This review of the Logitech G7 Laser Cordless was born out of necessity… a need for a new mouse due to me going insane from the last one. My trusty Logitech MX1000, after about a million left-clicks, started having issues with the left mouse button randomly dropping out while I was in the middle of a drag operation in Windows, and was losing me files and email in the process into who-knows-which folder. It was time for something new before I ended up throwing it against a wall. It had a good run and will receive a proper burial.
Since Logitech no longer makes the MX1000, I had to find a newer mouse, my only real requirements were that it was wireless, laser (not optical) based, not insanely expensive, and that it had a rechargeable battery. I ended my search with the Logitech G7 Laser Cordless Mouse (amazon.com, ~$79 retail).
As far as design is concerned, the Logitech G7 is less like the MX1000 and more like the G5 and MX900 series, which are more form-fitting for larger hands. I have long fingers, so it seems to work pretty well for me. It’s black with a sort of pseudo-carbon fiber checkered pattern on the top. There is a battery door underneath with a quick-release eject button (more on why this is used a lot later).
The Logitech G7 has a few buttons more than a standard mouse, the scroll wheel, which can rock left or right to click things, and a side button that activates the “Back” button in most browsers (I’m unsure why there isn’t a “forward” button next to it like on most of these mice, but I’m sure a reason exists somewhere… Logitech?). Additionally, there are two buttons below the scroll wheel marked + and -. These adjust the DPI sensitivity of the mouse. The highest setting is 2000DPI, and a LED that doubles as a battery meter on the mouse shows you when you adjust it by denoting a little running man with a meter next to him. The other settings are 400DPI and 800DPI. I found leaving the mouse on the middle setting (800 DPI) was good enough for me. Not too fast, not too slow. I suppose if I were gaming a lot, I’d like the higher DPI setting.
The mouse also includes a very small USB RF receiver. The battery charger is separate, and takes up another USB port. You can plug the charger in via USB and plug the RF receiver into the on board USB port on the charger if you wish, also. Two batteries are included.
On to the battery itself: This mouse eats batteries for breakfast, lunch and a light snack before dinner. On average, my Logitech MX1000 lasted around a week on a single charge. I’m lucky if I get two days worth of average computer use out of the battery in the Logitech G7 Laser. Normally I’d be pretty ticked about this, but they include two batteries with the device just for this reason, I think. When the battery dies, you can swap the dead battery into the charger and be back up and running in a few seconds. It takes about 3 hours to charge properly, there’s also a “burst charge mode” on the charger if you want quicker charging for immediate use, which I’ve never tried.
Overall, this is a pretty darn good mouse that I’d recommend for anyone looking for a better-than-average mouse with great tracking, especially for a wireless model. It works on many different types of surfaces due to the laser sensor, even glossier stuff that optical mice can’t track on. Don’t hesitate to buy one if you’re looking for a mouse in this price range.
