July 13, 2017 — Logitech International (SIX: LOGN) (Nasdaq: LOGI) today announced that it has agreed to acquire ASTRO Gaming for US$ 85 million.
Logitech And ASTRO Gaming
ASTRO Gaming is a console gaming brand with a history of producing award-winning headsets for professional gamers and enthusiasts. This acquisition will make Logitech the number one maker of headsets, mice, keyboards and streaming webcams for PC and console gamers.
“ASTRO is the leading player for premium console headsets and is the preferred headset for console eSports athletes,” said Ujesh Desai, vice president and general manager of Logitech G. “It’s a perfect complement to Logitech G’s focus on PC gaming and we couldn’t be more excited; we love the team, the brand and the products. Together, we want to make game play even more fun for gamers everywhere.”
Jordan Reiss, co-founder and president of ASTRO, added, “The whole team at ASTRO has always held Logitech and Logitech G products in the highest regard, so I’m ecstatic we are joining forces. ASTRO’s brand strength combined with Logitech G’s unrivalled technology and global distribution network is going to bring our products to even more gamers around the world.”
ASTRO is a pioneer in gaming audio and lifestyle products and has a strong leadership position in the premium end of the global console gaming headset market. ASTRO is best known for its iconic A40 and A50 headsets designed for pro gamers and core enthusiasts. ASTRO’s recently introduced A10 expands the company’s reach in the console headset market, offering the essence of what makes their headsets premium, but at a more broadly accessible price point.
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Expected impact on financial results for FY 2018
Logitech will purchase ASTRO for $85 million in cash, and the acquisition is expected to close in early August. With the addition of ASTRO, Logitech is investing in an adjacent gaming market — the console gaming market — to help accelerate the long-term growth of their gaming business.
In FY 2018, Logitech expects the acquisition of ASTRO to add approximately two points of growth to the top line, and to be slightly dilutive to the bottom line in the first year, as they integrate the business and invest to expand ASTRO internationally.
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Apr. 26, 2017 — Logitech G, a Logitech brand, (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today introduced the Logitech G Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (Amazon).
The Logitech G Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Designed in collaboration with top eSports athletes, the Logitech G Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (Amazon) is a high performance, tenkeyless mechanical gaming keyboard that is purpose-built for professional competition.
The keyboard features Logitech’s exclusive Romer-G mechanical switches, offering 25 percent faster actuation than standard mechanical keyboards, all in a switch design that delivers quiet performance. It also features a detachable cable system, making it easy to transport with customizable RGB lighting and onboard memory.
Romer-G Key Switches
Logitech’s exclusive Romer-G mechanical switches are purpose-built for pro-grade performance, responsiveness and durability offering precision and speed. With a short-throw actuation point of 1.5 mm, Romer-G switches register key presses up to 25 percent faster than standard mechanical switches and are designed for performance.
Compact, Durable Design
The Logitech G Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (Amazon) features a compact tenkeyless design, making it easy to pack for tournament travel and freeing up table space for low-sensitivity mouse movement. The keyboard is reinforced with a steel back plate, adding stability and rigidity for gameplay.
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Detachable Cable System
A detachable Micro-USB connector ensures that the cable won’t break at the connection point when bouncing around in a bag and transported between events. The three-pronged design features support arms for an easy, reliable data connection.
Customizable RGB Lighting
Using optional Logitech Gaming Software (LGS), players can select and personalize each individual key light from more than 16.8 million colors, and save a lighting pattern to onboard memory so it’s available for use in competition.
Pricing and Availability
The Logitech G Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (Amazon) is expected to be available at authorized resellers in mid-April 2017 for a suggested retail price of RM629.00 (inclusive of GST) / ~US$ 139.
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Logitech is a Swiss company with a long history of producing some of the best accessories for the PC. They started with the computer mouse, and naturally diversified into keyboards, webcams and speakers. Today, we will take a look at the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum gaming mouse.
Updated @ 2017-01-15 :Corrected references to 6 weights. There are only 5 weights. Updated other aspects of the review.
Unboxing The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum comes in a very nice cardboard box with full colour printing. You will find its key performance characteristics listed on the right side of the box, and its contents and requirements on the left side. The back of the box has a nice top view of the G502 Proteus Spectrum together with its key features.
Join us as we unbox the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum in this video. Please ignore the typo about six metal weights. There are only five weights.
