The Logitech Wireless Keyboard K340 has a compact design and integration with Logitech's Unifying technology.
(Credit: Logitech)Logitech announced today the release of its Unifying Receiver, which lets multiple wireless peripherals connect to a computer via only a single USB dongle. Four products will be released that support the proprietary technology, including the Wireless Keyboard K350, Wireless Keyboard K340, Marathon Mouse M705, and Wireless Mouse M505.
Logitech Wireless Mouse M505, as seen with its tiny Unifying, USB dongle
(Credit: Logitech)Like several of Logitech's other wireless peripherals, the products use 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity via a tiny USB dongle that protrudes only 8 millimeters from the edge of the USB port. Whereas previously each wireless receiver needed its own USB transceiver, the Unifying technology lets up to six devices connect at the same time. Each additional peripheral needs to be set up using Logitech's Unifying software and connects securely using 128-bit AES encryption. The K350 is a fully-featured keyboard with several media controls; shortcuts; and an ergonomic, curvy design. The K340, on the other hand, has a much more minimal and compact design while still maintaining a full keyboard and number pad. Both boast up to three years of battery life and support for Windows 7.
The M705 derives its "Marathon" name from a similarly promised three-year battery life, thanks to a power switch and auto-sleep function. The laser-tracking mouse also has an option for hyper-fast scrolling, which is not available on the M505. The M505 also has a shorter battery life at 15 months. Both will be compatible with Windows and Mac OS X.
Both keyboards are expected to be available in September, with the K350 retailing for $60 and the K340 for $50. The M505 will be available in August for $50. While the M705 will be released in Europe in August, it won't arrive in the U.S. until early 2010, at which time it will retail for $70.
Microsoft on Thursday announced a new wireless mouse aimed at the burgeoning Netbook market.
The Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000, which goes on sale in August, comes in a bunch of colors and has a small USB transmitter that sticks out less than a centimeter from the computer. Microsoft argues that means the mouse transmitter can remain plugged in all the time, of course that assumes that the Netbook has enough USB ports that one can be dedicated to a mouse.
Microsoft's Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 is aimed at the growing Netbook market. It will be available in August for $40.
(Credit: Microsoft)The thing that really struck me is that, at $40, the mouse costs more than the revenue Microsoft gets from selling Windows XP on the same Netbook. (Of course, once you throw in the retailer's cut, the manufacturing cost and other things, Microsoft makes way more profit from that copy of Windows XP.)
Still, it's a good way for Microsoft to try to make up for the fact that it generally makes less from Netbooks and that this is the only part of the PC market that is growing. Microsoft's press release touts market research predicting 35 million of the diminutive portables will be sold this year.
I would also note that in its excitement over the Netbook business, the hardware unit appears not to have gotten the message that the Windows folks would prefer these things be referred to as small notebook PCs.
(Credit:
Everything USB)
If you're working on those hoarding issues but still can't quite bear to go cold turkey without a USB storage key at all times, then maybe this is a compromise on the way to recovery.
Asus has created a mouse that doubles as a flash drive so you can maintain your pack-rat tendencies with no one being the wiser. The MS71 is a wireless mouse that has a detachable dongle that acts as a USB transmitter when it's not being used for the storage half of the equation, according to Everything USB.
As a mouse, it certainly doesn't look like the most comfortable to use, not unlike other exceptionally small models we've seen. Then again, a lot of people swear by MoGo's anorexic version, so we'll withhold judgment.
(Credit:
Gizoo)
What if someone claimed to have invented a wireless mouse that never needed batteries or a recharger? Yeah, we'd say they were nuts too. But Gizoo is offering one that does just that and even makes the claim in its name: the Battery-Free Wireless Mouse.
How? It draws its energy from the electricity in a companion pad that, unlike the mouse itself, does need a power cord that connects to the computer's USB port, according to Coolest-Gadgets. It may not sound all that useful at first--after all, you're still tethered by the pad's cord--but we've actually had RSI problems resulting from the use of wired mice, so this would make a lot of sense for us. Especially because we're too cheap to buy batteries.
(Credit:
Best Buy)
Loath as we are to post anything involving the evil Hello Kitty, we are compelled to issue an alert anytime it sets paw close to home--as in the desktop. So we are depressed to report that it's has been conjured in the form of a pink wireless mouse, which Chip Chick says is available for $25 at Best Buy. (We've heard of "CatDog, but a cat mouse?) It's almost creepier that the image doesn't have eyes, making it seem all the more like Big Brother.
(Credit:
Gearfuse)
When we made our many pleas for wireless entertainment systems, this isn't exactly what we had in mind. In fact, we have to agree with Gearfuse in its assessment of this wireless speaker mouse pad as utterly useless--or, as the aforementioned blog put it gently, "You really don't want crappy speakers at your fingertips." We won't even get into the solar-powered calculator. The broader point here, ladies and gentlemen, is that there should be a limit to the number of functions a device is allowed to have. For its own good, if nothing else.
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