while on desktop

Product Description

On your desk, advanced laser technology gives you precise tracking and instant response. In the air, innovative Freespace motion sensing transforms hand motions into natural, responsive cursor controls. Sit back and listen to music, browse photos, or surf the Webfrom your desk or across the room.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

203 of 222 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Cool desk candy, August 13, 2007

By 

C. Duke (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse (Personal Computers)

First and foremost: don't read any review from someone that just got this mouse or has used it for only a day. If I had written such a review it would have been a 5/5 star glowing review. It's total desktop eye candy... a sexy input device with revolutionary features. I decided to give it at least a week of use before writing my review. I'm glad I did.

It looks great, it's light, feels great, but it is not perfect. I've had it for about a week now (since it was released) and the jury is still out. I'm on the fence as to whether or not to return it due to a single design flaw: constant re-centering. I originally purchased this mouse in hopes that it would give me an alternative pointer device to the mouse, as I have tendinitis from mouse use. After a week of use, it unfortunately hasn't received much "air time" and for the most part has rested quietly in its cradle. Here's why.

On the desk: functions fine as a normal mouse but since it doesn't have side buttons like my MS IntelliMouse, I don't use it that way. As a web developer I live in a web browser, so being able to slap the sides of my mouse to move forward/back are critical to my work environment. For me, this is an "in the air" mouse solution, which was my original intent for purchasing this mouse.

In the air: works great except for one thing, and this is why it gets 2 stars instead of 5. You constantly (and I mean CONSTANTLY) have to re-center the mouse. To do this you either have to do some goofy gesture (which isn't as easy as it looks) or you press and hold the Back button, re-center, then release. This constant re-centering must be done every time I pick it up, and often during use. It is a usability killer, and I'm not sure how they could release a product with such a major design flaw.

Wii Would Like To Play: This IS a Wii-like mouse for the PC, no doubt. Same feeling I get with our Wii. Same accuracy as a pointer device, if not better. Before I got the MX Air mouse I actually had a Wii controller that could control my PC to a certain extent using the GlovePIE software and a Bluetooth dongle. It worked, but it was more a proof of concept, so it didn't work well. What Logitech needs to do is they need to release a USB sensor bar just like the Wii so that you can place the bar below or above your monitor. This would solve the centering issue and make this a usable product. A sensor bar would remove the need to have a centering feature, and it wouldn't be expensive to manufacture.

If you are considering this product as a couch mouse replacement, I highly recommend it as there aren't very many alternatives out there for you. For me, in front of a PC, I can't highly recommend it due to the centering issue.

Cost: for me this is a non-issue. I work an average of 14 hours a day on the PC and am looking for a device that helps with my tendinitis from mouse over-use. I'd pay $300 or more if I could find a solution that helped the pain. Unfortunately this is not a mouse replacement for me.

Other annoying features:

Touch-sensitive scroll panel: This is another innovative feature that is cool, but personally I need more tactile feedback like a wheel. It also scrolls REAL fast so be sure to change your settings to slow it down. Finally, there is a goofy audible "real mouse scroll wheel" clicking sound when you use the scroll panel (sound comes from the mouse) and there's no way to silence it.

Volume: Again, for couch potatoes this is probably a good mouse, but for me, pressing the volume buttons on my keyboard is a better solution. Why? It seems that when you mute the volume through the MX Air mouse, it mutes a bit too much. This affects my Skype headset volume as well. Even more annoying, is that when I un-mute my volume through the MX Air mouse, it doesn't raise the volume of my Skype headset back up, so I have to go into the Sound properties and tinker. Essentially, this feature is useless to me because of this flaw.

