Logitech has announced three new input peripheral accessories for Windows 8. With the GA of the new OS just around the corner the PC accessories firm has readied these new input devices by designing them with full support for Windows 8’s input gestures. The three devices consist of two touch sensitive mice and a wireless touchpad.
Logitech Touch Mouse T620, $69.99 (£59.99)
This new mouse offers “touch all over” which says Logitech, offers “maximum productivity and instinctive touch navigation”. The T620 offers “six touch gestures” for speeding around the Windows 8 interface. However on the gestures information page I can only see four Windows 8 specific touch gestures detailed. Traditional mousing with the device is done in the way you might expect; just use it like a traditional mouse with left and right “clicking” and a scroll wheel – however there are no such physical buttons.
Windows 7 users can enjoy using this mouse too but obviously a lot of the shortcuts for Windows 8 use are inapplicable.
Logitech Zone Touch Mouse T400, $49.99 (£39.99)
This new mouse is more traditional in design than the T620 as it has real tactile left and right mouse buttons. Where the wheel in a traditional mouse is the T400 has a touch and gesture friendly pad. Please take a look at the video which illustrates its functions very nicely.
Again the Windows 8 functions available and those listed on the information page do not seem to tally. The video shows Windows 8 application switching gestures being used but these are not detailed on the Windows 8 actions page for the T400.
The T400 is more competitively priced than the T620 and also has better battery life of “up to 18 months” compared with “up to six months”. Also I prefer the tactile clicky mouse buttons. The T400 also works with Windows 7 quite well.
Logitech Wireless Rechargeable Touchpad T650, $79.99 (£69.99)
Logitech’s “silky smooth, large, touch screen-like surface” equipped T650 completes the company’s new Windows 8 input device line-up. This is an interesting alternative to touch-screen for desktop users wishing to avoid “gorilla arm”, however it’s still not the 1:1 intuitive interaction you get with a real touch screen. So I don’t see many significant advantages of using this large surface over a mouse surface even though it offers some multi-finger gesture support that isn’t featured in the drivers for the touch mice above. The T650 device does have quite a few functions for helping you use Windows 7 too.
Logitech say that the T650 “gives your fingers the freedom to perform up to 13 unique Windows 8 gestures. With embedded precision sensors and resistance to fingerprints and scratches, built-in touchpads simply can’t touch this”. A video embedded below shows the T650 in use.
The T650 touchpad contains a rechargeable battery which lasts about one month between charges. A supplied USB cable can be used to charge it as and when necessary.
These new Logitech devices will go up against Microsoft’s own contenders after the Windows 8 launch. Do the readers find any of these new devices particularly appealing?
