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Logitech MX Air |
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Written by Petar Barisic
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Monday, 03 September 2007 |
Packaging and looks
A simple black-and-green box contains only the MX Air itself and the receiver... At first glance, that is. Underneath these two are the charging lodge and the driver disc, as well as a cleaning/polishing cloth. In order to enable both “air” and “desk” usage, the MX Air was not conventionally designed, but has a rather elongated look and the rear part is “tear”-shaped, which results in normal holding position while it's on the table and an RC-holding position when it's in the air.
The upper side of the mouse is painted gloss black, hiding 8 orange LEDs on each button. The lower side has a complete silver finish, save the teflon sliders and laser sensor. A “general” switch is also located here, used to turn off the mouse when not using it, thus extending battery life. The buttons can be divided into several categories: left and right buttons, scroll keys and function keys. Left and right mouse buttons are elongated and quite far apart, and when the mouse is lifted, two small indicator lines on the bottom of these buttons signalize that the MX Air is in “pointing” mode.
The scroll panel deserves special attention, as it is a nicely designed alternative to ordinary scroll wheels and even has a speaker which simulates the sound we've all got used to when rolling it. The panel consists of sensor surface and two classic microswitches on each end, and by moving the finger up or down, the user is actually scrolling the document up or down at a speed proportional to the finger movement speed, while a very quick finger movement will “spin the wheel” and scroll the document abruptly in the desired direction.. This basically simulates the behavior of the “FlyWheel” system present on the MX Revolution and MX 620 mice, so users of these two will need no adaptation, and others will quickly get used to this virtual momentum.
Of course, if this presents a problem to you, the system can be turned off, so that the surface works just like an ordinary scroll wheel. However, you will eventually notice a flaw in this system – lack of the middle button. Four sensor keys (ACK, SEL, PAUSE and VOLUME) are situated in the middle of the mouse and are supposed to be used primarily in the air, when they are rather easy to press with your thumb. Actually, in this situation, the SEL key will be invaluable to you, as it takes the role of the left mouse button.
Fasten your seatbelts
Upon connecting the receiver to the USB port, both the receiver and the mouse will be correctly recognized by the system, and will function both normally and when in the air. Even the sensor panel will function flawlessly before the drivers are installed. Of course, the full potential of the device can only be achieved after the SetPoint driver installation and a reboot. The first thing you are bound to notice after the installation is that the default cursor will be replaced by a larger, easily noticeable cursor (visible even on a distant TV) as soon as the mouse is lifted. SetPoint has plenty of standard precision, acceleration and other functionality parameters for each button.
The model-specific functions are given special attention inside the program itself. The greatest of these is the ability to “summon” the MenuCast menu. The other fantastic ability is “Gestures”, a database of usual user mouse movements. One of these is pressing the VOLUME key and moving the mouse to the left or right in order to increase/decrease volume. Another one is pressing the PAUSE key and rotating the mouse (making rings) clockwise or counter-clockwise – rotating the mouse clockwise will play the next song in a media player, whereas a counter-clockwise ring will rewind the song to the beginning or play the previous one. Also, quick shakes will cause the cursor to reposition itself and save you from curving your hand further. For other movements, you will have to rely on the program-specific options. All known browsers support these movements through plugins, and we recommend “StrokeIt” program for a general use.
Off we go
Air navigation was done through “Freespace” technology. Briefly, gyroscopic sensors, together with advanced signal processing inside the device, follow the position and movement of the mouse in space and transfer it to the 2D screen and the cursor positioned on it. The mouse can auto-detect its position and orientation, so, even if you keep the mouse upside down, an “up” movement will always result in the cursor moving up. This technology also cancels unwanted arm movements such as trembling or shivering, thus providing smooth cursor control. The first thing you are going to learn when you lift the mouse up is – do not hold it like an ordinary mouse.
It's very unintuitive and will fatigue your arm very quickly. The other thing you will learn is that – it's all in the wrist. You don't need to move the mouse around the room to detect a movement, it will suffice to move your hand from the wrist, raising, lowering and moving the tip of the mouse left and right, and the cursor will follow accordingly. Precision of these moves is certainly not great enough for you to decide to draw in the air, for example, but it is quite satisfactory for everyday use. Gaming (except for “casual” games) is out of the question.
Cleared for landing
The entire fun factor is disturbed by one fact – MX Air is primarily a mouse, so drivers never completely follow the 3D movement, all movements are “converted” to 2D desktop. This, of course, will be disappointing to all of the enthusiasts who were expecting since the first annunciations to control their favorite 3D applications, such as Google Earth or 3Ds Max, via this mouse. Games aren't supported either, and it is highly unlikely that this will change, so, if you wish to play games this way, you will have to get a Nintendo Wii.
Although it is a great combination of high-tech and intuitiveness, we can only recommend the MX Air to users who are looking for a perfect piece of hardware for their multimedia PC. Users who spend most of their time in front of the computer sitting behind a desk will hardly benefit both functionally and ergonomically. The bottom line is that if you want to make your computer a true entertainment centre while keeping its basic functions (web browsing, document and image browsing), the MX Air is a perfect solution. |
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Peripherals 
