Logitech’s MX Revolution claims to be the World’s Most Advanced Mouse. It certainly has the looks to be just that, but does it live up to that claim? I tested the MX Revolution rigorously for a few weeks and the MX Revolution proved to be a champion. Read on for more.

Ergonomics
Ergonomics is a very sensitive subject for me. Between work and school I spend an unhealthy number of hours on the computer each day. As a matter of fact I am probably 2 steps away from carpal tunnel syndrome; I know this because every time I use a non-ergonomic mouse, my hand cramps up and after a few minutes I feel spasms of pain. As a result, I have been through a lot of mice over the past year because I am so finicky about the mouse having to be extremely comfortable. Luckily, Logitech’s MX revolution mouse has been designed with the right curves in the right places so that your hand rests comfortably on it as you work. The MX Revolution also has a unique thumb rest coated with a rubber grip, something I never knew I needed until I had it. I’ve been using the mouse for weeks now, for hours at a time and have experienced no cramping whatsoever, thus I can say that the MX Revolution passed my own personal test for great ergonomics with flying colors. 

Performance
My previous mouse, the Microsoft Wireless optical mouse 5000, could barely perform at all on my desk’s glass top, so I purchased a leather desk pad for it to work. The MX Revolution works on laser optics technology and claims to be able to track accurately on almost any device. I tested it on the glass top of my desk, and it does work pretty well on the glass surface, but it can get a bit jerky at times so I still use the leather desk pad, on which the MX Revolution works excellently with awesome precision and responsiveness the likes I have never seen with any other mouse.

But ultimately the biggest test for any mouse is its performance
while gaming. Most wireless mice can’t compete with wired mice when it
comes to gaming, and thus they tend to lag and freeze up a lot. I tested the MX Revolution with
the Sims 2. Maybe it’s not as graphics intense as Half Life 2, but it
is a really popular game, especially amongst women.
I set my video
settings under the Sims 2 to the max with a 1600×1200 resolution and
the MX Revolution performed incredibly, just like it did in a regular
desktop environment. At these same settings I tried playing the Sims 2
with my Microsoft Wireless optical mouse 5000 mouse and let’s just say
that it was a painful experience trying to control the mouse.

Unique Features

The MX revolution has Logitech’s
SmartShift Technology built in. Logitech’s SmartShift Technology is
able to detect which kind of application you are currently running, and
it then modifies the scrolling mode to work appropriately for that
software. For example, while running Microsoft Word the wheel defaults
to free-spin mode so that you can quickly scroll through multiple pages
with a quick flick. But while running an instant messaging contact
list, the wheel shifts to click-to-click mode so that you can sort
through your contacts one by one with more tactile feedback.

The
MX Revolution has a slew of buttons that you won’t see on other mice, including
the Touch-to-Search button which sports a really neat one of a kind
feature. Highlight any word or phrase with the MX Revolution, then press the
Touch-to-Search button and results for that word or phrase are pop up
in either Yahoo or Google, depending on the search engine of your
choice.
Hitting the Touch-to-Search button without highlighting a word
or phrase, brings up the home page of the search engine. After a short
while, this feature becomes addictive and it also becomes second nature to
use. Recently, I sat down at a friend’s computer and when I had to
manually copy and paste an item in to a search engine I got kind of
irritated. The MX Revolution has really begun to spoil me.

The MX Revolution also sports TWO scroll wheels.  On top of the mouse, the
MicroGear Precision Scroll Wheel has two modes, a free-spin mode that
lets you scroll through lengthy documents like lightning, and a
click-to-click scrolling mode for smoothly navigating through other
lists, web pages, word files, and the like. The free-spin mode has come
in handy when I’ve encountered large PDFs with many pages, and for
general scrolling the click-to-click scrolling mode works very well and
has provided good tactile feedback.

The second Scroll wheel on the MX Revolution is the Thumb Wheel which can be used
to zoom in and out of open documents and photos. But my favorite
function of the Thumb Wheel is the Document quick-flip feature which
allows you quickly to jump through different documents that are open in
different applications. Think of the Document quick-flip feature as an
Alt-Tab alternative.

Software
Installing
Logitech’s bundled SetPoint software in Windows XP was quick and easy.
The SetPoint software is simple to use for customizing the MX Revolution and all
its buttons to the max. Using the SetPoint software you can set the
pointer speed and acceleration, tweak the scroll wheels settings – just
to name a few. The SetPoint software also notifies you when the
battery life is low. However, there is also a four stage battery
meter on the mouse itself that also indicates the battery status.
If you’re battery life is very low, the meter on the mouse changes from
the color green to red.

Battery Life
The MX Revolution comes with a charging base with an AC adapter. The good
part about it being powered by a charging base as opposed to conventional batteries
is that you don’t have to worry about changing batteries ever since it
doesn’t run on any. However the MX Revolution does have a shorter battery life
then most other battery powered cordless mice. Just don’t forget to
leave it in its charging base over night and you shouldn’t encounter
any problems. Still, I have used the MX Revolution for several days straight at a
time without charging it. Also, make sure that you sit the mouse properly in the base or else it won’t charge at all and you just might wake up to discover a dead mouse.

Conclusion:
I have a Mac Pro system with Boot camp running
on it, so that means I have been using the MX Revolution in both Windows XP and
Mac OS X, and in both operating systems the MX Revolution has run incredibly well.

Overall,
the surpluses of neat features make the MX Revolution a dream for anyone who
values efficiency. At a retail price of $99, the Logitech’s MX Revolution doesn’t
come cheap, and some people will be hesitant to spend that much on a
mouse. But considering that you get a generous three year warranty and
a bunch of features you won’t find anywhere else, you really are
getting a good value. In general, I advise any computer user to spend
the money on an ergonomic mouse because it will save them from
discomfort down the road, so considering that the MX Revolution also has a great
ergonomic design, that fact also adds to its value. However, one gripe we do have with the mouse is that it is designed for people who are right handed. We would like if they came out with a version for the left handed population.

In conclusion Logitech’s MX Revolution is really where the future of
all mice should be headed – smart ergonomics, flawless precision, and
addictive time saving features that all add up to making other mice look
like rats in comparison to the Revolution. - Helena Stone

The Good:
Excellent performance, great ergonomic design, cool features

The Bad:
High price might scare away some consumers, designed for right handed user

Best Place to buy the MX Revolution: $84.99 at Amazon with free Shipping