Logitech MX Air Mouse Works in Air
Wireless Laser Mouse Uses Gesture Commands to Control Computers
Long have been the days of computer mice grounded on a desktop for controlling your computer. The new Logitech MX Air Mouse wants to break you free by taking to the air.
Have you ever longed to break your computer mouse free of the confines of your desk? Do you wish you could wave your mouse around in the air like a musical director’s wand? Logitech, well known for its computer mice, is set to give you that freedom with its recently unveiled Logitech MX Air Mouse.
The Logitech MX Air Mouse, like any other mouse, is designed for controlling on screen functions on your PC such as launching programs and highlighting text to cut and paste. It has your pretty standard wireless laser configuration, meaning you move it around your desktop without an attached cord or ball in the mouse’s body for moving around your cursor on screen.
Where the Logitech MX Air Mouse differs, says Logitech, is in the use of several technologies to actually let you take the mouse off the desk and wave it around to issue media commands. The first technology of note is something called Freespace. It is described as a motion control process designed to provide more accurate navigation over previous in-air devices. It uses a patented combination of different techniques to let you hold the mouse in any orientation, point in any direction and get cursor control as you desire. There’s also a feature in this set for distinguishing between intentional and unintentional hand movements.
Another technology of note for providing a quality off desk control experience with the Logitech MX Air Mouse is gesture-based controls. Logitech says, for example, that to control the volume you press and hold the volume button on the mouse while gesturing right to increase volume or left to decrease it. You could also do a small circular motion to the right to skip tracks in your music playing software application.
For this mouse Logitech has replaced the usual scroll wheel with a touch sensitive scroll panel. It lets you swipe your finger across it to enable scrolling, adjusting the scrolling speed to that of your finger movement. Large orange backlit buttons you press with your thumb let you access media functions such as play and volume in the air.
The Logitech MX Air Mouse, which is rechargeable, runs off of wireless 2.4 GHz technology for a maximum operating range of 30 feet. It comes with a micro receiver for the wireless connectivity, allowing connection to a desktop or laptop computer.
The mouse design wise is pretty well thought out. It has a polished black, semi-transparent top case with a silver base and contoured shape. This shape, says Logitech, allows people to comfortably use it as a desktop mouse, via one’s hand over the top, or as an air mouse with fingers under the base and a thumb on top for button selection.
More information on the Logitech MX Air Mouse, which is available in August 2007 and priced at around $150, can be found at Logitech’s Web site.
