Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

thegoldenmackid

macrumors 604
Original poster
Dec 29, 2006
7,770
6
dallas, texas
My Updated Thoughts (with pictures) about the Logitech MX™ Revolution can be found here and about the Logitech diNovo Edge™ Mac Edition, here.

My experience most recently has been both revisions of the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Bluetooth Mighty Mouse.

The Keyboard: Logitech diNovo Edge™ Mac Edition

Out of the Box:
This keyboard looks stunning out of the box, definitely the best one that you can buy in a store (if someone knows a store where you can buy the Optimus Maximus; I'll withdraw that claim.)

Setup is pretty easy and went quicker then it did with both the white and aluminum wireless keyboards. The speed of course ignores the charging of the keyboard, I'll talk about that below. As soon as it had about a thirty minute charge - I turned the keyboard on, typed in the numbers. I had already installed Logitech Control Center (see below as well), so I quickly adjusted the trackpad to my liking.

Design:
The keyboard looks stunning, pictures don't really do it justice. I have the keyboard with the flaps in the back up, which tilts it pretty nicely, keep in mind this keyboard is pretty thin considering what it is, not as thin as the new Apple keyboard. The best feature and the reason I gave up on the Apple keyboard is the inch-long strip of aluminum that allows you to rest your hands for typing. This became my largest gripe with both Apple Keyboards, typing for a significant amount of time almost became painful for my wrist.

Typing:
Typing on the keyboard is a wonder, I always was under the school that liked the IBM click (almost punch) keyboards as opposed to the new keyboards from Cupertino. However, I really like the diNovo, which I would not describe as being of the click school. The box advertises longer key strokes, which it offers, but you can tell the keys are between the depth of a Apple notebook and the older style keyboards. However, you must press down about the same distance, this creates a rather unique typing experience. With the simple Facebook WPM test, my general averages are:

MacBook Pro, no iSkin: 95 WPM
MacBook Pro with iSkin: 89 WPM
Apple Wireless Keyboard (White): 97 WPM
Apple Wireless Keyboard (Aluminum): 94 WPM
Logitech diNovo: 101 WPM

Now, this is with using the diNovo for less then two weeks now.

Other Features:
The other features are somewhat standard: a load of Mac hotkeys and the other normal keyboard buttons. On the far left side there are some basic controls for iTunes: pause/play, backwards, forwards. But, then you move to the right side of the keyboard and you have to unique features: volume slider and trackpad. The volume slider is a large source of complaints amongst a lot of other reviews; however I disagree with this idea. The slider is touch sensitive, a simple bar, however it's plastic and lights up where you move up, so it's maybe a little bit stickier then your notebook's trackpad. The obvious star of this keyboard is in the bottom right-hand corner. There is a small circular trackpad with the left/right buttons on the side. These buttons are a little awkward to press given their small size and the sort of effort it takes to press them down, which is much more then the rest that is required to press down. The trackpad is pretty small, so there was some tinkering it took to get it to get it to navigate around the 17" screen, let alone the 30" display. Obviously it's not multitouch; but the basic double-tap works and much more effective then the buttons as described above. The one light of hope is the scrolling features. There are two buttons on the trackpad one literally at 0º (12:00) and one at 90º (3:00). Place your finger on the one at 0º, and you can scroll left/right; the one at 90º and you can scroll up/down. These scrolling features are one of my favorite parts of this keyboard and are obviously adjustable at the Logitech Control Center. Two additional controls are buttons labeled Power and Front Row.

The Other Things:
Charging this keyboard is amazing. One charge = a month, and yes, I've had this keyboard for 6 weeks now and I charged it: first time for 30 minutes, overnight later that day and then went 33 days before it was down to one bar and then charged it again. I have 16 Duracell AA rechargeable batteries that were being replaced every three weeks and that didn't make me particularly happy. The charger also looks rather nice and matches the keyboard nice. The range is nice I'd say I'm about 25 feet now as I finish this sentence. The keyboard is expensive, rather expensive, extremely expensive some might say. It's your choice, but iThink I made the right one.


