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Media gadgets powerhouse Logitech does not seem content to manufacturing mice which work on the standard 2D surface. With the addition of their new top-of-the-line MX Air to their mousing arsenal, Logitech has opened an entire niche in the mouse industry. The unique selling point of the Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse is that, well, it works as well in air as compared to being used on a table surface.

The Logitech MX Air is a gyroscopic mouse. This means that, other than being used in the standard way, the MX Air can be lifted off the surface and be used to control the cursor on the screen like a laser pointer. This is most certainly targeted at home theatre entertainment users. The MX Air has a sleek and futuristic design, which looks nothing like conventional mice. It has a touch-scroll which has replaced the conventional scroll-wheel, extra multimedia buttons and is fully wireless.

I had some misgivings regarding the touch-scroll strip which replaced the scroll-wheel. It makes use of a technology called inertia scrolling. Sliding your index finger along the strip will allow you to scroll documents, achieving the same effect as rolling back on a scroll-wheel. However, as you flick your finger faster on the touch-scroll strip, it accelerates your scrolling speed exponentially. This causes some inconvenient scrolling of web browsers and documents sometimes, although I would admit, it is a very classy feature.

The four extra mouse buttons are self-explanatory – Back, Select, Play/Pause and Volume. These are basic entertainment and multimedia mouse functions, perfect for that Home Theatre PC (HTPC) to watch Blu-Ray movies or stream online video content. The Logitech MX Air is fully wireless; all that is required is for you to stick a USB receptor into your computer. The signal strength is strong - I had no problems operating it even at distances of up to 7-10 metres. The MX Air is equipped with a rechargeable battery and comes with a very stylish charging stand.

The mouse makes use of mechanical gyroscopes in the air, meaning that even if you tilt the mouse sideways and move it up, the mouse will still register a horizontal cursor movement. This is definitely a very considerate feature and will reduce the disorientation while in midair. The myriad of functions and controls that the MX Air possesses can only be fully explored once you have the mouse and start to experiment on it yourself. For example, holding down the Volume button in midair and then traversing the mouse sideways will adjust the volume. This is a power-packed addition to Logitech’s growing family of versatile mice.

One important fact to bear in mind before deciding to buy this is that, while the whole concept of gyroscopic mice is very attractive and very appealing, the MX Air will take some getting used to. A user of standard mice will find it disorientating once you lack that sense of security that the solid table gives you. Apart from this, this mouse also commands a very exorbitant price tag of approximately US$120-140.

If money is of no object to you in securing an attractive and functional mouse for that HTPC, the Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse will be the perfect choice for you. This Wii variant of the mice fraternity is a very handy device which would complement a HTPC very well.

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As a result of my gaming habits, the mice that I usually prefer with my desktop are usually Razer-made. Be it the older Krait or the newer Lachesis, Razer gaming mice have grown on me. However, recently I purchased a Logitech G5 Laser Mouse from eBay and I have found myself using this more than my current Razer Lachesis. An extremely versatile mid-range gaming mouse, it would definitely appeal to the casual user as well.

The Logitech G5 has an impressive 2,000dpi (dots per inches) sensitivity. That statistic does not seem too impressive beside Razer’s representatives – Copperhead and Lachesis, which have up to 4,000dpi. One thing to note is, however, 2,000 is more than enough even for gaming enthusiasts and certainly overkill for the casual user. Gamers can get the most out of their gameplay with this sensitivity, especially for the first-person shooters (FPS) crowd who require more control over their crosshairs. Clicking small spots on the monitor is now made much easier as you have finer control over the cursor, thus making this one very accurate device.

I mentioned that the Logitech G5 Laser Mouse is extremely versatile, and one aspect where this is evident is the SetPoint software that is bundled along with the mouse. SetPoint allows ‘dpi switching’, which means that you can set the dpi at which the mouse operates at, be it 100 or 2,000dpi. This is definitely good news to casual users, who will most likely run it only at 1,000 to 1,500dpi for daily usage. This dpi setting can be altered on-the-fly, with a simple click of the middle buttons below the scroll wheel. Furthermore, it allows you to save profile settings, meaning that you can assign new functions to every single one of the six buttons and save these changes. The first thumb button could be assigned to open Mozilla Firefox, for example, while the second could be used to open iTunes.

