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Discussing Logitech's New Gaming Mice 242

Posted by CmdrTaco from the click-it-until-it-dies-from-the-clicking dept.
Paul writes "Logitech had a busy day announcing three new products designed for gamers. The company introduced the Logitech G15 keyboard, G5 and G7 G-Series gaming mice. TechSpot had a brief talk with Erik Charlton, senior product-marketing manager at Logitech, who shared a few ideas and details on Logitech's newly announced products."
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Discussing Logitech's New Gaming Mice More

Discussing Logitech's New Gaming Mice

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  • Images here (Score:5, Informative)

    by plover ( 150551 ) * on Friday August 12, 2005 @10:26AM (#13303655) Homepage Journal
    The story of a keyboard is fine, but pictures are worth more. See the G15 keyboard here. [logitech.com]
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re:Images here (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Erwos ( 553607 )
        This is assuming that all this is good for is games. I disagree. This gives an excellent venue for such things as LCDProc, which could use it as a convienient spot for system temperature, fan speed, etc. Maybe it could be used for RSS feeds while you're playing, or incoming IM. Be creative!

        However, I do think it will provide a reasonable place for auxillary information for games, too. Not everything is an FPS - think RTS or turn-based strategy. Getting instant information on how much range, firepower, armor
        • Logitech has already commented that the LCD Keyboards are -=ONLY=- functional for games with support the GamePanel LCD.

          Forget RSS Feeds, forget mail items, forget important IM messages or CPU info.

          Call them to bitch: US +1-800-231-7717 Menu 1, Menu 1, Menu 2.

    • Re:Images here (Score:5, Informative)

      by calibanDNS ( 32250 ) <brad_statonNO@SPAMhotmail.com> on Friday August 12, 2005 @10:41AM (#13303790)
      Product pages:


    • I just wish you could tell if the keyboard had that damnable F-Lock key. I hate the Logitech keyboards that have this 'feature'. If they would default to F-Lock being on that would be fine, but they don't. :sigh:

      • I just grabbed one of the high-res press photos. Good news:

        THERE'S NO F-LOCK! WOO HOO! No F-Lock button, no indicator LED. No strange glyphs on the F-keys themselves.

        In fact, this is the first Logitech (or Microsoft) keyboard in a long time that doesn't fool around with the standard layout. There's no fancy arrow key design, double-sized Delete key, or "hunt the Insert key" shenanigans. Just an unmolested 104-key layout.

        In fact, with the programmable G-keys, on-the-fly macros (the M1-3 and MR butto

      • F-Lock Eliminator [mvps.org]

        Your complaint about the F-Lock key stirred up my own longtime irritation with it. It's the only thing I dislike about my MS Natural Multimedia Keyboard.

        Realizing how many others were bothered by this prompted me to Google "F-Lock key" and discover this wonderful little registry hack. Note that there are several versions -- be sure to use the right one.

        This works! A quick 30-second test of F5-Refresh and PrtScn image pasting have yielded perfect results. My function keys now behave li

  • Display? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by TGK ( 262438 ) on Friday August 12, 2005 @10:29AM (#13303681) Homepage Journal
    The article mentions a built in display - configured by the player to show in game information or data from an outside application.

    Two questions:

    1 - Who really looks at their keyboard that much during a game session?

    2 - How are they pulling data from a game engine? Is this assuming that developers will build software for this keyboard system for major releases? That seems presumptive.

    • Re:Display? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by plover ( 150551 ) *
      It's not an unrealistic presumption. It's a case of "if they build it, support will come" or more likely "if they sell a million, support will come faster."

      The press release said that several games will release support for it yet this year. And even if they don't, given the abilities of the community I expect third parties will write mods for the biggies, such as WoW and UT 2K4. Even if Blizzard provides native WoW support for it, I suspect other WoW plugin authors will rush to add even more functional

    • I'm assuming they arn't its probably just a programmable LCD. You could program it to show your computer temperature, most likly its going to show you keybinding info for some sort of hot switch binding system. Though there obviously will be an API that a game could use, I doupt you will see many use it. Though it probably wouldn't be hard to hack in some system to pull scores or such from most major games.

