I mentioned at the start of the month that I was considering buying a new mouse, as my existing Arteck mouse was on the blink after not quite four years. I also noted “I’m sure I’ve had Logitech mice that have lasted far longer in the past” – and so, I’ve bought a Logitech mouse as its replacement.
Specifically, I’ve bought a Logitech M720 Triathlon mouse (sponsored link), thanks to an Amazon gift card from my aunt and uncle for my birthday last month. Like the Arteck mouse before it, this is a multi-device mouse – as the name Triathlon suggests, it can connect to up to three devices. It includes a mini USB dongle for RF mode, and can then connect to two additional Bluetooth devices – I’ve connected it to my iPad. I normally use the RF mode as I believe it’s more energy efficient than Bluetooth, but clearly Bluetooth mode is useful for devices that lack USB ports.
Additional buttons
As well as the standard left, right and clickable scroll wheel buttons, there are five additional buttons on the mouse:
- Below the scroll wheel is a toggle button which affects how fast the scroll wheel moves. If you press it down, then it’ll scroll with a tactile click through lines at a time. Release it, and it’ll scroll faster and more freely through longer documents, but with less accuracy.
- Above your thumb, there’s a button that defaults to navigating forwards in a web browser
- Next to that, unsurprisingly, is a back button
- Below that is the button to select which device you want to connect to.
- Finally, at the bottom of the mouse below your thumb, is the ‘gesture’ button
When you first plug in the USB dongle, you get a popup to install the Logi Options+ app. This allows you to customise these buttons, and update the firmware on the mouse and dongle. It’s optional, and it’s only available to install on Windows and MacOS – as far as I can tell, on Linux, buttons 2, 3 and 5 can’t be configured to do anything.
Battery
The Arteck mouse had a built-in rechargeable battery, with a USB-C port to charge it. Charging was only needed about every six months, and you could still use the mouse whilst charging.
This Logitech Triathlon mouse, by contrast, takes a single AA battery, and a single-use alkaline battery is included with the mouse when you buy it. It claims to offer two years of battery life on one battery.
Inside the battery panel is a storage hole for the USB dongle. If you have other Logitech devices, like a wireless keyboard, then one dongle will be sufficient to connect to both – indeed, it can connect to six Logitech wireless devices.
Overall, the Logitech Triathlon mouse is good. It’s slightly heavier than the Arteck mouse, but offers the additional lower thumb button and control over scrolling. I found it slightly more comfortable to use as well. Whilst I prefer the rechargeable built-in battery, I have plenty of rechargeable AA batteries to use when the provided single-use battery runs out.
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