We said earlier how these new generations have left previous models languishing in their wake. We may have been jumping the gun slightly there; in fact, the Microsoft Habu for example, or the Razr DeathAdder already have a design very similar to that of the Side Winder insofar as they were made for dynamic use. They demand a firm grip, with your fingers firmly pressed against the mouse (Think of it like a fine glass of Cognac -Ed) The aforementioned mice are very versatile, and the Side Winder it seems doesn’t bring much innovation to the table. Overall, its design isn’t very interesting. The G9 on the other hand, with its low and wide form, is more of an innovation when compared to Logitech’s previous generations. Even though its name is part of the “G” series, it has nothing in common with the series’ previous models, and the idea of packaging it with two separate cases is a big step forward. It’s far and away the winner in terms of design and innovation. As important as user-friendly design is in a high performance mice, the commands are a little more important. Each of our two mice brings their own novelties, the most prominent being the currently quite complex integration of the on-demand sensitivity feature which we previously discussed.

Apart from this feature we can also see advances in terms of the scroll wheel. Logitech has integrated its famous two-mode scroll wheel on the G9. Namely the modes are free wheel or notched. The change between the two modes is done by using the button under the mouse. To tell you the truth, this scroll wheel is a revised version of the ones on the MX, VX Revolution and VX Nano mice. Its notch mode is much harder to use while the free wheel mode is going from strength to strength. This scroll wheel seems perfect for a variety of uses. During gaming it is set to optimal resistance. On the other hand the free wheel, with its negligible friction, is particularly pleasant for office work.

The location of the change-profiles button has its up and down sides. Practically speaking, you have to flip over the mouse to change profile, which requires that you lift it up off the mat. On the plus side there’s no chance at all that while playing frenziedly you would accidentally hit the wrong button and change from one mode to another.