The little rodent: Logitech MX™ Revolution:
My experience is not as a gamer, so I'm not going to pretend to be one; nor am I going to be able to talk very well about precision, however there are other reviews for that.

Out of the Box:
Side bar to start: the box doesn't seem to fit back together like a lot of Logitech products...just odd. Just like before I placed the mouse on the charger for about thirty minutes and then started to play around with it. The mouse has two wheels one where your thumb would be and one in the normal position. It also has two buttons above the side wheel and a button around the center wheel. Other then that it is pretty much a standard Windows mouse. I quickly reprogrammed the buttons using the Logitech Control Center, which is one of the easiest third party interfaces I've ever used. I programmed the mouse keeping the left/right click buttons on their defaults and changed nearly everything-else: the "Touch-to-Search" button was replaced to mute and unmute; the "Document Flip" was replaced to be an Application Switcher and then the button function of "Document Flip" has been replaced to primary click; the arrow controls are then replaced to Exposé and Show Desktop.

Design:
I mean the mouse is clearly not designed for those that are left-handed. The rest for your thumb fits my hand perfectly and the mouse looks great. Any other questions here I'll try to answer them.

Using the Mouse:
The mouse tracks nicely... The scrolling is awesome. The scroll wheel is quite talked about because of its "Hyper-Scrolling" feature. If you click down on the wheel you can turn on or off "Hyper-Scrolling", this features allows for the mouse to spin almost completely freely, I can scroll down my 14,000 song iTunes library and the mouse is still spinning for another five seconds. The wheel can also tilt right and left to scroll. The mouse is laser and therefore is pretty accurate, as above, I'm not a gamer - so, this was not a decision factor. I have used it on a variety of surfaces (Mouse Pad, Marble, Wood, Faux Wood, Leather, another Leather Couch and even Carpet) and it surprisingly works nicely as advertised.

The Other Things:
The MX Revolution is heavily programmable using Logitech's Control Center and is truly a great mouse. However, the biggest gripe has to be the lack of Bluetooth capability. It really makes no sense and is annoying to have to have the USB adapter. I understand that Logitech might have hesitated given that it is a Windows mouse and not all PC's have Bluetooth. The mouse seems rather durable and therefore I wouldn't be hesitant to travel with it, except for the adapter, which I would be fearful of losing. Charging is much like the keyboard, I've charged it three times and I am happy to have my Duracell's in other places. Outside of the Bluetooth, I am extremely happy with this mouse. I paid around $60 for the mouse, which was fully worth it and I would buy it any day over the Mighty Mouse.

Logitech Control Center Pictures
3163485995_f03f0334e4.jpg
3163510121_ef7385936b.jpg
3164345240_59c6c1a15d.jpg
3164345288_61996a9293.jpg
3164345330_81e51928dc.jpg
3164345390_9ca5821608.jpg
3163510361_507dc38ed5.jpg
3163505413_098abf52a1.jpg
3164341578_15aff408b9.jpg


My Review of the Logitech Alto™ (USB Hub Stand)
Pics of the actual keyboard on the way
 
Wow - credit to you for typing all that out. The keyboard must be great. I bought my Apple Wireless keyboard not too long ago and its working a treat - probably one of the best keyboard around. I also recently purchased the Logitech VX Revolution (mispriced :D ) and its far superior to any other mouse i've used / came across.

EDIT: just a suggestion/idea - you should attach images of both products :D
 
thank you very very much for this excellent review! I've been wanting to get the dinovo keyboard for awhile, but have held off as my apple keyboard is still going strong.

Just to clarify, is the review on the MX or VX revolution mouse? I am planning on getting the MX and this review has pushed me further in that direction as my mighty mouse gets uncomfortable after extended use.
 
thank you very very much for this excellent review! I've been wanting to get the dinovo keyboard for awhile, but have held off as my apple keyboard is still going strong.

Just to clarify, is the review on the MX or VX revolution mouse? I am planning on getting the MX and this review has pushed me further in that direction as my mighty mouse gets uncomfortable after extended use.

