I purchased this very recently, knowing (a) that it was a discontinued model, and (b) that there are some issues with it. However, I really wanted to have a real full-function joystick I could use with my newly-upgraded-to-top-of-the-line Home Theater PC. Previously, the HTPC was sufficient for media playback, but not really for anything like games. Now, it's my most powerful computer in my home. And this means that games sitting on the couch is a reasonable possibility.
I already own a Logitech Cordless Rumblepad, but pads are useless for flight sims and the like, in my experience. I really wanted a joystick for the living room, and for it to be wireless. This discontinued model remains the pinnacle of wireless-joysticks, it seems.
So... THE GOOD, first. It's very, very comfortable to use, and has a smooth mechanism. I understand that some people have failed the sensors and buttons in their units, but I suspect that this may be related to contamination (spilling a coke on it?) or the like. I could be wrong, and if so, I'll certainly update this review accordingly, of course. But for now, I'm not concerned with that. And for now, the sensors and buttons are very smooth and responsive.
I've read several comments about the three "feet" not being rubber, but mine has a rubberized coating on those, which grips my end-table's top surface quite effectively.
The buttons on this are atypical for most joysticks... but they're not bad in any way. I do prefer my F-16 flight stick based controls, however. The most problematic part of this is the location of the throttle. Having it be in the upper left "foot" region would have been far better, in my opinion. But since few of the sims I'm using this with are really useful for "single axis throttles" anyway... the main exception being MS Flight Sim X, where "rapid throttle changes" are not the norm... this hasn't been a problem for me. If I want to do serious flight simming, I'll do so in my office using my full HOTAS rig. ("Hands on throttle and stick")
In general, I REALLY like this stick. But there's a major drawback, and it's one several other people have already pointed out. It's remarkable to me that Logitech never fixed this, because it renders the stick almost unusable as a result.
This is the rapid transition into "Power Saver" mode, which seems to occur in less than two minutes. And note that this is based ONLY on "button presses," not on axis activity... meaning that if you're not hitting buttons, but are still steering, the stick will "shut down" while you're in flight. THIS IS A TERRIBLE THING, unless you're playing games where shooting perpetually is always part of the gameplay.
I believe I can create a work-around for this, however, using the Logitech Gaming Software. I simply need to choose one button I'm not going to use, and set that up as a defacto "power button." I'll assign that button to go into "auto-repeat" mode once pressed, perpetually, until the button is pressed again. I'll make sure that whatever keypress or button press this is generating is not one which is assigned to any function in the game I'm playing. I HOPE that doing this will prevent the "auto-shut-down" "feature."
Of course, this might not be something that can be affected by the software, and actually requires REAL button presses at least once a minute to stay "alive." If so, I can still work around this by assigning, say, the "thumb button" to do nothing, and then just keep it depressed at all times. Annoying, but doable.
I knew that this would probably be an issue going in, so I'm not really upset about it, but it's a serious design defect, and one which Logitech COULD have easily avoided.
A version of this which was rechargable via USB, and which had a "time out" of something more like ten minutes... and, less importantly, with the throttle moved to a better location... would be nearly the perfect wireless joystick. It's a shame Logitech killed the product rather than simply fixing the one major, glaring defect... a SOFTWARE defect no less, not a hardware one. A second generation version of this, with the "bugs fixed" would have been nice.
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