Introduction

The past year or so has been good for Logitech, with the release of many products that caught the attention of consumers and allowed Logitech to stay competitive with the likes of Microsoft and all of their vast marketing dollars. In particular, the past year's attention has seemed to be focused on all things cordless at Logitech, with everything from cordless joysticks, gamepads, mice and keyboards become available in quantity. Part of the reason why this was so was due in part to the "chicken and the egg" effect, as consumers had finally begun to adopt cordless products in larger quantities, allowing manufacturers to invest more in producing yet more of them, thus driving the cost down and making the products further available to more people. One product born out of this at Logitech was the cordless MX700 mouse, a product that received many accolades due to its revolutionary design that not only provided superior accuracy (an unprecedented feat for a cordless mouse) but also featured a rechargeable batteries, allowing the mouse to be used without having to constantly invest in new batteries.

Now the MX700 was pretty much best mouse I've ever reviewed. Sure, the MX500 offered the same feature set and didn't require recharging nor a base station/receiver, but it was corded, tethered to the computer like a poor animal tied down and imprisoned or held captive from its natural environment. The MX700, on the other hand, was like a free animal... well, sort of - at least that's how my hand felt when using it! So wouldn't it made sense for Logitech to combine their best cordless mouse with their premier keyboard, the Cordless Elite? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that when you take two good things that were meant to be together, and uh, put them together, you should a winning combination. This is exactly what Logitech has done with their newest Cordless keyboard & mouse combination - and they have thus created the Cordless MX Duo. Having said that, we should always take a look at the product before passing final judgment, and that is what I'll be doing today.

Specifications

The Cordless MX Duo, as you can tell by its name, is centered on the MX700 mouse; the mouse of the MX Duo is identical to that of the MX700, and the only thing that has been changed is the receiver/charger. The new receiver/charger of the MX Duo looks is almost the same as the MX700's charger, except that it has been slightly modified to allow the use of a cordless keyboard with it. The keyboard that forms part of the MX Duo is the same one that is included with the Logitech Elite Duo I reviewed earlier. It's interesting to note that while the Elite keyboard gets name precedence in that combination, in the MX Duo, name precedence is given to the mouse. Perhaps the name "Elite MX Duo" was just too long.

• MX™ Optical Engine and Fast RF cordless technology deliver greater mouse accuracy and control on more surfaces than ever before
• Comfortable, contoured mouse shape fits snugly in right hand
• Rapid charge base station combines both receiver and charger in one to ensure that your mouse is always ready for work (or play)
• Ultra-flat, Zero-Degree Tilt™ keyboard design looks great and feels even better
• Customizable keys and mouse buttons let you control multimedia and give you fast access to applications and commands
• Convenient iNav™ wheel on keyboard delivers easier application and web navigation
• Ultra-flat Zero Degree Tilt™ design
• Windows and Macintosh compatible
• 5-year limited hardware warranty
• For more information, see this page.

The MX Duo's packaging remains in almost the same layout as seen with previous Logitech products of this nature, with a slightly blue-green and white colour motif along with a large product shot adorning the box. About the only thing that has changed is Logitech's logo, which while remaining in the same shape/format, has had a little update in its colour job, with various shades of transparency added to it to make it seem 3D and shiny. Upon opening the package, you'll be greeted by the familiar Logitech packaging standards: All items are wrapped in plastic or foam bags to prevent damage from scratches during shipping/transit, and the items have also been put into positions where they cannot jump around inside the box. After emptying the box of its numerous contents, you'll find the following items: The cordless Elite keyboard, the MX700 mouse, the base station/recharger/receiver, an AC adapter for powering the recharger, a USB-PS/2 adapter, 2 Duracell AA batteries (for keyboard), 2 1700mAH NiMH rechargeables for the MX700 mouse, a quick start guide in poster format, and installation/software CDs. Quite a package!

The Cordless MX Duo.

Everything well packaged.

Contents.

Underside of keyboard has three feet, and three more on the wrist rest.