It's of the MX Revolution. I opted against the VX Revolution because of how impressed I was of the comfort of the MX after playing around with it for 10 minutes. Logitech does make a left handed version of the MX Revolution, the MX Revolution 1100. Also, even though the VX touts having good life out of a AA; I wanted to go rechargeable.

Sorry, I see how that would have been rather confusing. iThink I have changed all the "VX" to "MX."
 
I have both (unfortunately the PC version of the desktop but the price was too good to turn down and the Mac one hadn't come out yet). I have to say both are superb and the mouse is the best I have ever used in my 20 years of experience with computers.

BTW, does the Logitech CC now control the keyboard too?
 
I got an MX Revolution today. Previous mouse was a bluetooth MX1000 which was only available with the old DiNovo keyboard, which was quite bad to be honest because Logitec's bluetooth mice are simply a nightmare. Im sure the reason they went with RF for the Revolution was because they knew their bluetooth sucked and didnt want to force it on their top of the line mouse.

Ive been waiting for it to drop in price for a really long time, and it hasnt really dropped yet. Luckilly amazon was selling the refurb for only $34 which is an awesome price for this thing. The refurb doesnt come in the fancy retail box but otherwise looks just as good as new since they replace the cosmetics with new stuff.

I dont know if I would say its worth the full new price (since $80 is crazy regardless of how good the mouse is), but the refurbs are well worth it.
 
Im sure the reason they went with RF for the Revolution was because they knew their bluetooth sucked and didnt want to force it on their top of the line mouse.
I disagree with you, the diNovo has been one of the best Bluetooth products I have owned and it's not like the Bluetooth Mighty Mouse is heaven-sent. I would guess that besides the PC thing, Bluetooth isn't as stable which would cause uproar with many of the PC users.

The refurb doesnt come in the fancy retail box but otherwise looks just as good as new since they replace the cosmetics with new stuff.
Well, I can't put the mouse back in the "fancy retail box" the way it was at the beginning - so, not a big loss.

I dont know if I would say its worth the full new price (since $80 is crazy regardless of how good the mouse is), but the refurbs are well worth it.
I paid $59; looking back on it, I would easily pay $80 again.
 
Thanks for the review !

Just a couple of questions: LCC software used to be awful, does the latest version provide custom configuration of all button and wheel functions for individual programs, and did you notice any interference issues with the mouse or keyboard ?

I just got an LX8 mouse, and it only works within a 1 foot radius around the dongle; haven't tried the latest LCC yet, as it used to be tough to customize , still using USBoverdrive.
 
I disagree with you, the diNovo has been one of the best Bluetooth products I have owned and it's not like the Bluetooth Mighty Mouse is heaven-sent. I would guess that besides the PC thing, Bluetooth isn't as stable which would cause uproar with many of the PC users.
Im talking about this:
diNovoLaser1.jpg


The keyboard is fine, its the mouse thats a piece of garbage. It also does not have drivers for mac. Ive never had a problem with logitech RF mice but the bluetooth mouse that came with the dinovo was horrible. The lag was so extreme it was literally unusable for several months until logitech finally updated the drivers to be slightly better. The new drivers allow the mouse to actually be used but every once in awhile the signal will get screwed up and it starts moving in slow motion. Connecting it after updating/installing drivers still takes on average 8 restarts and about 30 minutes of trying before it finally works. Its really just an extremely bad mouse that barely worked for anyone, newegg customer reviews were filled with complaints about it and almost every topic on the logitech bluetooth support forums was about lag for their various bluetooth mice.

Im very glad that the revolution isnt bluetooth, I dont trust logitech at all with bluetooth after the crap I went through.
Just a couple of questions: LCC software used to be awful, does the latest version provide custom configuration of all button and wheel functions for individual programs, and did you notice any interference issues with the mouse or keyboard ?
You can customize every button and make different profiles for different applications. For instance I have the scroll wheel to always click, except in Safari where it will always be smooth since I didnt like wasting a button on switching scroll modes (the autoswitch function where it changes modes based on how fast you scroll is annoying). Its actually more customizable as it is in Windows since you can change all 3 states of the thumb "wheel" individually.
 
