Introduction:

   Logitech needs no introduction when it comes to mice. Input peripherals have been their specialty for many years, and if you haven't used a Logitech mouse or keyboard, chances are you probably own some other Logitech peripheral, whether it's a webcam or set of speakers. But because Logitech has so much experience when it comes to mice, you can bet that heads will turn when Logitech announces the release of their next-generation mice, and that's what happened when Logitech released their MX series of mice. The defining attribute of the MX mice is of course, the MX optical engine, from which the mice are named, or vice-versa. In addition to promising better pointer accuracy because of the MX engine, Logitech also added several new buttons to each mouse in the MX lineup, with the two priciest models offering a whopping eight buttons in total!

   Now, while the MX500 mouse I reviewed earlier was the flagship-corded mouse in the MX lineup, some would say that the true flagship model of the MX series is the cordless MX700 mouse. In this mouse, Logitech introduced yet another new technology, Fast RF, to allow the MX700 to provide the same precision as the corded MX mice. If you've used previous cordless mice, you'll probably have noted that their report/refresh rate seemed to be less than that of corded mice - Logitech hopes to correct this, and on a related note, they have made the MX700 a rechargeable device, with the base station/receiver also acting as a charger for the included AA NiMH rechargeables.

   Logitech seems to have thrown all the good things they had into the design and function of the MX700. It promises everything, from easy cordless use, to pointer accuracy, to added functionality and life from the extra buttons and rechargeable batteries. Indeed, the formula for Logitech's MX700 seems to be cordless + rechargeable + accuracy = a winner in the optical mouse market. But we all know that things can always look better in words on paper than they actually are, in real life. Does the MX700 deliver the goods, or is it a sorry excuse meant to catch you with its cordless/wireless appeal?

Specifications:

   Since the MX700 uses the same optical engine as the MX500, I will not repeat myself with all the details that I first wrote in my MX500 review. Instead, I encourage you to read at least the first part of my MX500 review as it covers the basics of the MX Optical Engine. Most of this review will focus on the use of the MX700, and how it compares to the MX500 so you can decide which one is best for you.

• MX Optical Engine:

• Resolution: 800 dpi

• Image Processing: 4.7 megapixels/sec

• Acceleration: 10g

• (Top) Speed: 40 inches/sec

• Cruise Control™ scrolling system provides more efficient scrolling through long documents or web sites

• Quick Switch Program Selector lets you switch between active programs and documents easily

• Two thumb buttons let you easily move forward or back between pages on the Internet

• Sleek, contoured shape fits snugly in your right hand

• USB or PS/2 compatible

• Advanced digital radio technology provides the performance of a corded USB device within a six-foot range.

• Rapid charge base station combines both receiver and charger in one

• Five-year warranty

• More details available here.

• More info on the MX Engine available here.

   Indeed, you'll notice that the MX700 shares almost all the same features as the MX500; both even come with a 5-year warranty, which is quite a long time! If you want to look at it in this way, the MX700 is basically a cordless MX500, with few minor differences beyond that. A mentioned, the optical engine behind the MX700 is identical to that of the MX500; so the resolution (800dpi), image processing capability (4.7 megapixels/sec in Logitech's terms, or ~5250 images/sec) and sensor size (30x30 pixels) of both mice are the same. With this in mind, in theory both mice should perform equally; any potential performance difference should be attributed to the cordless technology of the MX700. (The above figures were confirmed from Stéphane Kauffmann of Tom's Hardware whose issue of Tom's Hard News reported the numbers.)

   The Fast RF technology is what I'll focus on here, because it is the defining feature that sets the MX700 apart from the MX500. Fast RF is the trademark name for the process used by Logitech to allow the MX700 to communicate wirelessly with the base station, and as you probably know, the technology uses on radio frequencies, not infrared (IR) light. The advantage is obvious, as while IR signals are perhaps less prone to interference, they require line-of-sight (LOS) to work, and keeping a moving mouse within the LOS of the base station/receiver can be troublesome and annoying. Now, if you'll remember from my Logitech Cordless Elite Duo and Navigator Duo reviews, my main gripe with the mice in those combos was that their refresh rate was effectively limited to 50Hz because the mice limited their report rate to this value to conserve on battery life. This basically limited could have been a good optical sensor, in those mice, because even though they may have been accurate, they could only update their position 50 times per second. This resulted in a noticeable decrease in precision on-screen, as I've been used to a PS/2 mouse port refresh rate of at least 80Hz for some time now. Indeed, the 50Hz refresh rate made these mice, in my eyes, inferior for gaming.