    • Re:Display? (Score:2, Funny)

      by kfg ( 145172 )
      Using the latest advancements in computers to create a heads down display.

      Ahhhhh! Technology marches on.

      KFG
    • 1 - Who really looks at their keyboard that much during a game session?

      The gamers who lose most often and have plenty of time to order these products online.

      All kidding aside: As far as FPS games go, there isn't any time for players to look at a keyboard. And, in most games, a command like 'stats' or web-based statistics show how badly a player is doing.

    • Exactly.

      Why even bother with buying an expensive keyboard to get programmable keys for gaming when you can buy a USB device that aleady does just that [belkin.com]. Plus, you can do custom, complex, toggle-able macros with the software that comes with it--very very handy. I swear by mine.

      -Grym

  • .. I owned a Logitech mouse.. and it literally caught fire when I played too much Unreal Tournament w/ it. If I ever get back into serious gaming.. I'm gonna blow up one of these.. damn.. been a while since I got excited about a mouse.
    • Are you sure you know the meaning of the word "literally"? Your mouse literally caught fire? I hope you used it to roast s'mores or something. :)
      • 'Dude man, I have to tell you the funniest story, man. I was really fucked up the other day and I was hanging out with Jeremy and we were both super fucked up. And we went back to Jeremy's apartment; we split this bar of Xanax, okay? And then he put on that viking hat, you know, that he won at Vegas, you know, then he started dancing around and dude... it's was so fuckin' funny... dude I literally shit my pants!'
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • I use.... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by KingBahamut ( 615285 )
    A Razer Chameleon and an Elumix Black. Was going to go with the Logitec Mouse....but the Razer looked nicer and IMHO the buttons were easier to get to.

    http://www.razerzone.com/ [razerzone.com]
    http://www.eluminx.com/product.asp?pid=5 [eluminx.com]

    Both seem to suit me just fine.
     
    • I found the Elumix to look kinda cheesy and have a lousy key feel. I myself prefer the Saitek Gaming Keyboard [saitekusa.com]. It doesn't look as much like "rice" (personal opinion, of course), and has a vastly superior, solid feel. By comparison, I've found nearly all Logitech keyboards to feel far too mushy for my liking.

      I, too, am a Razer user, ever since the original Boomslang; currently using a Diamondback. Darned fine products.

      Schwab

  • I've always had Logitech gear. In fact, until my Mighty Mouse I was 100% logitech. Basic 2 button + scroll for the rest of the family, Mouseman Dual for the PC, MX-510 for the mac.

    I will be getting a G7. G5 doesn't have enough buttons for me. G15 is definately on the "buy on release" list. Sadly I'm in Australia so I might be waiting a while :(

  • Impressive (Score:5, Funny)

    by mikeophile ( 647318 ) on Friday August 12, 2005 @10:33AM (#13303719)
    They support screaming fast 20g moves up to 45 inches / second...and even higher, depending upon the surface.

    Will they support 20G impacts when I throw the damn thing against the wall after I am fragged by a LAN hacker for the n-th time?

  • The headline mentions new logitech mice, but the article linked is all about new gaming keyboards.

    Either way, the LCD coming from the keyboard sounds like a great idea. While gaming full screen, the LCD could act like a display for your systems mp3 player. You could see/cycle through what is playing like you would on a standalone mp3 player, without having to Alt-Tab out of your game.

  • The g5 optical mouse got a raving review (Score:4, Informative)

    by BlackCobra43 ( 596714 ) on Friday August 12, 2005 @10:37AM (#13303750)
    from ExtremeTech. It's fairly comprehensive. Read it here : http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1847008 ,00.asp [extremetech.com] Notice the perfect 10 score.

