Review: Logitech V270 Bluetooth Mouse

Logitech V270 Bluetooth Travel Mouse

Having just purchased a bluetooth-equipped laptop, it was mandatory that I have at least one bluetooth accessory to use with it. So a week ago I purchased the Logitech V270 travel mouse. Now that I've had some time to put it through the paces, I've decided to write a short review.


Price and Availability

Bluetooth mice are still difficult to find in stores, and I live in a fairly small city, so I decided to get mine from NewEgg. The price was $34.95, and shipping brought the total up to just over $40. The package appeared to be one of those atrocious plastic "security" packages, the kind that require a knife, scissors, and/or a blowtorch to open without hurting yourself. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it opened easily. Inside was the V270 mouse, a zippered neoprene carry case, and a CD with the Logitech SetPoint software. Batteries are included (two AA), and were stowed inside the carry case. No bluetooth dongle is supplied; your computer must already be equipped with bluetooth to use this mouse.

Looks and Form Factor

The V270 comes in two colors, charcoal and silver. Either one matches my black-and-silver XPS m1210, depending on whether I want to match the lid or the inside. I chose the charcoal. The color is a bit lighter than my lid, so I might choose the silver if I had it to do over again. It still looks very nice next to the notebook.

Although the V270 is smaller than any desktop mouse I've used, it's definitely not one of those "mini" travel mice. It's a very happy medium between a desktop and a mini size. It fits in the hand with the index and middle fingers on the buttons, and the thumb and ring fingers along the sides. It's got a nice height to it, which makes it comfortable for extended use. The design is symmetrical, so lefties should have no trouble with it.


Build and Functionality

Aside from the fact that it uses bluetooth, it's a very standard three-button scroll mouse. I'd be happier if Logitech had thrown in an extra button or two, but I don't miss them too much. The buttons have the same travel and click feel as a good desktop mouse. The wheel is fairly stiff, which I like. It feels about as rugged as other mice I've used, and it's already survived a three-foot fall onto a tile floor with no ill effect.

On the underside are the reset button and power switch. The reset button is used to put the mouse into discover mode so that your computer can recognize it. The power switch helps you save your batteries by turning it off as soon as you're done with it, rather than waiting for a timeout. I've heard that battery life still isn't great with this mouse, but I haven't had it long enough to know first-hand.

My Dell XPS M1210 recognized the mouse immediately. Motion is snappy with absolutely no detectable lag. It may be that adding additional bluetooth devices would introduce some lag, but right now it feels every bit as lag-free as a tethered mouse, and I do mean one-hundred percent. It does go to "sleep" after a short period of inactivity, a minute or so. It takes about half a second to wake up from this state once you start moving it again. I have found this to be less annoying than I thought it would be--for normal usage it's just not an issue, and in gaming, it never sits still long enough to fall asleep.

Reception is better than I'll ever need. I started walking away from my computer as I wiggled the scroll wheel, and I was over thirty feet away when it started missing. I use it in class with the laptop sitting on the desk, and the mouse underneath it inside the desk on a notepad or something. So far I haven't found a surface that the mouse refuses to track on.


Overall Impression

I'm extremely happy with the V270. It's very convenient to simply pull the mouse out of my bag and flip a switch, rather than messing with a USB cord or a dongle. And the solid, comfortable design makes it a pleasure to use. If it had just one additional programmable button, I'd give it a perfect rating. Even with three buttons, I'm very glad I bought it and would do so again without hesitation.


My rating: 4.5 out of 5
Pros: Good build quality, comfortable design, no lag, great range, power switch
Cons: Only three buttons