Quick start diagram is easy to follow, but kind of extensive.

The Elite keyboard keeps in line with today's want of form with functionality, as while the shape is typical of a regular keyboard, all corners and edges have been curved to eliminate any sort of "technical" feel that is perceived by so many to be dry and unexciting; also present is Logitech's Zero Degree Tilt design, which makes the keyboard feel very flat and thin, especially compared to the keyboards of old. This truly isn't your dad's keyboard! The overall look is very sleek, and the keyboard ought to fit in with almost any system, especially if you have a black monitor and black speakers. Adding to this look, and also adding to functionality, is the curved last row of keys, such as the spacebar. As you can see from the second picture below, these keys all curve slightly down towards the bottom of the keyboard, and the idea behind this is to make sure that when you're typing, your thumb won't be hitting the edge of the spacebar (because there really is no lower edge on the spacebar) but instead will hit the relatively flat surface of the spacebar, making typing a little more comfortable and easier on your fingers. The effect was nice, and I noticed the difference right away once typing on this keyboard.

On the bottom of the keyboard you'll notice the battery compartment, which holds 2 AA batteries, which are provided. The red button is the "Connect" button, which is used to establish a proper connection between the keyboard and the receiver; it's not in a good location, as you have to turn your keyboard all the way over to press it, but luckily you'll only need to do this when you change batteries. There also three grip-feet on the bottom of the keyboard to keep it in place, and if you use the included wrist rest, it will add three more. The wrist rest is nothing fancy, just a plastic unit that clips into place and is also removed fairly easily; it does help a little, but with the flat design of the keyboard I found I didn't really need it. Overall, the basic keyboard design, while sticking with a typical, traditional layout, managed to improve comfort in some areas, while still retaining ease of use.

Wrist rest attachment.

Last row of keys curves down to allow easier usage.

Common shortcuts printed on keys. (Also note the MacOS key markings)

Arrow keys also slope down, so they have a little less play than other keys, it seems.

Another nice feature of the Elite keyboard are the printing of common CTRL-shortcuts on the sides of the various keys. Keyboard shortcuts such as CTRL-P (to print), CTRL-Z (Undo), and CTRL-B (bold in most programs) are listed on the bottom side of keys in such a way that they are visible to you when you're typing on the keyboard. However, most of us have memorized these shortcuts as they're so common, but nonetheless it's not a bad addition. Additionally, the Start key (WinKey) and Alt keys act as the Alt Option and Command/Apple Keys when the keyboard is used with Mac systems - so that the keyboard is basically cross-platform, as far as Mac compatibility is concerned. One other thing I noticed is that like the spacebar, the arrow keys slope slightly down towards the bottom of the keyboard, so much so that they seem to be shorter and have less play than the other keys - as you can see in the rightmost picture above. This wasn't a major issue, but it just made the arrow keys feel a little weird, especially compared to my traditional keyboard, the Fujitsu 4725. But perhaps the major difference in feel between this keyboard and traditional ones is the Zero-Degree Tilt design; as you can see from the pics below, the keyboard is pretty much flat, with a very slight slope upwards so that the function keys are a maybe a fraction of a centimeter higher than the spacebar. Logitech says that this new design will be more comfortable, and while I did find it very comfortable, I've never really had a problem with keyboards. Two foldout feel are included at the top of the keyboard though, can be extended to provide additional height and "tilt" to the keyboard if you're so inclined. (No pun intended.)

Zero-Degree Tilt design.

Feet can provide some slope/extra height.

iNav button group.

Sleep/suspend key, F-Lock key and other special keys.