You can customize every button and make different profiles for different applications. For instance I have the scroll wheel to always click, except in Safari where it will always be smooth since I didnt like wasting a button on switching scroll modes (the autoswitch function where it changes modes based on how fast you scroll is annoying). Its actually more customizable as it is in Windows since you can change all 3 states of the thumb "wheel" individually.

I don't think you can customize it for every application. I added some pictures of the Control Center to the original post.
 
I have the MX Revolution Mouse since its release. I think its 2 years + now... In my opinion its the best mouse available in the market, but I have 2 problems with the mouse and I want to ask u guys about them...

1. After a full charge how many days does it last?
2. I have a problem with the recharger and I want to know if its only me and I have a somehow defective recharger... The mouse doesnt easily sits in place to recharge... It sits in the recharger but it doesnt recharge the mouse... After some moves i put it in the right "place" and finally its charging... Do u have any similar problem with charging? Or u just let the mouse in the charger and thats it?


Thanx in advance...
 
1. After a full charge how many days does it last?
2. I have a problem with the recharger and I want to know if its only me and I have a somehow defective recharger... The mouse doesnt easily sits in place to recharge... It sits in the recharger but it doesnt recharge the mouse... After some moves i put it in the right "place" and finally its charging... Do u have any similar problem with charging? Or u just let the mouse in the charger and thats it?


Thanx in advance...

I answer both questions reminding you that I have owned these around two months.

1. On my one charge it seemed like it would have made it about forty days. I travel somewhat though and I imagine that not using the mouse probably affects it as well as the general usage hours per day; however I never turn the mouse "off" (on the bottom.)

2. I mean mine seemed to work fine; however the diNovo charger given the design definitely requires that you place it in correctly, where as the MX Revolution I can just place in the cradle and it will usually go right to the correct position. This is obviously because of the nature of the diNovo (rectangular shape) versus that of a mouse; not any defect or thing that Logitech could really change.
 
I don't think you can customize it for every application. I added some pictures of the Control Center to the original post.

Press the + at the top of the window to add an application profile

2. I have a problem with the recharger and I want to know if its only me and I have a somehow defective recharger... The mouse doesnt easily sits in place to recharge... It sits in the recharger but it doesnt recharge the mouse... After some moves i put it in the right "place" and finally its charging... Do u have any similar problem with charging? Or u just let the mouse in the charger and thats it?

My MX1000 is a real pain in the ass to charge too, and its really old and charges the same way as the Revolution. This seems to be a common complaint and its not that hard to "fix". When my mouse is really hard to charge I just rub the metal pads on the bottom of the mouse with my thumb, then its much easier for it to "connect" with the charging station and start charging. After a few days I have to do it again. Finding the sweet spot for charging it also works but thats a lot more difficult than just rubbing the bottom with your thumb (and sometimes I have to do both).

It seems like the coating on the metal wears off and gets more easily dirty or whatever. The charging station is not the problem (a lot of people on amazon blame the battery, which is false), its the metal connectors on the bottom of the mouse.
 
has anyone been able to get "spaces" assigned to any mouse key on a mx 1000, using this keyboard and a mx1000 mouse? No matter what I do or try, I cannot get spaces to work via the mouse; when I used steermouse, I mapped the wheel pull back function for spaces, but since I got this keyboard the other day, and installed the logitech control center 2.6 software, the mouse just wont make spaces open...
thank you!
 
Good to hear the Control Centre works on mac, im definitely getting the MX Rev now, i just cant see the need of the diNovo, and will be getting a wired Apple KB.

Thanks for the review!
 
What about bluetooth

I bought a revolution mx bluetooth mouse to use in both windows and mac. But the LCC does not support the bluetooth version of the mouse. Does anybody knows any workaround? (A forum search and google search suggest steermouse, but I would like to find a "hack" for the LCC).
 
