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June 15, 2006
Logitech Cordless 2.4 GHz Presenter
A colleague turned me onto the excellent Logitech Cordless 2.4 GHz Presenter (pictured). As its name implies, it's a wireless controller for PowerPoint and other presentation software. It's good, so I thought I'd review it.
Why I like it can be summed up in three reasons:
1) It just works, no muss, no fuss. Pop the little USB dongle in a free USB port and the device is nearly instantly in control of your presentation app. No drivers are loaded (or, if they are, it happens very fast and very painlessly, at least on Windows XP machines).
2) It's designed very well. The aforementioned USB dongle is stored in the back of the handheld component, so you're less likely to lose it. The device only comes with a few buttons, so it's easy to hand to someone else without a lot of explaining. It does Forward, Backward, Blank Screen (excellent!), "F5" (which starts or escapes from full-screen mode), and the laser button (yes, it has a red laser pointer). It even comes with a snazzy little neoprene Velcro-close case that fits it just perfectly.
3) It has a countdown timer! I've been looking for this feature for forever. You can set the device to count down from any increment of 5 minutes (up to many hours, in case you're that long-winded), with time remaining displayed on the very readable LCD (which also, quite handily, displays the unit's remaining battery power). You can even have it vibrate at 5 minutes and 2 minutes remaining -- excellent for those of us who lose track of time and don't wear watches.
Anyway, this thing is awesome. I've tried it on several laptops and it's worked flawlessly every time. Since it's on 2.4GHz, you won't get interference from cellphones (although the odd cordless might share its frequency). It's sturdy and, at less than $60 at Amazon.com, it's quite reasonably priced. So, if you give presentations a lot and don't want to be tied to your notebook, give the Logitech Cordless 2.4 GHz Presenter a try...you'll love it.
Posted by Craig in Technology