The Elite keyboard has many special buttons and features that most keyboards do not have. In addition to 8 programmable/user-definable shortcut keys, the keyboard also includes media controls for volume and playback and some other special keys. Perhaps most noticeable of these, because of the left-side bulge in which it is contained, is the iNav button grouping. This group is centered around a scroll wheel and includes two other buttons, "Go" and "Back"; as such, it is ideal when used to browse through web pages. The wheel, while a little smaller than a mouse wheel, feels very much the same as it provides feedback when scrolling, and like a mouse wheel, it can also be clicked. The wheel can be configured for a variety of functions, from scrolling through documents (the default), switching between applications like Alt-Tab would, browsing through some files in "My Documents", selecting a URL from one's Favourites or even controlling the system Volume, though this last option is sort of redundant considering the Elite keyboard has a separate control exclusively for just that. The "Back" button is just that; it'll allow you to go back to the previous URL you were at without having to resort to a keyboard shortcut or clicking the Back button in your browser. The "Go" button, when activated, pops up a prompt in which you can enter a URL to a launch a browser window into; it's very useful for quickly visiting the index page of a site. The prompt will also have an IE history in much the same way the Address Bar in IE has, so you can select a site you've previous visited without having to type in the full URL.

The "User" key is really like a Sleep/Standby key, as you can tell from the crescent moon icon imprinted onto it. This key by default will cause your computer to go into a power-saving mode such as what Windows calls "Stand By"; however, it should be possible to configure its function using the Power Options applet in Control Panel, as it should appear as an option under Power Buttons. Moving up and to the right a little, you'll see the F-Lock key. This key merely toggles between using the Functions as normal, or using them as user-definable keys; for example, F7 in F-Lock mode is configured to Print by default, so pressing it will basically send a CTRL-P to the active program/window. All the default functions of the F-keys in F-Lock mode are printed on top of the keys, with F1, F2, F3, etc., printed on the sides of the keys. As I've said before, I didn't really find this feature too useful, as most of the shortcuts are readily available using CTRL or ALT shortcuts, and if you enable F-Lock, you can't use such common shortcuts as Alt-F4, for example, to close a window! To the right of the F-Lock key are three of the eight user-configurable buttons; their default functions are printed on top of them.

Media keys.

Other special shortcut keys.

Overall appearance goes well with most systems, especially black/dark ones.

Battery compartment for 2 AA batteries; red button is for connecting to the receiver.

The media keys are all arranged around the top center, and are put into a nice layout. The center of this layout is a dial, which forms the volume control feature of this keyboard. Turn the dial clockwise, and the volume goes up; turn it counter-clockwise, and the volume will decrease - pretty simple, no? Some will prefer this design over the up/down buttons of many other keyboards. On the right side of the volume control is the mute button, useful for silencing your PC when something important needs to be heard, though what is ever more important than your computer? On the other side is a "Media" button; this button, when clicked will launch a list of available media players on your PC that the iTouch software can launch. After you've picked a player, you can then use the media control keys that are arranged around these controls. On the left side are the previous and next buttons, while on the right side are the Play/Pause and Stop keys. An interesting and nice feature is that if the Play key is pressed when a Media Player program is not open, it will launch the most previously opened Media Player and begin playing at the track it left off at. This is very nice for use with Winamp, for example, as you no longer have to find and open Winamp, and then click play, since this one button does it all for you. Lastly, five more configurable buttons lay on the top right corner of the keyboard, and while their default actions are indicated by the printing on top of them, their functions can all be set to your liking.

Lastly, you should take note that they are no LED indicators for Caps Lock/Num Lock or Scroll Lock on the keyboard in order to conserve battery life; you'll have to look at the receiver if you want these LED indicators. However, the iTouch software allows you to monitor these statuses on screen. Overall, the Elite keyboard here displayed both a nice and appealing design sure to fit in with most systems, and also had tons of additional features to go with it, from shortcut keys to media control. Fundamentally speaking, the keyboard also performed well, as the keys had a firm, responsive feel to them, and were not soft nor spongy, but at the same time were fairly quiet during operation. I liked that Logitech has kept the layout of the keys pretty much in traditional form, with about the only changes being the slightly smaller Function Keys, which have also been moved slightly closer to the top row of keys. Nothing major in the layout was altered, and I liked this approach as re-inventing the wheel is usually not a good idea when it comes to keyboards.

The centerpiece of the package: The MX700 mouse.

