Logitech M305 Wireless Mouse (Black)

I actually bought this elsewhere, got a nice price on it. I would never consider a long-receiver USB-type wireless mouse for a laptop. I can just see them getting hooked and broken over and over, so it was important to have a tiny receiver like this. I admit I’ve not tested the range. I have not tested the battery life (only a few days old). However, this thing’s receiver is awesome; I know it will not break due to its small stature.

The mouse itself was found fine on Windows Start 7 and also XP Home edition on two computers. It’s a bit more sensitive than my older USB plug in mouse so I pulled down the pointer speed in control panel.

I generally dislike mouses/mice (?) of this shape as it is stub-nosed and quite tall. That is my main complaint about it but I knew that going in so I cannot ding it a star and it is otherwise a large enough mouse not to frustrate my hands–it is not a tiny, pitiful “laptop”-sized mouse.

It has a button on the bottom to turn it off. If left on the red tracking light underneath is constantly shining, but I intend never to turn it off as I think that light pulls very little power (I hope) and it ensures quick wake ups. Wakeup time is about a second if the mouse has been left for a while–this won’t bother you. Responsively it seems fine. I’ve not tried it with gaming. I hear that USB-based wireless mouses are a touch faster than bluetooth, for what it’s worth.

It takes a single AA battery (comes with a duracell), which means replacements should be most readily available and an AA vs AAA or 2XAAA ensures decent battery life without spending any kind of real money on battery replacements. I imagine it would work with a rechargeable nimh but I have not tried it.

As I will use this mouse every day, if I do not come in to update this review in the future you can rest assured that I either got run over by a truck or the mouse continues to work as stated.

EDIT: Feb 9/10. The battery died on this a couple of days go, so with pretty regular use (3-4 hours/day) and never turning the thing off it got about 6 weeks, which I think is certainly acceptable.

EDIT: Apr 24/2012. Decided to accurately test battery life in this mouse. I just replaced the battery today and it had been installed (Rayovac, new alkaline) on Jan 28/2012, so that’s pretty much right on 90 days in a fairly heavily used laptop in the kitchen.

I own three of the Logitech M305 wireless mouse…One in each laptop…I just leave the very tiny USB transmitter in the USB port of the laptop..It is so small, it will not move around in the port like the longer transmitters..This mouse has an easy off an on switch and if you forget to turn it off it will go into sleep mode….They are available with cool graphics too…..They are compatible with XP, Vista and 7. You can use them on jeans, a blanket, or really any surface with NO sluggish drag and they have a very comfortable feel too…..I love this product***** UPDATE….I JUST BOUGHT THE NEWEST MACBOOK PRO AND AIR…THEY WANTED $75 DOLLARS FOR THEIR MOUSE…I PLUGGED THIS BAD BOY IN AND IT WORKS REALLY WELL FOR $15.00

I have only had this 1 hr., but it’s great so far. I have tested it on three different computers (3 yr. old Dell Insipron w/ Vista, 2 yr. old Dell Inspiron w/ Vista and new Acer netbook w/ XP. Just plug and play with all three. Gotta love the tiny USB receiver (can’t break off). The size is on the smallish side but seems fine for me and the wife. It works on our shiney wood desk and jeans; haven’t tested anything else. It worked from about 4 ft. with the receiver on the the far side of the computer. (If I am any further than that I can’t see the screen anyway; heck who am I kidding, I couldn’t see the screen from there.)

I looked at the Microsoft 4000 which is a little bigger and feels a little nicer to me, but I got the M305 because I’m cheap and it was on sale for $10 less.

Update 3/1/10: Still works great. We took a three week trip with the laptop and it was really convenient to just leave the receiver in place when packing up the laptop.

I got this mouse because the touchpad on my new laptop is unusable by design (thanks HP). However, this wireless mouse more than makes up for it. The sides where your thumb and either your ring finger or pinky, depending on how you grip it, are rubberized for a good grip. The buttons are easy to click. The scroll wheel does have left and right scrolling, but when you click down on the scroll wheel for a middle click, it can sometimes go left or right. By default, clicking the wheel left or right will just do scrolling, but you can download SetPoint from Logitech’s website and customize the buttons to do whatever you’d like, including back and forward buttons.

It’s not too heavy. I think most of the weight is present because of the (included) AA battery. When you pop open the cover, there is a hole for the USB receiver if you don’t like to leave it plugged in all the time. There’s an on/off switch on the bottom if you’re not going to be using it for a while.

I have been using Logitech products for quite a number of years now and have yet to be in the least dissatisfied with any item. This mouse, the Logitech M305 Wireless Mouse is no different. It does precisely the job I paid for it.
This is a workhorse. There is nothing particular fancy about it; it simply works the way it is suppose to work, and works well.

The design fits my hand perfectly and is quite comfortable. The plug-in nano-receiver is quite small. I use this particular mouse on my lap top; the one I travel with and do my work on the job with. The nano-receiver is plugged into the SBU port (I am currently using a Dell Inspiration which is several years old) and that is where it stays. I need not worry about removing it constantly. As the receiver is quite small, there is little to no chance of it being broken or accidently chipped off despite the fact that my lap top takes quite a beating.