   Fast RF changes all of that. Logitech has increased the report rate of the MX700 to 125 times/sec, which is 2.5 times above the previous defacto standard of 50Hz. In fact, 125Hz is what the polling of the USB port is set to, which is one of the reasons why Logitech set the MX700's rate to this value, because it would make no sense to have the mouse's report rate higher than what a USB port could handle. Now, while it's true that the PS/2 port (which the MX700 is compatible with) can be set up to 200Hz, I can barely tell the difference between 80Hz and 100Hz, and cannot notice a difference between 200Hz and 100Hz. (The difference, however, between 50Hz and 100Hz is *very* noticeable, to almost anyone who's used a computer.) How can Logitech do this? Well, remember that the MX700 is a rechargeable device, thanks to its receiver, which double as the charging base, and the rechargeable NiMH batteries included. Thus, Logitech could increase the report rate (thereby increasing energy usage) without worrying about people having to purchase new batteries all the time. Additionally, the MX700 is very environmentally friendly this way, with most quality NiMH batteries having ~1000 recharge cycles.

   By doing all of this, Logitech hopes to make a cordless mouse that will not only suit casual users, but gamers and professional users as well; what they have tried to do is make this cordless mouse perform just as well as its corded brethren. But, so far all I've touched on is what Logitech has said in their company-produced papers. Let's get on to the real stuff.

   The MX700 comes in a curiously large box, especially for a mouse. The mouse itself is surrounded in a plastic shell in such a way that it is suspended and away from the rest of the box, sending you the "cordless and free" effect right away. The plastic is molded to fit the shape of the MX700, most likely to grab attention at the store; as always you'll want to actually put your hands on the store sample to get a feel for it's shape, as the plastic cover will interfere with that. (Wash your hands after you do, though!) The back of the box allows you to see the underside of the mouse, and the translucent blue plastic that surrounds part of the MX optical engine.

   There's quite a bit included in the package, on account of the cordless and rechargeable abilities of the mouse, which require a base station and power source. This probably is also why the box is a bit bigger than others. You get the standard manual, installation CD with drivers and catalogue of Logitech products, but more interesting is the base station/receiver, AC adapter and 1700mAh NiMH batteries. Oh, don't forget the MX700 mouse itself, either. As with most Logitech mice you'll buy in stores, a USB->PS/2 adapter is included; I much liked this as I usually connect my mice and keyboards to PS/2 ports; hey, they're there, aren't they? Might as well use them. As with the MX500, the shape is designed to comfortably fit the right-handed users out there. Left handed users wanting MX optical accuracy will most likely have to default to the ambidextrous MX300 mouse, which has less buttons than the MX500 and MX700.

   The MX700 has a total of eight buttons, bestowing upon the user a plethora of options for configuration; outside the feature department, the MX700 has the same soft and smooth-feeling grip around most of its side as does the MX500. This feature contributes plenty to the MX700's comfortable use, as does the thumb indentation.
 

   With the defining feature of the MX700 being its cordless ability, it's worthwhile to look at the receiver. Resembling the docking cradle of a PDA, it also serves as a charger that holds the MX700 during a recharge cycle. There is, of course, a USB connection that goes out to your computer, and this can be adapted for use with a PS/2 port as well. Since the MX700 requires quite a bit of power to recharge, an AC adapter is provided to feed power to the base station when it's charging the mouse.

   The AC adapter plugs into a connection at the back of the USB connector; in this way, there's only one (albeit thick) cord coming from the base station, cutting down on cable clutter and making the receiver a bit easier to position. The cable from the receiver to the USB connector is about 50" or close to 1.3m long, so positioning it on your desk in an easy-to-reach position shouldn't be too hard, though in some cases it might not be close enough for you, if you have a large desk.

