Over the past year or two we have seen a steady progression in the quality of design put into desktop kits. Keyboard and mouse bundles have been around for a long time but the high-end products that we have been seeing recently are really setting themselves apart from simple tools for text input and cursor control. This is often coupled with pretty serious increases in the price of these desktops with some models reaching the $150 price point and some getting much higher than that.
Logitech’s new MX5500 desktop is a very attractive desktop kit that combines Logitech’s highly praised MX Revolution laser mouse and a wireless keyboard. The keyboard is not a distinct Logitech model, but it appears to be most closely related to Logitech’s G15 gaming model, thanks to the built-in display and aspects of its overall design. With suggested price of $169 Logitech should be bringing some serious performance and features to this desktop kit, but based on previous examples of their Advanced Peripherals series, expectations are high.
The MX5500 combines a high-end laser mouse with a pretty fancy keyboard and gives them both Bluetooth connectivity to wrap things up nicely. The Bluetooth dongle is not as small as that on the VX Nano and it can’t fit in the mouse, but the MX is still a solid product if you like the design. It includes a recharging stand so you won’t ever have to worry about buying more AA batteries for it, though you should make sure to get it back on the charger every few days. As for the keyboard, it has a display, but it is still not quite as cool as the diNovo Edge. It runs on four AA batteries and, unlike the Edge, does not have a charging stand.
One of the best parts of this kit is that it includes that MX Revolution mouse, which sells for about $80 and originally sold for closer to $100. Microsoft has a couple of high end desktop kits, like the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 and 7000, but the mouse they include in with those (Wireless Laser Mouse 8000) is simply not a great product, especially considering the price tag of those kits. The MX has some quirks, like the second scroll wheel, and one very questionable design choice (clicking the scroll wheel toggles between friction-less and ratcheted scrolling instead of acting as another button), but overall the design is sound and build quality is very good. It is one of the better mice to come out in the last year or two. It also has a major thumb groove, which not everyone is going to appreciate (especially lefties).
The included keyboard is a general-use media model with functionality that is pretty close to a mid- to high-range offering from Microsoft or other models from Logitech. It has a full range of media features as well as shortcuts keys and a full number pad. The layout is standard with a few small changes, like a double-sized Delete key, a PC power button on the top right, and three shortcuts wedged on the extreme right side of the palm rest. The palm rest is a silky rubber material that is grippy but not padded and the keys are silent, but with a smooth, precise action. At first the key action felt quite dull, but despite a weak return they felt very good after some use. The keyboard is tiltable, but there are no other ergonomic enhancements.
One of the MX 5500’s big selling points is the keyboard’s LCD display. It is monochromatic and is about three inches wide and less than an inch tall so uses are limited to displaying basic information. It can tell you the time and date, if you have any email waiting, ambient temperature, what your favorite keys link to and that sort of thing, so while it is useful don’t expect to be spending hours staring at it. Two keys below the display toggle between what is shown on it, but I found myself to be quite fascinated by the key counter.
Considering that the MX 5500 Revolution is a $169 desktop kit, expectations are going to run high. The price is partly justified by the use of Bluetooth (not 2.4 GHz) and the inclusion of the MX Revolution, which is a $99 mouse in its non-Bluetooth version. Aside from the display the kit offers up a relatively standard media keyboard. It has the normal assortment of extra keys and a good layout, but the typing experience is still not great thanks to a mushy key action. The upside is that typing is very quiet, so what you lose in a springy key response you make up for in near-silent operation. Like most Logitech input devices this desktop includes software drivers that allow for customization of the display, character remapping, and finding information, like how much battery life the products have left. This is especially useful because the mouse is rechargeable so you will want to park it in the included base every few days. The keyboard used four non-rechargeable AA batteries.
Ultimately, Logitech did a nice job with the MX 5500 Revolution desktop, but the product fails to stand out from the crowd. The use of an on-keyboard display will certainly turn some heads, but with software widgets users can accomplish all of the same things. The display was an advantage on the G15 gaming keyboard but when aimed at general desktop use it does not bring a whole lot to the table. Past that we are looking at a high-end mouse (though one with a love-it-or-hate-it design) and a a solid, but somewhat ordinary keyboard. Given that you can find the MX mouse for under $70 now it might make sense to buy that alone and find a different keyboard if you are not sold on the display or even wait for the price of the MX 5500 desktop to drop as it inevitably will.
We’ve all seen the Robo-Dog. Unfortunately, it’s made for the military, so us civilians can’t even dream of owning one. But then, there’s G-Dog, and all my woes were whisked away.
