14 DAY TRIAL // The MX 3200 is wireless, and transmits to a USB dongle instead of using Bluetooth. It uses a USB port and the wireless connection is handled by the Logitech hardware, which should reduce connection problems.
We can find a small LCD display in the front of the keyboard. It doesn?t display anywhere near as much information as, say, the wired Logitech G15 (as the batteries couldn't handle that). Nonetheless, the display has some features that you may find useful, unless you wear a watch, said Atomicmpc that tested this desktop kit.
Some features include a clock, alarm and count-down timer built into the board. That?s not all though: there?s also a hardware character counter. Push a key and it increases by one. I think that could prove useful for writers of any kind, but mostly for those that need to do a text of certain length (although the guys at Atomicmpc are wondering who would use this, as it resets itself at every battery change, I don't think that this can't be used just fine in the lifetime of 4 AA batteries).
Also, there?s a touch sensitive strip on the far left that will zoom in and out of documents and web pages, and I need to quote this, ?not only makes you feel like Mr. Worf when you use it, but it makes old-school Commander Keen-esque sound effects when you do.?
The hand rest is not removable (the batteries are stored underneath it) but is tactile and smooth. Hotkeys line the top of the keyboard for volume control, player shortcuts and media player transport. There are VoIP controls below the number pad (start application, make and end call) and hotkeys for local and remote searches, an Alt+F4 shortcut for the lazy and a button that brings up a list of active applications on the left.
On the bad things side, the options key (the one on the right, between alt and control, without the windows logo) has been replaced with a FN key, turning your F1-12 keys into yet more application launching shortcuts. The options key can still be accessed by pressing FN and print screen, but it gets tedious, said the guys after a few hours of testing. Further on, the rest of the buttons ? the typing ones - are ?comfortable but a little squishy, and keep typing noise to a minimum.? The people really liked them.
The second part to this package is the wireless laser mouse, which naturally connects to the same USB dongle as the keyboard. One of the most important things, you can?t buy this mouse separately.
It doesn?t have selectable DPI settings, but to somehow compensate for that, there are seven buttons on the mouse in addition to the left, right and scroll buttons. All of them are assignable through software. It?s solidly built, responsive and comfortable. You can rest your entire hand on it and it?s nicely weighted, but it doesn?t have the freewheeling scroll wheel mode of the highest-end MX or VX Revolution.
The battery time for the mouse is 6 months, versus 15 for the keyboard. On the subject of battery life, the guys found after experimenting that even though it holds two AA batteries, it will run on just one. Their conclusion: ?when you decide that you need the batteries out of it for something urgent, you?ll be twice as likely to have a spare in the depths of a drawer somewhere.? My own opinion: if that works for the keyboard as well, you can change batteries without resetting that counter.
The mouse doesn?t have any of the ultra-high end features of the G7, but ?for the money it comes damned close by retaining the Logitech feel, shape and most of the functionality.? The mouse and keyboard are built as a set, so they look beautiful and sleek on a desk or as part of any other setup. And even though neither of these are Logitech?s flagship products, they still have Logitech build quality shining through, and score an 8 out of 10. The price is $200.
