Logitech confirms gaming mice, keyboard



Laser stunner keyboard fun, er

By INQUIRER staff: Thursday 11 August 2005, 10:15
LOGITECH TODAY CONFIRMED the release of its G5 gaming mouse, the very same that our Charlie mentioned here. The company also announced its G7 cordless gaming mouse and its G15 keyboard, designed specifically with gamers in mind.

The G7 and G5 mice offer resolution of up to 2000 dpi, which can be adjusted to as low as 400 dpi. They both feature full-speed USB data transfer and can handle 6.4 megapixels of image processing per second. The G5 and G7 mice are Logitech's first mice to offer full-speed USB, each mouse delivering 500 reports per second, which is just a slight increase from the 60-125 reports of most USB mice.

The G15 keyboard, designed to compliment the new mice, features 18 progammable keys as well as a backlit, built-in LCD display. It's apparently dead simple to program, shipping with "advanced software" making setting up custom commands for your videogames a piece of cake.

If you're interested, the G15 keyboard will be available online and at retailers worldwide in October for $79.99. The G7 mouse retails for $99.99 while the G5 costs $69.99. Both will be available in the US and Europe in September. µ

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

Logitech, has finally gotten on the ball and released a keyboard tailored to the computer gamer.

The new Logitech G15 has some nice features that actually tailor to gamers. The most acknowledged feature is probably the LCD screen on the keyboard. Keyboard macros can be setup on the physical keyboard while in game. Also while not gaming the LCD screen can read media information, display CPU information, email alerts and the keyboard even comes with a software development kit so the coding gamers can write their own programs to display information on the LCD. Backlit keys and a “gaming button” that disable the windows key are also nice. This should be available soon in the U.S. and expect to pay a cool $79.

Logitech G15 gaming keyboard includes LCD display, custom keys

Posted Aug 11, 2005, 9:55 AM ET by Marc Perton

This isn’t the first “ultimate gaming keyboard” we’ve seen, but Logitech’s G15 still has some features that might appeal to both gamers and office nerds alike. For one thing, it has a built-in LCD display that can show select information from compatible games, including score, strength and ammo. The LCD can also display info from other programs, such as waiting email, and Logitech will provide an SDK to let programmers add their own info to the display. There are also 18 programmable function keys, the obligatory blue LED glow, and two USB ports. Oh, and when you enter gaming mode the Windows key is disabled, ensuring you won’t accidentally pop up the Start menu when you’re in the middle of a frag-fest. Available in October at an MSRP of $79.99.

Logitech G15 Keyboard Preview

Logitech's new G15 Keyboard offers a collection of advanced features any gamer
will love, including programmable macros, illuminated keys, and a backlit LCD display.

By James Yu

Posted Thursday, August 11th 2005

It appears that all the manufacturer attention lavished upon gaming mice has finally started to trickle down to the little rodent's faithful companion, the keyboard. While we don't have laser-equipped keyboards just yet, recent innovations have made keyboards much more exciting than back in the day when manufacturers would proudly tout media control buttons as a product-defining feature. Logitech's new G15 Keyboard offers a collection of advanced features any gamer will love, including programmable macros, illuminated keys, and a backlit LCD display.

The keyboard itself has a larger than average footprint and resembles a small command center with all the extra buttons and the LCD display. The 160x43 LCD can be used to display system information like time and date or even CPU utilization and MP3 playback information. Software applications like games and Web browsers can send information to the display, but the user will be able to set software permissions in the configuration menu.

Fans of soft keys will love the G15's quiet, velvety keystrokes. The soft action reminded us of the great-feeling keys on the Saitek Eclipse and Gamers keyboards--but the similarity doesn't stop there. Like the Eclipse, the G15 keys also have transparent lettering and blue backlighting that keep the keys visible when it's time to turn off the lights.

The most useful new feature has to be the programmable macro support. The keyboard has a set of keys on the left side of the keyboard that can be programmed with macros. You can record a series of keystrokes and assign it to one of the programmable keys. Then you'll be able to replay the entire key sequence each time you activate the macro. Macros are extremely useful for creating shortcuts that help automate repetitive actions in games and in desktop applications. You could create a macro in Counter-Strike: Source that automatically buys weapons, ammo, and armor for you (or one that only buys grenades if you're fond of spamming). There are 18 macro keys total, but you can save up to 54 settings, because the keys have three different "shift states."

If that wasn't enough, the board also has a special "game mode" switch that you can toggle to disable the Windows key that has been responsible for prematurely ending its fair share of gaming sessions. While not quite as satisfying as prying off a key and tossing it into the trash, the "game mode" switch does offer a more peaceful solution to the Windows key menace.

The Logitech G15 Keyboard has an $80 MSRP and will be available in October 2005.

Color: Silver

Connectivity Technology: Wired

Keys Qty: 132

Hot Keys Qty: 28

Keyboard Layout: QWERTY

OS Required: Microsoft Windows XP

Logitech G5 Laser Mouse Preview

We recently had the opportunity to get hands on with the MX518's successor, the new Logitech G5 Laser Mouse.

By James Yu

Posted Thursday, August 11th 2005

Logitech announced during E3 that it was launching a new G-series line of "extreme-performance peripherals made for the technologically demanding universe of PC gaming." The statement didn't include any specific product announcements, but it did hint that G-series peripherals would follow in the footsteps of the Logitech MX518 gaming mouse. We recently had the opportunity to get hands on with the MX518's successor, the new Logitech G5 Laser Mouse.

The Logitech G5 has a handsome multicolor metallic paint job that gives the mouse a worn, battle-tested look. The mouse surface has a very fine texture that grips well without uncomfortably attaching to your hand. The MX518, in comparison, has the same basic shape, but the glossy mouse surface makes it stick to the skin a little too well.

The G5 has two extra-large feet and an "outrigger" foot on the left side that helps even out contact with the mousing surface to provide an even glide when you need to swing around frantically for whatever reason. The new feet ensure a smooth mouse movement. In another excellent touch, the G5 has a braided mouse cable that's pliant enough to absorb an accidental nudge, since knocking the plastic cord on a normal mouse often results in an unpleasant cursor jerk in-game.

The G5 has a "gaming-grade" laser that we assume is better than the "email-grade" and "word-processing-grade" lasers used in regular desktop mice. The mouse has a 2,000dpi resolution, and you can adjust between three sensitivity settings on the fly with two buttons located below the scrollwheel. The left side of the mouse has a dpi status bar that indicates which dpi setting the mouse is currently using. The USB mouse polls at 500Hz, or four times the average mouse update rate for excellent responsiveness.

Adjust the weight of the G5 mouse to match your playing style.


The Logitech G5 is fairly light, like the MX518, but the mouse has a removable cartridge that lets you add weight for extra customization. You can eject the cartridge from the bottom of the mouse with the press of a button. The plastic container has space to hold up to eight 4.5g or 1.7g weights in any combination (just make sure to space them correctly to keep the mouse balanced), and you just slide the cartridge back into the mouse when you're finished. The unit comes with a small tin containing eight metal slugs of each weight type--like a small package of very heavy Altoids.

The Logitech G5 Laser Mouse will be available in September with a $70 MSRP.