Another feature that I really liked was the use of polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) mouse feet. Mouse feet are smooth pads at the bottom of the mouse surface which is in contact with the mouse pad (or table surface). The polytetrafluoroethylene mouse feet are ultra-smooth and this basically means that the mouse literally glides across your mousing surface. Coupled with a decent mouse pad, the G5 would be a very comfortable mouse to use. I am using this with the Razer Destructor gaming mat and I can safely say that I have never used a mouse that is smoother than the G5.

This last feature is undoubtedly my favourite – the Logitech G5 Laser Mouse allows users to use small weights to customize the total mouse weight. Often, I’ve come across mice which are either too cumbersome or too light to be used comfortably. The G5 comes with weights that can be slotted into the underside of the mouse to make it a little heftier for the user to have more control over the device. This, coupled with the polytetrafluoroethylene feet, strikes a good balance between sensitivity and control for the mouse and is definitely the G5’s winning point.

I would be elated if Logitech had added two more side buttons to the G5. The two thin mouse buttons might be useful for the casual user, but it is hardly enough for the gamers. I would prefer more buttons to bind commands to and hopefully the successor versions of the G5 would implement this. Apart from this, the Logitech G5 Laser Mouse is an excellent mouse and I have been a happy user for the past two weeks.

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Razer will be not a name stranger to avid gamers, no matter what genre of games they specialise in. Razer, world-renowned for their high-end gaming mice and highly-sensitive and highly-customised gaming keyboards, have now added the newest member to their armada of high-tech gaming mice - Lachesis. Like predecessors Krait and DeathAdder, the Lachesis is christened after venomous snakes. In this case, the Lachesis Muta-Muta is the largest pit viper in the world.

Released in August 2007, this mouse boasts 4000dpi (dots per inches) sensitivity without software enhancement, and even offers an ‘on-the-fly’ adjustment setting, which basically allows users to change dpi settings without use of software by 125dpi each click. Another significant feature is that it has 32kb of onboard memory, which allows users to create separate sensitivity/settings profiles for different games or programs. The mouse itself comes with 9 separate buttons and a mouse wheel. Each of the 9 buttons on the Lachesis can be independently programmed to serve a different function, for example different hotkeys when gaming. Gamers specialising in Real-Time Strategy (RTS) or First Person Shooter (FPS) games would be glad to note that there is a 1000Hz Ultrapoling feature as well as an ‘always-on’ mode that effectively eliminates any mouse lag.

During usage, the mousewheel lights up, together with the Razer logo. This, coupled with the mouse’s all black exterior, gives the Lachesis a very sophisticated yet mean look. The exterior is ergonomically designed, the contours of the mouse fitting snugly into the hand. Side buttons are easily accessible and are easily depressed by either the thumb or the ring/last finger. The symmetric design of the mouse makes it ambidextrous, so this is a welcome feature for left-handed gamers who might feel left out with gaming mice from other brands.

At first glance, my impression of the Lachesis was that it looked rather top-heavy compared to other Razer mice. It is broaded at the top, where the 2 main buttons are located, and more tapered to the bottom, making it look less sleek than, for example, the Copperhead. However, the rants about appearance end when I first plugged it in for use. Saying that the Lachesis is sensitive would be a gross understatement, and doing the mouse much injustice.

The state-of-the-art motion laser sensor (currently exclusive to only the Lachesis) ensures that any movement made is comfortably smooth. The cursor practically glides across the screen. After a week of usage, there is still no sign of ‘cursor-jerking’ problems associated with my previous mice. The Razer Synapse software allows easy customisation of buttons, I could manage this easily even though this is only my 2nd Razer mouse. Sensitivity adjustment is even more straightforward, just drag the pointer along the sensitivity bar.

The only thing I did not like was that the Synapse software could be a little laggy when I make changes to mouse buttons functions during games, but this problem could be easily eliminated by doing it before the game. One thing to note about Razer mice though, make sure you have a decently smooth mousepad to play on. Minute kinks in surface could make it lose control of the cursor.

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