Logitech Breaks Out Gaming Keyboard, Mice

New York — Logitech this fall will start shipping additions to its keyboard, speaker and mice lines, including two input devices and mice fashioned for the gamer market.

The gaming pieces are the G15 keyboard and the G5 and G7 Laser Mouse. Ruben Mookerjee, Logitech's marketing director, said the devices meet the stringent needs of hard-core gamers who require quick response times and personalized keyboard setup to effectively play first-person shooter games.

The wireless G15 has a flip-up LCD and 18 programmable keys, each with three potential settings for a total of 54 keys. The keys are back-lit and the keyboard has a “game mode” that disables the Windows key, a potential problem source for hard-core gamers, Mookerjee said.

The keyboard will ship in October with a $79 suggested retail price

Logitech will ship two gaming mice next month, the G5 and G7. Both feature a gaming grade laser that Mookerjee said is more than capable of keeping up with the demanding gaming world.

The G5 Laser Mouse, Mookerjee said, was developed from the ground up with the gaming community in mind. The mouse incorporates a weight-tuning system that allows users to adjust the mouse's balance to their need. Mookerjee said gamers want to balance their mouse so it lands flat after they lift it to make a move, a constant action for a gamer. The mouse has a removable tray with eight holes, each capable of holding a small weight that looks like a watch battery. The weights, included with the mouse, come in 1.7-gram and 4.5-gram sizes. Logitech discovered a need for a mouse like the G5 when they discovered some gamers were dismantling their mice and adding their own weights, Mookerjee said.

The G5 will ship with a $69 suggested retail price.

The G7 is a wireless model that comes with two rechargeable lithium batteries and a docking station/charger for the mouse. The G7 has a built-in battery indicator light so the gamer knows when to change batteries, and Mookerjee said the batteries can be quickly swapped with no impact on the game being played.

The G7 will carry a $99 suggested retail.

Logitech also introduced several non-gaming keyboards this month that will hit stores in September and October. The Cordless Desktop MX 5000 Laser, $149, features an integrated LCD and a touch-screen control panel for controlling media functions. The Cordless Desktop S510, $99, comes with a remote control and Logitech software for handling a PC's media library. The diNovo Media Desktop Laser, $199, uses Bluetooth networking and Logitech's MediaLife software.

On the speaker side of the business, Logitech has announced the mm50 portable speakers for the iPod and the mm28 flat-panel portable speakers. The mm50 ships this month with a $129 suggested retail price. The four drivers are contained in a single, rectangular chassis with an iPod mount placed in the middle. The iPod is docked to the speakers and can be controlled via an included remote.

The mm28 systems are 1.25 inches deep and can connect to any MP3 or CD player via a standard 3.5mm audio jack. It will cost $7 and ship in September.

Both products can operate on battery power or with an AC adapter.