Side view; note the extra thumb buttons.

Mouse has 8 buttons in total.

Contoured grips go around the entire mouse.

Despite the usefulness and added features of the keyboard, the MX700 mouse is the centerpiece of this package; what is surprising is that the MX700 by itself costs a pretty penny, even compared to the price of the Cordless MX Duo as the MX700 is listed at $70USD MSRP while the MX Duo is only listed at $100USD. (Both can be found online for much less.) The MX700 mouse rightly deserves this place though, as its revolutionary design changed the way we thought about cordless mice, and finally opened the world of cordless mice to gamers. I won't go over all of the changes adopted into the MX700, the main ones, in my opinion, were an increased report rate and the addition of rechargeable batteries into the mix. The increase in reporting rate of the MX700 to 125Hz allows it to update its position on screen at a rate that allows full use of the optical sensor; previous cordless mice were limited to a refresh rate of about 50Hz, leaving any potential that their sensors had unused; the inclusion of rechargeable batteries means that even though the increased report rate tends to drain the batteries faster, you'll at least be able to recharge the MX700 several hundred times before having to buy new NiMH rechargeable batteries.

Profile is not too bulky.

Thumb indentation is excellently designed.

Mouse shape gently slopes away from the thumb.

Mouse is for righties only.

The MX700 is shaped to fit right hands extremely well; lefties are out of luck, yet again. Though it is quite a large mouse, it didn't feel bulky at all, with its profile gently sloping away from the thumb side of your hand. The two-colour tone of the mouse consists of dark blue accents with a somewhat shiny silver shell. The shell covers most of the top and is pretty smooth - it's not really textured like some mice out there. The nice thing about the shell is that it continues to the front of the mouse and goes over the left and right button areas; thus, these two buttons are one with the shell, and because there's no gap because of this, there's less chance of gunk and unidentifiable dirt building up on the mouse. This design also has the added effect of making the mouse a little sleeker.

Speaking of the buttons, there are a total of eight(!) buttons on this mouse - quite a bit more than most of you will be used to! Besides the aforementioned standard left/right buttons, there is the scroll wheel button, two thumb buttons, two cruise control buttons and another button that can be used to switch between active programs. The thumb buttons, just above the thumb grip, have arrows on them are ideal for going forward/back in web pages; it thus duplicates the function that the iNav feature does on the Elite keyboard, giving flexibility in your options. The cruise control buttons, one just aft of the scroll wheel and another just forward of it, allow you to scroll through documents - the speed at which the cruise control buttons scroll through documents when held down can be configured using the MouseWare software. In this way, they can act sort of like Page Up and Page Down on your keyboard, allowing you to keep your hand on the mouse to scroll like this. The last button, just behind the aft cruise control button, is the application quick-switch button; press it, and a menu of active windows will popup, allowing to switch the active application to any of the ones listed. It's not unlike Alt-Tab, but again, keeps the feature close by your mouse hand. Any of the buttons' functions can be altered/programmed using MouseWare, so if you don't like the default setting, feel free to re-configure the mouse to your liking.

Comfort wise, this mouse has one of the best shapes I've ever laid my hands on. A nice-textured grip surface surrounds almost all sides of the mouse, except for the back, and allows you to rest your fingers on a surface that not only feels good, but also allows easier use of the mouse. On the thumb side of the mouse, there is a nice indentation that seems to fit your thumb just perfectly, making usage very much more comfortable; on the other side there is also a small indentation/ridge to support your ring or pinky finger, whichever one you place on the other side of the mouse. With your hand on the mouse, you can hit most of the buttons without problem, and the thumb buttons are especially nice to use; even using them for the first few times will feel natural. Overall, this mouse is pretty much the most comfortable one I've used; it's as comfortable as it looks.

Size comparison: The MX700 is slightly larger than your average rodent.

Batteries are already in the MX700, with a plastic tab in the way of circuit completion.

The "BYD" 1700mAH rechargeable NiMH batteries.

Connect button and charging contacts.