  • g5 and g7 mice (Score:5, Informative)

    by arkhan_jg ( 618674 ) on Friday August 12, 2005 @10:38AM (#13303768)
    Pictures of the g5 mouse [logitech.com]

    And guess what, it's shaped for right handers only. You'd think that it'd be possible to invert the casing, and produce a mirrored device for the 15-20% or so of the target market who can't use a right-handed gaming mouse. (I can handle it for general use, but I need my primary hand for precision work)

    Still, looks like I'll be buying the new razer copperhead [gamespot.com] when it comes out shortly, similar features but suitable for lefties.
    • While it's true that 15-20% (I don't know the real figure) of the population may be left handed, I kind of wonder if that is really the percentage of the market that needs left handed mice. I am left handed and learned early on to bite the bullet and just use it right handed. It saves the trouble of having to move the mouse to the other side of the keyboard, switch button assignments, and deal with right-handed shaped mice.

      In fact, I am so used to using the mouse with my right hand (despite being left hande
      • To be fair, it depends on where you draw the line as to whether you count someone as left handed - figures vary from 5% to 30%, as there's some variation across countries too. It also varies across tasks, as as you've found, lefties often learn to manage in the right-handed world and mostly adapt.

        I find I'm pretty stuck in situations where I have to use my right hand for precision or fine control. I can handle a pair of right handed scissors, or a right-handed mouse for general use, but FPS'ing I just need
    • I bought a Razer gaming mouse. Its awesome.

      I like symmetry.

      Would have got a logitech if they didn't suck. Like their speakers, tho.
  • Belkin's Nostromo SpeedPad n52 [belkin.com] on the left hand, Logitech's G7 mouse [logitech.com] on the right hand, serious frag death for my opponents....

  • This is a huge scientific breakthrough... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Malor ( 3658 ) on Friday August 12, 2005 @10:48AM (#13303852) Journal
    From the writeup on the new mice:

    "The low weight of the mouse allows fast moves and zero inertia[....]"

    In other words, they've quietly developed an inertialess mouse. The biggest physics breakthrough ever, and they're wasting it on a stupid gaming mouse. Quick, somebody call NASA!
  • I own a few Logitech mice based on the same shell, and they don't fold a candle to the comfort of the MX1000 Laser Mouse shell.

    The 510 518 and G5 shells have buttons above the scroll wheel that are hard to use and two thumb buttons that require moving your thumb up (or up and back) to use. As a result, I barely use any of those buttons.

    I was hoping that the new Gaming mice would use the MX1000 design, only corded, but it does't look likely.

    Still, I'm likely to try this one: the weight cartridge looks intere

    • I agree about the thumb buttons. I have an old Logitech M-BA47 from around 2000. It has a nice thumb button right where I rest my thumb (i.e low). When I first hooked it up, XFree86 mapped it as another middle button. I was happy with that so I never looked into changing it. It works great for me under Linux. Pasting text or opening links in new tabs is a matter of simply pressing with my thumb. And I never liked pressing down on the mouse wheel because it can turn unless you're careful about applying the

      • "I agree about the thumb buttons. I have an old Logitech M-BA47 from around 2000. It has a nice thumb button right where I rest my thumb (i.e low)."

        Ah, the M-B447 is one of the best mice ever made, I'd say: I'm actually using one at work currently and you are absolutely right: the thumb button is in the perfect position on that mouse.

        I'd also love to see a mouse button on the pinky-side of the mouse, though I suppose the natural squeezing action would also tend to make me mash the thumb button.

        Still, I don'
      • I agree about the thumb buttons. I have an old Logitech M-BA47 from around 2000. It has a nice thumb button right where I rest my thumb (i.e low).

        My M-BL63B [tortrade.ru] dual optical is like that too, at first I didn't care for having a thumb button at all, then I realized it made a good general purpose function for whatever I found myself using, double clicking for the most part.. Until 10.3 came out, then the thumb button was assigned to expose's f9 function and has become the standard for switching windows (much bett
  • This means three things for me:

    1. I'll be getting the keyboard, at least.

    2. I'll probably have to sacrifice a goat to get all the keys to work through my KVM switch.

    3. My Linux script to make all the keys functional is going to take a good deal of tweaking from the Logitech Elite I'm using right now.

