I Love Logitech - Pointing Devices for Intelligent Dummies

Ordinarily I do not promote products or companies within my blog. I try to avoid even mentioning a brand name, unless there's a damn good reason, but in this case there is. +Logitech UE has to be one of the best companies I have ever dealt with. Every time I have to do something that involves them, I get the best customer service and product performance I've ever had.

Back when I started using their products I had both a wired keyboard and a wireless laser mouse. Well, in my infinite wisdom I stepped on the mouse receiver while it was still in my laptop, since my lazy butt had put the laptop on the floor. I was really cringing because I'd paid a great deal of money for a rechargeable laser mouse, and I happened to love it.

On the off chance I might be able to find a receiver for sale, I went searching. Not only was one available, but Logitech had it on their site for about $10, which was way less than the $150 I was looking at to replace the mouse. I think that model was an MX Revolution, and when it came out it was very expensive.

I proceeded to attempt purchase of the receiver, except that their site kept driving me to the US site, which didn't deliver to Canada. On the off chance they might be able to ship it anyway, and that their website was the only issue for Canadian delivery, I gave them a call. They apparently did not sell parts to Canadian customers. However, what they did do was something I never forgot. They sent me a receiver for free because they couldn't sell me one.

Now, here's the kicker. My warranty had long since expired for this mouse, and it was my fault for stepping on it in the first place. They could have been the kind of company that would force me to buy a new mouse. Instead, they did the one thing that was sure to guarantee my loyalty to their products. The receiver may have been worth only $10, but the gesture blew my mind.

I went looking on their website one day, years ago, because my daughter needed a new mouse, and she'd been messing around with crappy store-brand ones from The Source (formerly Radio Shack). I kept telling her she needed a good laser mouse. So, when hers died yet again I went shopping. I got onto the Logitech site and found a mouse for her, as well as a new one for me. The only complaint I ever had about my old one was the battery duration. I'm a heavy mouser, and use it constantly for gaming, so I was always having to place the mouse in the charging cradle before I was ready to stop using it.

The new mouse I got for myself can be charged with a cable while still using it, or I can swap out the rechargeable AA battery. Problem solved. I gave the old one to a friend, seeing as it was still working perfectly.

My daughter chose a portable-size mouse, since she doesn't like the full-size ones. I prefer the heavier weight of the regular size. The new ones came with Darkfield laser technology, which means you can even use it on a glass surface. I don't, since I have a wood desk as well as an Allsop precise mousing surface metal mouse pad. I do not like my mouse screwing up. It drives me batty when that happens. It's one reason I never use the stupid touchpad on my laptop and actually have it shut off.

The new mice also came with tiny Unifying receivers. Impossible to step on and break, for one thing, because they only stick out of the USB port far enough to grab it for removal. The other great feature is the Unifying part. I capitalize that because I'm pretty sure it's a brand name or trademark. This means you can use a single receive to support up to 6 devices. Yup, six, and that includes duplicate types of devices, such as two mice or two keyboards. You never have to use another USB port unless you have more than six devices, and that's unlikely for most of us.

I didn't think I would ever use the Unifying technology, since I'm perfectly comfortable with the keyboard on my laptop, so I thought it was an interesting thing, but it didn't make a difference in my purchasing decision. I have a 17" laptop, so I have all keys as well as a number pad, which makes an external keyboard unnecessary for me. I needed the number pad for data entry. Having an external one is a big pain in the butt. I know because I had one for my old laptop.

Well, when my daughter's Dell Vostro laptop died a few months ago she had to start using mine. For a lot of things she can go online with her PS3, but she hasn't been able to figure out how to make it use cookies for her banking site, and she doesn't like writing on it. For months now, she's been using my mouse, even though I told her to get hers connected so she'd be able to use the mouse she likes.

Finally, today was that day. I thought it was going to take a bit of finagling to get it to work. When I had to connect my old mouse to its new receiver there were a few steps to take for it to recognize the frequency. I told her I'd have to figure it out, and so I went on Logitech's site. There was a program to download and install, which explained why it wasn't plug & play. Once the program ran it asked me to turn the new device off and then on again. That was it. No holding buttons or button combinations. No typing in commands to a program, no scanning to initiate. Everything was done for me, and all I have to do was turn the thing on.

Once I did, the mouse signal worked just like my own mouse. No complications of any kind. I leaned back from my laptop and said, "Huh! I love Logitech. Truly pointing devices for dummies." When a company exceeds my expectations as much as they have, I feel they deserve as much recognition as possible, so I knew right away that this would be a blog posting for today. As I said before, I've never dealt with another company that was as fantastic as Logitech. I'd recommend them to anyone, so that's what I'm doing!