On the underside, you'll find the door to the battery compartment, which already houses the 2 AA NiMH 1700mAH batteries included with the set; a piece of plastic is in the way and must be pulled out to complete the circuit. The reason Logitech did this was to avoid confusion with the end user, as the other 2 AA Duracell batteries were meant to be used in the keyboard, and not in the mouse. Although this is indicated in the instructions, by explicitly placing the right batteries in the right spot, Logitech has all but eliminated the chance that someone will put the wrong batteries in. The two AA-sized batteries do add quite a bit of weight to the MX700, so it'll weigh more than your average mouse, but I didn't mind - in the end, I actually preferred the larger mass of the MX700. You'll have to charge the MX700's batteries before an initial usage, and Logitech even recommends that three full charge cycles are needed to attain the full capacity of the batteries. Most people will tell you that NiMH rechargeables will need several charge cycles, maybe more than three, to gain their full capacity - and these batteries will probably last through several hundred charge cycles. If, down the line, you need to get new batteries, a sticker on the inside of the battery cover door tells you to replace the current batteries only with NiMH 1500-1900mAH units, and both batteries must have the same capacity or mAH rating. When recharging the MX700, the small LED on the top will blink green; when the mouse is charged or full charged the LED will be a solid green or off, and the LED will blink red when it's time for a recharge.

The base station/receiver/charger and AC adapter.

Keyboard is USB-PS/2, while mouse connector is PS/2 only.

AC adapter plugs into the back of the USB plug, so it doesn't need to run all the way to the charger.

Adapter "brick" will eat up an outlet if you're not careful.

Moving on to perhaps the most important part of the setup, we see that superficially, little has changed from the MX Duo's receiver/charger as compared to the standalone MX700's charger. Apart from the additional LEDs added to the unit to show Caps Lock/Num Lock and Scroll Lock states of the keyboard, and the additional connector for the keyboard, the receiver would be pretty much indiscernible from the previous part. It looks very sleek and has the same colour combo as the MX700 mouse, and shouldn't be an unwanted sight on top of a desk, which is where you'll have to keep it if you want to be able to recharge the MX700 easily. The MX700 fits nicely and easily into the cradle for recharging; you don't need to do anything beyond placing the mouse into the cradle for a recharge, as once the mouse is in place, the contacts on the mouse and cradle will line up and the mouse will push the contacts in to start the charging cycle. Also, because of the NiMH batteries used, you'll be able to recharge the mouse at any time, and not have to wait until the batteries completely die before going for a recharge.

To receiver power for the charger, the cradle comes with an AC/DC adapter that plugs into the back of the USB connector; this way, you don't have multiple wires coming from the back of the receiver. The power adapter's cord is around 70" long, while the receiver's cord is just over 50" in length; the receiver's cord could have been a bit longer, as 50" is only around 1.3m, keeping in mind that you'll have to place the receiver on your desk within reach. The base station is pretty stable, and has four feet on the bottom to help keep it in position so you shouldn't have any trouble with it sliding off of your desk.

Connect button and keyboard LED indicators are visible.

Charging contacts on the inside pocket.

Profile is nice; charger looks good on your desktop.

The base station here is almost the same as the standalone MX700's, but just has support for a cordless keyboard.

Should charge up the mouse before using it.

There is a single "Connect" button on the receiver, and it's used to connect to both the keyboard and mouse. In order to do this, you'll first have to press the receiver's connect button, and then press the keyboard's connect button; you will then have connected the keyboard to the receiver. Pressing the receiver's connect button and then the connect button on the mouse completes the procedure by connecting your mouse to the receiver. One thing I liked about this is that all the buttons were easy enough to hit with your fingertips; it wasn't anything like on some previous Logitech cordless mice where you needed a pencil tip to hit the connect button on the underside. With the MX700 mouse, the connect button on the bottom is big enough to be hit without a tool, but it's recessed so I've never accidentally activated it.

<< Back to Reviews Page | Installation, Testing & Conclusion >>

Got News? Send 'em in!