   As mentioned before, the RF technology behind the MX700 doesn't require line-of-sight, but you'll not want the base station to be too far off for when you have to recharge the mouse. To power the mouse, Logitech has included 2 AA 1700mAh NiMH rechargeables; while they're not the most powerful NiMH batteries out there, 1700mAh is certainly better than some rated at only 1600mAh, and any sort of NiMH batteries always cost quite a bit. Anyways, the included batteries should last quite a while before they won't recharge any more.
 

   The mouse sits with the back down in the cradle when charging. The two contacts protruding from within the cradle will then make contact with the contacts on the back of the MX700 mouse, and when the MX700 mouse is fully in the cradle, it'll push these contacts into the base, starting the charge cycle.

   The mouse sits very securely in the base, so there's no worry about it falling out unless you completely knock over the base itself. The base has one button on it, a connect button, that you must press, followed by a press of the connect button on the mouse, during initial setup in order to synchronize the communication between the mouse and the base station.

   A green LED below the connect button blinks during this connection process. The bottom of the cradle has four grip feet in order to keep it stable on any surface it's on. Overall, the base station doesn't take up too much room on your desk, though anything that does take up room isn't really wanted; in any event it looks just as sleek as the MX700 mouse, and will fit in nicely with your computers and its peripherals.
 

   The MX700 shares the exact same shape as the MX500. Its somewhat large and long shape is not bulky at all, but rather contoured to fit your right hand exactly. About the only physical differences between the MX700 and MX500 are, of course, the absence of a cord on the MX700 and the feel of the MX700. While the plastic shell of the MX500 mouse has a somewhat textured feel, the MX700's shell is completely smooth. This "feel" difference is what will influence people's choices, beyond the cordless ability of the MX700. Personally, I liked the smooth feel of the MX700 better, however, I had no problems with the feel of the MX500. I just prefer the MX700's smooth shell. Additionally, the shell of the MX700 is a bit shinier, I think, than that of the MX500, adding some bling-bling to the appearance.

   There are a total of eight buttons to be used on this mouse. You have the standard left, right and middle (wheel) buttons, along with two thumb buttons, two cruise control buttons, and an application switch button. The last three buttons mentioned are in line with the wheel, situated along the middle of the mouse. The extra buttons can be very useful; for example, the thumb buttons are by default configured as forward/back buttons for use with a web browser; this can make things a little easier, as you won't have to hit any keyboard shortcuts or move your mouse to browse backward through sites you've been to.

   The cruise control buttons, I found, were less useful. When used with MouseWare, they're basically like the arrow keys on your keyboard, except when held down, they scroll through pages at a rate you can set within MouseWare; the default scroll rate is faster than what'd you find from using your keyboard's arrow keys. Logitech hopes these buttons will simplify scrolling through long documents as you won't have to be constantly scrolling the wheel, as holding down a cruise control button will do the work. I found them a little awkward to use, and little out of the way as you'll either need to reach in behind the wheel, or over in front of it.

   The application switch button is basically like Alt-Tab; when you hit it, a menu not remarkably unlike the Alt-Tab list. You can then click what program you want to switch focus to, or use the mouse wheel to select from the list. This button, while being back even further than the down cruise control button, and hence even harder to access, is useful, as it makes the Alt-Tab function available with one button press. This will be of help, even more so if you're not really accustomed to using Alt-Tab.
 

   The left and right buttons are part of the same shell that forms the outer covering on top. They are clicked just as any normal mouse button, but just aren't disconnected from the rest of the mouse shell. This results in the potential for less dirt building up in the mouse as there are fewer gaps for said dirt to fill up in. The back/forward thumb buttons are just to the left of the Left mouse button, while the other extra buttons aren't far away from the middle/wheel mouse button. The shell also displays the Logitech logo, now merely a monotone silver on dark-blue work.
 