I'm seeing mixed reviews on the MX Revolution mouse from mac users. The earlier reviews from 2006-2007 typically complain of poor mac support. But 2009 reviews are glowing. Then I noticed the mouse comes with 2 MPN's: 931689-0403 & 910-000673. If you google "Logitech MX Revolution for Mac" you'll get the latter and it will usually cost a little more. Does any one know what, if any, is the difference?
 
Has anyone else had a problem with the Logitech Control Center software not recognizing their hardware? I have the MX5500 Bluetooth keyboard/MX Revolution mouse combo at work. I'm using it on my PowerMac G5, and I downloaded the LCC software. Every time I have tried to install the software, it tells me "no Logitech devices installed". I am using the provided USB dongle, since this machine doesn't have Bluetooth. The mouse works fine, but I just can't customize the controls.
 
I'm seeing mixed reviews on the MX Revolution mouse from mac users. The earlier reviews from 2006-2007 typically complain of poor mac support. But 2009 reviews are glowing. Then I noticed the mouse comes with 2 MPN's: 931689-0403 & 910-000673. If you google "Logitech MX Revolution for Mac" you'll get the latter and it will usually cost a little more. Does any one know what, if any, is the difference?

This is what I'd like to know. On Amazon, Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse for Apple Mac - Black (910-000673) has 3 full 5 star reviews and is currently $87.24. But the "non-mac version" of the Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse (Black) (Item model number: 931689-0403) has 501 reviews on amazon, averaging 4 stars, and is currently $55.99 after rebate. That $30 savings would be nice, but I'd like to know what I'd miss out on.

The other contender for me is the Logitech MX 1100 Cordless Laser Mouse (910-000718) from Amazon which is currently $46.48 after rebate.

I'm not a gamer so I don't need necessarily need the most flawless mouse out there. But if the Mac Version of the Logitech MX Revolution is really worth the money for whatever reason, I'll buy it.

(In case anyone's interested, this is the mouse I want to use w/ my 1.83ghz C2D Mac Mini that I recently purchased off of craigslist. Got it last month, but had been waiting a while to get the monitor I wanted - the Dell 2408WFP. Now that I finally got that, I needed a keyboard and mouse. The keyboard I'll be using is the older Apple Wireless Pro Keyboard M9270LL/A which I'll be buying off a friend for $40).
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
It turns out there isn't any difference. The 910-000673 apparently was a white one. The latest model is the 931689-0403 so go ahead and buy it.
Personally, the VX Revolution is enough for me and is selling for $49.49 at B&H Photo with free shipping.
 
It turns out there isn't any difference. The 910-000673 apparently was a white one. The latest model is the 931689-0403 so go ahead and buy it.
Personally, the VX Revolution is enough for me and is selling for $49.49 at B&H Photo with free shipping.

Thanks for the feedback 2Knag. Seems the more expensive MX revolution is definitely something for me not to consider now (whew.. $30 savings).

What's the difference between the VX revolution and the MX revolution? The MX Revolution 931689-0403 on Amazon is currently $55 after rebate so the price doesn't seem too different.

I saw there's a Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 v2.0 Laser (QVA-00001) that's $19.99 Free Ship at buy.com. There seem to some nice things said about that mouse, but probably not as good as the Logitech MX revolution right?
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Thanks for the feedback 2Knag. Seems the more expensive MX revolution is definitely something for me not to consider now (whew.. $30 savings).

What's the difference between the VX revolution and the MX revolution? The MX Revolution 931689-0403 on Amazon is currently $55 after rebate so the price doesn't seem too different.

I saw there's a Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 v2.0 Laser (QVA-00001) that's $19.99 Free Ship at buy.com. There seem to some nice things said about that mouse, but probably not as good as the Logitech MX revolution right?

The VX Revolution is a bit smaller than the MX Revolution, and it doesn't have the side scroll wheel that the MX has. The Microsoft 6000 is actually a pretty good mouse, but I just prefer the feel of the MX Revolution.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.