This mouse uses a single AA Battery. I have been using this since last December 2009 pretty constantly and have had only one need for a battery change. I always carry a couple of extra AA Batteries with me as I despise using the computers touch pad for the type of work I do.

The scroll function works quite well but if you are looking for the superfast scroll feature you need to look at another model. I personally don’t need or want that particular feature. I have tried using this mouse on just about every surface you can imagine from desk top, to my leg, to the floor and everything between. It always works and works smoothly

Please do take note. This is not a high tech mouse of the sort a serious gamer would be happy with. I handle the ones my grandsons have on their computers and they are in a world of their own with adjustable weight, high speed this and that’s and to be quite frank, I am sort of afraid to touch the things for fear of having my hand either being evaporated or transported into another dimension. No, this is a work horse of a mouse with limited features; which is precisely what I needed and wanted.

Set up was absolutely nothing. No programs were needed, not down loads were needed. You just plug in the little bitty chip thing and you are ready to go.

The price here is quite easy on the pocket, something I loved about it, and you actually get quite a bit for your money, something which is becoming quite rare now days.

I have absolutely nothing to complain about in reference to this product.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Pros:

1. Easy set up. Turn on machine, Insert battery (included), plug in receiver, turn on and go.
2. Comes with one AA battery, tiny USB receiver and instructions in English.
3. Slider on the bottom opens front casing to insert battery, similar to the V220, except that the battery direction is much more clearly marked.
4. Easy on/off slider also on bottom.
5. Handy storage space for receiver inside battery compartment.
6. Small and portable
7. Wicked cool pattern, matching wireless K250 keyboard.
8. Indicator light for low battery situations.

Cons:

1. May be a bit small for large hands
2. Pretty basic in functions (but has everything most people will ever need)
3. Receiver is NOT a unifying receiver.
4. Battery cover a little tricky to remove without practice.

Summary:

A compact, basic, portable, easy to set-up wireless mouse ideal for laptops. Combines the size and design of the V220 mouse and the USB storage compartment of the VX Nano Laser mouse.

Addendum:

This is billed as being paired with the Wireless Keyboard K250, so I’m reviewing them as a matched twosome.

Pros:

1. They make a handsome couple

Cons:

1. They don’t get along and are headed for divorce court, because they don’t have a unifying receiver in common.

Notes:

After driving myself crazy for a few minutes, and downloading unnecessary software, I discovered that the M305 mouse does not have what it takes to work with the unifying receiver, and therefore you’ll need to plug in BOTH receivers to make the mouse and keyboard work.

Apparently you’ll need the M705, Performance Mouse MX or Anywhere Mouse MX if you prefer having only one receiver for both mouse and keyboard.

Amanda Richards, July 17, 2010

I think this is a pretty good mouse. It does a good job and it works which is important.
However, there are two flaws which may make or break your choice. An earlier review said that it is loud and I will say that while the click is louder than normal, it’s not too too bad. However, the scroll is much louder than usual and is indeed annoying.
Another caveat which is probably my mouse only was that it isn’t completely level. I added 2 pieces of scotch tape to fix it and since it works, it’s fine, just saying that if you get one that isn’t level, use scotch tape and that works too.
So these two flaws aren’t too too big, but prevents me from giving it a perfect rating.

Logitech can do no wrong (well, except for their Revue, but that’s a different story), and the M305 is another fine mouse from Logitech.

I have an ASUS netbook, and this goes perfectly with the netbook, sure beats using the touchpad.

PROS:

- Comes with a AA battery!
- Long battery life
- Nice, distinctive artwork and colors on mouse
- Nano receiver
- Installs immediately for usage

CONS:

- Setpoint software from website needs internet connection to install completely
- Mouse attracts grease…

Logitech, as in many of their other wireless devices, generously provides an AA battery. I wasn’t sure if they would for the M305 given the lower price point, but they did. They claim a 6 month battery life, and there’s no reason to doubt that claim, as many of my other Logitech device have been rather parsimonious on battery power. The battery housing (top quarter of mouse) is accessible via a battery cover toggle switch underneath the mouse. Open it, insert battery as shown, close hatch.

I then plugged in the Nano receiver into a spare USB slot, and 2 seconds later, I was off and running. The mouse can be further configured by Setpoint driver software on Logitech’s website; I was a bit annoyed that the Setpoint software needed an internet connection to install, as my netbook was not near a wifi source at the time of installation. Great colors and artwork on the M305; it’s distinctive.

The only other detracting issue I can think of is that the M305 tends to attract grease…but maybe that’s my fault for eating and using the mouse at the same time. Overall, another great device from Logitech.

**UPDATE (September 1, 2011)**: I’ve been using the mouse for about 2.5 months now, and the battery is still going strong. It’s so much more convenient than using a touchpad! I also love the bright red color and unique styling; I know which desk is mine because when I approach from afar, only my desk has the little red Logitech mouse with cool styling. It’s been comfortable to use for hours on end, the size works well for me, but perhaps I have smaller hands.

**UPDATE (December 1, 2011)**: Battery just ran out. Estimated 6-month battery life surprisingly accurate!