   As with the MX500, the contoured grip provided by the nice-feeling soft smooth texture surrounding the sides of the mouse is very comfortable to hold, no matter which way you hold your mouse. The overall profile, while perhaps a little long, is not bulky and is therefore easy to use for extended periods of time. The thumb indentation holds its digit very well - almost to the point that you'll be wondering if this mouse was personally designed for you. Resting your thumb here allows it to easily hit the thumb buttons residing above.

   On the other side, is another less prominent indentation/ridgeline that provides support for your ring finger or pinky finder, depending on which digit you rest on the right side of the mouse. While I have described the grip material as 'soft', it is not mushy or spongy or anything like that. What I meant was that it feels soft and smooth - similar to the texture on smooth mouse wheels. Compared to grips on previous Logitech mice, this grip is less 'sticky', and feels a little nicer, in my opinion.

   With these features, I believe the MX700 will fit nicely with almost all sizes of hands. The overall shape of the mouse slightly slopes towards the right, away from the center of your body. This slight slope imparts a natural feel, but is not overdone as with some previous MouseMan mice.
 

   Compared with other mice, the MX700 is a bit larger, but not so much so. It'll nicely replace your current mouse, and in fact will fit nicely on your current mousepad, especially taking into account the DPI count of the MX Optical Engine.

   The last difference to be aware of is the low battery LED located on top of the MX700. This LED will flash red when the battery's levels are falling low and they are in need of a recharge. While it's nice to have this indicator feature, the placement was questionable.

   The LED is almost at the highest point, on top of the mouse, and it's just behind the topmost button, the application-switcher button. When you're using the mouse, your hand has a great chance of blocking your view to the LED. While this shouldn't be a problem during regular usage, as you often take your hand off the mouse to type, if you're in a marathon UT2003 or other FPS gaming session, you could completely miss the warning before the batteries went out completely.

   I'm not sure where else Logitech could have put this LED - its current position isn't bad, but if you have large hands, they're likely to block the LED.

   When charging the mouse, this LED will begin to flash green. When it is still charging, but there is enough power in the batteries for normal usage, the LED will be a solid green; when the batteries are completely charged, the LED will not be shining at all.
 

   The battery compartment, as you can expect, is at the bottom of the mouse behind a small plastic door. The included AA 1700mAh NiMH rechargeable must be charged before initial use. The added weight of the batteries make the MX700 more massive than most mice; though I didn't find this to be a problem, and adjusted to it quickly despite switching use of mice between different computers. The added weight could actually increase your accuracy, making the movement of the mouse perhaps more stable.

   I found that a full charge, (from a dead mouse to a fully-charged one), took about 1 hour, maybe less. If you drop the mouse in the charger when the LED goes red, I found it usually only take 30-40mins or so to charge it fully. You don't even have to wait for a full charge - charging it for a few minutes can yield some substantial use time if you're in hurry.

   A full charge usually lasted around 8-12hrs of usage time, but your mileage may vary depending on your usage habits, and how much gaming you do. (Games, especially action ones, will elicit more intense mouse movement.) As you'll note, the usage time you get from a full set of batteries in the MX700 is far less than with previous wireless mice. This is mainly due to the Fast RF technology, and the use of rechargeable batteries.

   Because the NiMH batteries included are less prone to the "memory effect" seen in other rechargeables, you don't have to wait until the MX700 is dead, or even until the red LED warning is on, to charge the mouse. Any time you're away from the computer, you can just pop the MX700 in its base for a quick charge to make sure you won't run out at bad time.
 

   There are five feet on the bottom of the mouse, and they do a good job at keeping friction at a minimum, especially if you have a good mouse surface. You'll of course need to clean them once in a while to ensure proper usage.

   The LED of the MX optical engine operated a bit differently than previous optical mice. The LED did not go dim right away after picking up the mouse, but instead went into a fast blinking mode after some time, I assume to save on power. After moving the mouse, the full intensity of the LED was restored. Also on the bottom are the contacts that allow the MX700 be recharged, and the connect button you have to press in order to get the MX700 properly sync'd with the receiver.
 

   Putting the MX700 in its charging base/receiver is pretty easy, and the mouse looks pretty sleek in there, instead of looking like an abstract piece of peripheral hardware. Now, let's get on to the software side of things.