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Logitech Cordless Click Plus Review

A Smooth Mover with One Awkward Button

August 27, 2003
By Eric Grevstad

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A Smooth Mover with One Awkward Button

Fashion designers disagree on which colors are in and which are out, but nobody ever has a good word for boring old beige. Generic PCs are called not plain vanilla but beige boxes, and now Logitech introduces a new line of mice touting "optical accuracy, fingertip scrolling, and way beyond beige."

Actually, the new Click series' silver/gray and blue colors are relatively muted compared to some more vivid Logitech or Microsoft models, but then their prices are tastefully muted too: If you'd like to replace the mundane mouse on your desk but balk at the thought of paying $70 or $75, the top-of-the-line Cordless Click Plus tested here is a reasonable $50.

Nor will it slow you down like some earlier wireless rodents -- the new mouse uses the 125-signals-per-second "Fast RF" radio-frequency technology that Logitech introduced in last year's ritzy MX700, though it replaces that model's easy-to-forget-to-return-it-to-the-recharging stand with a conventional couple of AA batteries. We experienced no skips or hiccups even when whipping the mouse around as quickly as we could.

The receiver plugs into your PC's USB port (a PS/2 adapter is provided). Logitech cautions you to place it at least 8 inches from any other electrical devices that might cause interference; the mouse did indeed perform erratically when we casually stashed the receiver behind our desktop PC, but was fine when we moved the mouse-sized module to the middle rear of our desk. Indeed, the Logitech not only glided as smoothly as any never-needs-cleaning optical mouse we've tried, but was so silky and precise that we needed a few minutes to adjust, although the mouse it replaced was a good, midpriced Brand M optical.

Curves and Contours

The Cordless Click Plus is sculpted for right hands, with a comfortable thumb scoop on the left -- below side-mounted browser Forward and Back buttons -- and a shallower ring- or pinky-finger ridge on the right. The primary and secondary buttons and slightly rubbery, nonskid-textured scroll wheel all work smoothly and cleanly; we were pleasantly surprised to find that clicking the scroll wheel activates a move-to-scroll function that works horizontally (and, in big spreadsheets, diagonally) as well as vertically.

On the minus side, we found the Back button to be too far, um, back -- your thumb rests naturally on the Forward button, but you must lift or bend it for the more frequently used Back. We got used to it after a day, but still consider it an ergonomic misstep.

A tiny Quick Switch button at top center, a little behind the scroll wheel, summons a pop-up menu that lets you switch among active applications, as an alternative to Windows' own Alt-Tab. Logitech's software driver lets you change all the buttons from their default functions to a variety of others -- from Copy, Paste, and Undo to the Start menu or Run dialog box -- but still lacks Microsoft's mouse driver's option of having the same button do different tasks in different programs (such as Back in Internet Explorer but Undo in Word).

Crass Commercialism

And, alas, Logitech still litters its software CD with promotional offers ranging from MusicMatch, eBay, and WildTangent to a "Logitech Resource Center" (for "Resource" read "advertising") and a new "Desktop Messenger." While Logitech promises the last won't send any of your personal information, it'll pop up over your other applications with registration reminders and marketing memos.

We think the Cordless Click Plus is a fair deal at $50, but its B- instead of A-grade driver and the placement of the Back button keep it from becoming a favorite. If you can settle for a symmetrical, ambidextrous oval shape and no Forward and Back buttons (just the two main buttons, clickable scroll wheel, and Quick Switch), the Cordless Click offers the same RF technology for $40.

And if you don't mind a cord coming between you and your PC, we briefly used the corded base model of the new optical trio, called simply the Logitech Click Mouse -- at only $25, it's an excellent, smooth-moving replacement for an outdated mechanical mouse. Beige may be out, but good value is always in fashion.