    I can't wait...for the first one anyway. ;)

  • Full-Speed USB! (Score:5, Funny)

    by NewStarRising ( 580196 ) <NSR AT maddwarf DOT co DOT uk> on Friday August 12, 2005 @11:08AM (#13304014) Homepage
    Don't miss the Full-Sped USB!
    "The G7 and G5 are Logitechs first computer mice to leverage full-speed USB. "

    Now checking on http://www.everythingusb.com/usb2/faq.htm [everythingusb.com] , we find that
    "Full Speed" refers to USB 1.1, while High-Speed (Or "Hi-Speed") refers to USB 2.

    So Logitech are bragging about their USB 1.1 mice?

    • If you read the page you linked to, you'd note that most mice and keyboards are 1.5MB/s ("Low-Speed"). So, yes, I guess they are bragging about 12MB/s vs 1.5MB/s.

      As an aside, when will people learn how to spell? "Hi" does not mean the same thing as "high". Also, "thru" and "donut" are not words, no matter how much a certain "Drive-Thru" "Donut"-centered restaurant might want us to believe.

  • Logitech unwisely removed the second button from the G5/G7 mouse pointers on the left side.

    The reason I like the MX5xx series of mouse pointers is the fact you have those two buttons on the left side of the mouse, which makes moving forward and backward through documents and Web pages easily. Logitech could have corrected the issue of too many buttons on the left side of the mouse pointer by making a setting in their software driver to essentially "lock" the functionality of both buttons to the same functio
  • They should mention that if you want to use those you need Windows XP. I'm still using Windows 2000 and I don't plan to upgrade the OS for a mouse.

  • Same as new golf clubs? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by digidave ( 259925 ) on Friday August 12, 2005 @11:26AM (#13304176)
    If you ever watch golf on TV you've seen all the ads for the new technology. If you've ever seen anybody golf with the latest equipment you'll know it doesn't make any difference at all. I think gaming equipment is exactly the same.

    Except for perimiter weighted irons, metal woods and graphite shafts, golf technology hasn't really progressed very much since Arnold Palmer first began playing professionally. New balls and club technology will maybe gain you a few yards off the tee.

    With computer mice, scroll wheels and optical sensors were the huge breakthroughs. Laser is nice, but is not nearly as much better than optical as optical is better than a ball mouse. More buttons are ok, but often hard to reach at critical times. Tilt wheels are more gimmick than anything except for people with very wide documents. Wireless is not usually particularly useful, but some people like it.

    So what is it that these new Logitech mice bring to the table that will revolutionize gaming? Would you gladly trade your scroll wheel for any one of these features? Probably not. Will you get more kills in FPS games? More items in MMOGs? More 'coffee' in GTA:SA? No, no and no.

    The next revolution in pointer control may be when you don't need to use an imprecise limb for movement. Maybe contact lenses that point the cursor to where you focus your eyes. For mice, once you get it tracking well (optical/laser) and you cramp all the useful buttons where they are easily reachable (LMB, wheel, RMB), you have pretty much hit the limit.

  • keyboard (Score:5, Interesting)

    by CaptnMArk ( 9003 ) on Friday August 12, 2005 @11:40AM (#13304302)
    I hope the keyboard doesn't have the f**ing f-lock.

    Whoever invented disabling the function keys by default on new keyboard should just die.

    The only reason I'm not buying a keyboard from www.pckeyboard.com is due to lack of USB support (I find most converters are problematic).

    • Re:keyboard (Score:3, Insightful)

      by RCSInfo ( 847666 )

      Yes, I would cheer at the public execution of the f-lock inventor. Or the guy who made the f-lock disabled on boot with no way of changing it.

      I have been hitting F5 to refresh the screen for as long as I have worked with Windows machines. Now someone has decided that F5 without the f-lock would be a great shortcut to close the window. What was wrong with Alt-F4? The function keys already served a function (hence their name). They did not need to be remapped.

