As is always the case with input devices, there are two components to this product. The hardware and the software. I'll talk a little about both and how they relate to scrolling and the multi-touch gestures. Also, if you're not familiar with it, the Magic Trackpad is the Apple touch pad for Mac. Even if you're not familiar with it, you'll likely be disappointed with this product. Though, you may be unaware of how nice these can really be.
Hardware
The hardware itself seems like it's pretty solid, both literally and figuratively. It has a good weight, doesn't feel flimsy at all, and when clicking has very good tactile feedback. I get the feeling that the hardware could function exactly like the Magic Trackpad except for the software.
There is an on/off switch on the right hand side. And an LED indicator on the top right of the face of the pad which you can't see until it's illuminated. When the device has gone to sleep and you click, it will turn green to indicate it's woken up. When the batteries are low it will turn red.
One of the main reasons I got this device is that I wanted something that had the unified receiver which has much better reception than previous Logitech RF receivers, as I knew from using the K350 keyboard. Specifically, my Wireless Trackman Marble couldn't go the seven feet from my TV to my couch, even though my K350 had no problem. In addition this tech makes it so you only need one USB outlet to use all of your Logitech input devices, which I like.
As for usability of the hardware, If you're using the Touchpad on a hard surface it'll stay put due to the rubber feet. Two of which, at the lower end, are the left and right click buttons. The unfortunate thing about this, though it mimics the Magic Trackpad, is that if you're using it on a soft surface (such as a couch) you won't be able to hard click. Instead, you'll have to finger tap to click, which doesn't always work very well. You'll also miss out on the tactile feedback which is useful to know whether you just didn't click properly or if your software isn't responding. I ended up cutting out a piece of Lexan and affixing it to the bottom of the Touchpad using double sided tape to make sure I have a hard surface where ever I place it.
A plus about the pad is that the rechargeable batteries last me a good week or so (at least, recharges have been so minimal that I haven't paid much attention). You can probably get more life out of it by turning it off when not in use, but I never do. I was tired of having to swap out rechargeable batteries in my Wireless Trackman Marble so the longevity of the charge on this device is much appreciated. Beyond that, it uses a standard Micro USB to recharge, so if you have a smartphone, tablet, or kindle you've probably already got the cable and adapter to charge it, though it does come with those too. I can't comment on recharge time as I just leave it overnight. One negative thing about recharging, however, is that I've not gotten much warning before a charge is necessary. It will just pop up all of a sudden telling me that a recharge is necessary and I'll see the red LED start to glow. If you're not near enough to a power outlet to use it while charging this can be even more frustrating, as it will likely mean you have to stop using your computer unexpectedly.
Software
Before installing the Logitech SetPoint software the only input you really get is basic left clicking and mouse movement. I can't recall whether right clicking was available beforehand or not. It probably was, but only via hard clicking the bottom right hand side. Regardless, you'll want to install the SetPoint software as you'll have a much better experience. Especially if what you generally do is surf the web.
The software allows you get back your middle and right clicking via a configurable amount of fingers touching the device when clicking. That is, you can have your right click occur by two-finger clicking or in other words, touching the device with two fingers and then pressing down to click. What disappointed me was that you can only configure up to a three-finger click. Meaning that I can't configure it to function like my Magic Trackpad and have to switch gears when I go back and forth between systems. Two-finger click is a right click in windows, three-finger click is right click on mac (because I generally rest my thumb and forefinger on the trackpad on mac so clicking with my forefinger is recognized as a two finger click). I start using the wrong number of fingers when switching between systems, very annoying. For those that don't have a mac, it still means that you've lost an extra two possible actions.
The SetPoint software also allows you to turn off pointer motion, though I'm not sure why you'd want to do that. It allows you to change your pointer speed, which is useful for spanning large desktops without having to backtrack your finger across the pad. It gives you the ability to scroll with two fingers, either horizontally or vertically. And you can swipe back and forward with three fingers to go back or forward in Windows Explorer, browsers, and other apps which support it. A four finger swipe is used to move the current window around the screen. Left snaps it to the left hand side of the screen, right to the right, top maximizes and restores the window. It also gives you the ability to pinch zoom. In Windows 8 you can swipe from the right hand side to the center for the charm, from the left hand side to the center to switch between apps and from the top to the center to bring up options if you're in a Windows 8 app supporting them. A three finger swipe from bottom to top also brings up the Windows 8 menu.
Unfortunately, most of these gestures are pretty finicky. Scrolling is vastly improved in browsers using plugins Logitech designed especially for each one. I've used Chrome, Firefox, and just because I was setting up my Windows 8 install and downloading Chrome and Firefox, yes, Internet Explorer. The plugins give you smooth scrolling and the nice flick scroll, or inertia, which will move the page as though it were a real life object having been thrown or slid. At times I feel I have to move my fingers too much across the surface of the pad in order to get the page to move in browsers, however.
Scrolling in other programs is a mixed bag. I've had programs scroll so fast with the most minor of finger movement that it was impossible to use the scroll gesture to do it. I had to move the pointer to the scroll bar and manually drag it around. Other programs function OK. Windows Explorer for example scrolls fine but it's not smooth scrolling, it scrolls in steps (the number of which you can configure in the scroll settings of the SetPoint software, I've set it down to one line at a time). Some programs just won't scroll at all. I assume this is because they're using custom controls that don't respond to the standard Windows scroll hooks. Regardless of the reason the result is poor user experience. Another issue with scrolling is that it doesn't always respond unless you click on what it is you want to scroll. So in Windows Explorer, for example, if you want to scroll the navigation pane you have to click in it before you can. Then you have to click back in the contents pane to scroll there.
The three finger back and forward motion works fine but is counter intuitive. The general idea for this gesture is that what you used to be looking at is off the screen on the left. Therefore, if you want to see it again it's as though you reach to the left, grab it, and pull it back into view by sliding your fingers to the right. Logitech seems to have come up with some other reasoning however, because you do it entirely the opposite. If you want to go back a page in the browser or Windows Explorer, you have to swipe with three fingers from right to left. I suppose this could be a culture thing, since other cultures read from right to left, but that's what I18N is for. (InternationalizatioN. Yes, that's 18 letters in the middle.) The other non Windows 8 exclusive swipes seem to work fine.
The pinch zoom, however, is also finicky. There are times when it work's exactly as it should and is very responsive and other times it's as though the software has no idea what I'm doing. It will start scrolling or just do nothing at all. Sometimes, when you've gotten to the smallest zoom setting but you don't know it yet, whatever it is you're zooming will start jumping between the smallest zoom and some higher level of zoom. Giving you this nice seizure effect.
As for the Windows 8 specific gestures, I find that I have to be very particular about getting my finger to the side of the device for the software to recognize that I'm doing a Charm swipe, for example. Or I'll be switching between apps, by swiping from the left side to the center, and suddenly my mouse pointer will move across the screen. Maybe this is why pointer movement can be disabled, but I want and need both.
In conclusion
If those of you who may read this have used a Magic Trackpad, I think I've illustrated why you'll be disappointed. Though, I think I've illustrated why anyone would be disappointed. It's just that the Magic Trackpad users know how the software should work. Again, I think this is not the fault of the hardware Logitech built, it definitely seems to have the capability to be responsive and accurate, as is especially apparent in browsers using Logitech's plugin. Logitech seems to have gotten it right with that software. But the rest of the software, probably the limitations of Windows' software, really makes one disappointed in the product. For all the complaints I have it's still useable, and I'll continue to use it until I can find another product which has good RF and better user experience.
| Wireless Type | 802.11abg, 2.4 GHz Radio Frequency |
|---|