Buttons: The buttons work great, except no matter if I try to use my thumb or my index finger on top, I just can't seem to get it into a natural feeling position. Here's the rub: when using your index finger, you have simple access to the scroll panel and left/right buttons, but getting to the row of buttons is difficult. It's the opposite situation for thumb use: you have easy access to the buttons, but getting to the scroll panel and the left/right buttons is a stretch. Logitech recommends you hold it like a TV remote, using your thumb to control the buttons. I agree, this is the most natural way of holding this mouse, however unless you have a super-long thumb, the scroll panel is unreachable. The possible solution here is to use your thumb for the buttons and your index finger for the scroll panel... however as an "in the air" mouse, this isn't practical, because switching figures causes the mouse to move quite a bit and then you have to reposition the mouse (again).

In summary, I think this is a very cool device that is very innovative as a first gen air mouse from Logitech. Hopefully their engineers will read feedback from the community and make a better second gen version that fixes the flaws. I've been waiting for a usable Wii-like pointing device for my PC since the Wii came out. This just isn't it. Plus, I tried to use it Adam Sandler-style to quiet my dog and it didn't work :)

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The future of computer mice!! Great for media center! Logitech does it again!!!, October 11, 2007

By 

Mark "Technology, Music and Movies" (East Coast) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)   

This review is from: Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse (Personal Computers)

(What's this?)

The Logitech MX Air is THE mouse of choice for anybody with Windows Media Center! While this product is not perfect, it is the best that I have had the pleasure to test and use.

For starters, I spent a solid few weeks with this mouse before I passed judgment. Initially, I found it not as responsive as I would like. It certainly looks nice, but the default button settings also weren't perfect for me. After toggling the software settings, I have found that this mouse is very versatile and well designed for its purpose.

This mouse is sleek and fits nicely in your hand. It's not heavy and it's not light; it's just the right weight to use on your desk and then in the air.

Even without the software drivers this mouse worked upon plugging it in. Logitech is batting 1000 on plug and play!

The software that comes with it allows you to customize all of the buttons and functions on the top of the mouse. For me, I had to adjust the sensitivity and the button functions to get the responsiveness I wanted in the air. By default it is set to have a separate air cursor and desk cursor. This is very valuable!

I was somewhat disappointed with the limited default buttons. The "volume" button is really only a mute / unmute button. A default volume scroll would have been nice, but is not critical.

Similarly, there is a play / pause button. No forward / backward is set by default.

Once again, I took advantage of the software to customize the buttons to my needs.

For presenters and teachers I have used some devices that seem to be a little better suited for powerpoint presentations. Still, I suppose this guy is a candidate for presenters. With some customization you can use it for just about anything.

It took some practicing for me to be able to use this as a mouse in the air. Now I can drag and drop from across the room.

The only minor con I can give this item is that the charger requires you using an additional outlet. So many other Logitech mice require a small battery that lasts a long time. However, I have noticed that on a single charge I've gotten almost a weeks worth (25 hours) of active use. Not too shabby! The li-ion battery is also lighter. It's a design trade-off.

Overall, for those who are techy this is the best mouse on the market for media center apps once you've customized it for yourself. Out of the box, most users will have to adjust to the feel of this mouse before they can get the most out of it.

Enjoy!

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST AIR MOUSE MADE, August 3, 2007

By 

MERTMAG "mertmag" (Visalia, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse (Personal Computers)

I come from the unique perspective of having used the Gyration Ultra. The Logitech MX Air is far superior. The movement is smooth. I mean really smooth. The feel is very natural. I don't feel like I am hanging onto a odd shaped object. The back lighted controls are great in the dark. Considering I have all the coordination of a club footed baboon and being on asthma medicine that make me shake like a leaf. I am astonished by the quality of cursor control. I purchased it for a Vista Premium laptop used as a MCE for the living room, I could not be more pleased. It shows realistic battery life. The cursor is easy to control. Feels good in the hand. I can even use my left hand! I like the volume control (great using shoutcast web radio.) Is it worth twice the cost of a Gyration mouse? That's up to you to decide. But as my Pappy always said. "Buy the best son and you'll never be sorry" OOOPS I almost forgot the most important thing, Range at 35 feet flawless. No jerky cursor (although hard for these old eyes to see). The volume function works great at 35 feet too. Would I buy it again? Oh Yeah!!!!