      Its also a little annoying when booting a

  • Yuck (Score:2, Funny)

    by Gogo0 ( 877020 )
    I think the new keyboard looks like complete crap.

    I will never let go of my 1982 IBM Model M in favor of some 2005 ball of plastic that weighs less than animals I have killed with the Model M.

  • I recently bought a new Logitech keyboard. I had to send it back - the "zero degree tilt" made my finger stretch too far and it was hurting after less than an hour of use.

    The new G15 doesn't (according to the product comparison feature on Logitech's site) have "zero degree tilt" but it was certainly looking horribly flat in the screenshots.

    I need to test this one out in person before I could commit to buying it. Which is a big shame; it looks like a nice keyboard.

    The mice look great too, but I don't see any
  • The images are small so can't see the kinds of details I want to see.

  • For what it's worth (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Windsinger ( 889841 )
    Keyboard: http://www.clickykeyboard.com/ [clickykeyboard.com]

    You can smash this keyboard with both hands, your head, and anything else and it will always work. Resists Sodas, coffee and cat hair very well too!

    As for mice, I really am in love with the Razor Diamondback http://www.razerzone.com/ [razerzone.com], you can change sensitivity on the fly with the roller while holding down any button you chose. Plus it has a LOT of buttons, 2 on each side. Regardless if you use them all or not, it's nice to have them there, unlike the Logitech m

  • New mice actually worse for FPS gamers (Score:4, Informative)

    by Jan Brunner ( 863857 ) on Friday August 12, 2005 @12:06PM (#13304481)
    It seems like they increase the resolution with every generation while sadly neglecting the maximum speed.

    The MX510 (800 cpi) is able to track up to about 3.4 m/s, the MX300, too (with raised USB polling rate at 400 cpi). The Razer Diamondback (1600 cpi) has a maximum speed of about 1.4 m/s, very probably as much as the MX518 (same or similar sensor, I couldn't measure it, yet). The article talks of about 45 ips (1.14 m/s) in those 2000 cpi mice...

    I can't think of any good shooter player who would actually benefit from a resolution higher than 800 cpi but I know there are many who like to move their mouse faster than 1.4 m/s.

    Raising the resolution by sacrificing maximum tracking speed is very easy: They can just scale the chip down and/or change the optics. It seems that they don't like to make a chip more complex (MX300, A2020 was the last big upgrade).

    This is bad news for the gamers who got used to their MX510's speed and don't find anything else than "Ultra Gamerz 4000 dpi" with a max speed of 1 m/s when they need a replacement in a few years. Maybe someone clever will invest in a few MX510 and make a lot of money. :)
    • Ground speed isn't that useful. With a high-res mouse, you don't need the speed. What counts is pixels per sec, not meters per sec. So they boost the sample rate to give you speed, but then boost the resolution to take away m/s. You get to keep the pixels/sec, though.

      I have the Razer Diamondback, and find that I'm physically unable to outrun the mouse.
  • Wake me when Logitech's Mac driver is no longer worse than useless. I have a Logitech MX-500 and a Logitech keyboard festooned with extra buttons, but their software for Mac OS X is absolutely fucking atrocious; check reviews of it at versiontracker.com and macupdate.com, I'm not just being picky here. I use USB Overdrive for the mouse, but it doesn't handle keyboards, so I am unable to use any of the extra buttons on it. Logitech makes great hardware (okay, acceptable hardware), but if they can't get their
  • It looks like Logitech's keyboard department are channelling the spirit of Apricot Computers.

    Well, not quite [actapricot.org], but...

  • Flashback to horrible X-Files episode (Score:3, Funny)

    by neuro.slug ( 628600 ) <neuro__ AT hotmail DOT com> on Friday August 12, 2005 @05:30PM (#13307664)
    Did anyone read what the marketing department put on the LCD console?

    Xerious: He's at the bunker.
    Scum: I'm on it.
    Xerious: Rally at me after.
    Jesus tap-dancing Christ, who comes up with this stuff? I suspect it's the same people who wrote the FPS X-Files episode [somethingawful.com]...

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