Holiday Buyer's Guide 2006, Part 3: Components & Peripherals

Logitech MX Revolution

The MX Revolution is Logitech's top-of-the-line wireless desktop mouse, so we did not quite expect it to be cheap. The MSRP is $99, but we found it for as little as $79.

The manufacturer calls its product "the world's most advanced mouse", which might easily be true - with the exception that is was designed only for the right hand. It comes with a docking station required to charge the built-in batteries. Its AC adaptor is reasonably small and accepts 110 or 230 V input voltage, making this product suitable for worldwide use.

The mouse is equipped with two sophisticated scroll wheels. The top wheel is used for scrolling and delivers great feedback; it can be used as a mouse button, and it even acts as a button for horizontal scrolling by pushing it gently to the left or the right. The wheel on the left hand side of the mouse was designed for your thumb, and is actually a three-way button rather than a scroll wheel; it can be moved forward and backward and it can be pushed down. Right above this switching wheel are two additional buttons; this placement seems a bit odd, as you can accidentally push them with your thumb. Logitech's software is pretty comprehensive and permits a lot of button customization.