Once you unpack everything, you will find the following items :
One Logitech G502 tuning weight case with 5 weights (3.6 g each) inside (please ignore the typo in the video above)
One Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum manual
One Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum Safety Compliance and Warranty leaflet
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The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum is a rather large mouse, designed for right-handed users with large hands. It feels comfortable even in my smaller hand. However, one of the side buttons was out of reach. More on this later.
It has a nice curved thumb rest which doubles as a latch for the weight-tuning system (we have special section on this later in the review), and a full body for proper palm support. This may not matter though if you prefer the finger grip style of holding the mouse.
In case you are wondering, it is only available in one colour – black. The top surfaces are all matte-finished to prevent unsightly fingerprint smears. It also has textured rubber strips on both sides for better grip.
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PMW3366 IR Sensor
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum mouse uses an IR sensor, instead of a laser sensor. This may seem like a downgrade but professional gamers will tell you – IR sensors actually deliver better precision and sensitivity than laser sensors, especially on textured surfaces.
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum uses the much-vaunted PMW3366 IR sensor, which supports resolutions from 200 DPI all the way to 12,000 DPI. But ignore that upper number – no one will actually use that. What’s really important about this sensor is its precision and sensitivity.
In those aspects, the PMW3366 optical sensor really rocks – it was both sensitive and precise. Sensitivity is critical in gaming because you want your every move to register, even the slightest move. Precision is also important because you want your move to be precisely tracked so that it registers exactly in the game, or application you are using.
That said, please note that the PMW3366 sensor will not work with glass or highly glossy surfaces, unlike the Logitech MX Anywhere 2‘s Darkfield laser sensor. This isn’t really a problem because you can easily “fix” it with a proper mouse pad, or even a piece of paper.
Scroll Wheel & Buttons
Although Logitech claims that the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum has 11 programmable buttons, there are really just 9 programmable buttons. To make it a little more confusing, there are actually 10 buttons on this mouse, but one isn’t programmable while the scroll wheel can be programmed for 3 functions. That’s how you get 11 programmable “buttons” – 8 physical buttons that are programmable + 1 scroll wheel that can be programmed for 3 different functions.
Button
Default Setting
Button
Default Setting
1
Left Click
6
Back
2
DPI Up
7
Right Click
3
DPI Down
8
Left Scroll, Middle Click, Right Scroll
4
DPI Shift
9
Scroll Mode Switch
5
Forward
10
Profile Switch
Pressing on the Scroll Mode Switch (Button #8) switches the scroll wheel between these two modes :
a “hyperfast scrolling mode” – smooth and quiet scrolling but lacks tactile feedback, and
a “click-to-click scrolling mode” – the typical ratcheted mode which precise but “noisy”.
We found the scroll wheel to be too loose in the hyperfast scrolling mode. A flick will send the screen scrolling far beyond what we would expect. The ratcheted mode is far better. The only downside – it is quite noisy if you scroll rapidly.
Note that smaller hands may find it hard to reach the DPI Shift button (#4).
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Glide Performance & Stability
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum is supported by four asymmetric pads of what appears to be UHMWPE (Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene), also known as UPE.
The traditional PTFE (commonly known by its trade name of Teflon) is slicker and gives a smoother glide, but is also more expensive and less durable. It is also hard to differentiate the gliding performance of UPE against PTFE. So we are not surprised to see UPE being used in the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum.
What’s more important to us is the stability of the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum. We are glad to report that it was very stable. Nothing irritates us more than a mouse that “rocks”. It’s pointless for a mouse to use PTFE feet for a smoother glide if it’s so unstable that it rocks as you move it.
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Weight Tuning System
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum has an all-plastic chassis and weighs just 121 grams / 4.3 ounces (without the cable). That might be too light for some gamers, so Logitech included a weight tuning system. This comprises of a plastic case with 5 metal weights and a weight tuning chamber hidden inside the G502 Proteus Spectrum.
Watch this video to see how the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum‘s weight tuning system works. Please ignore the typo about 6 weights. There are only 5 weights.
Each metal weight weighs 3.6 grams (0.13 ounces), so you can adjust the weight of the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum by up to 18 grams / 0.65 ounces (15%). The hexagonal design of the weight tuning system is quite clever, allowing Logitech to arrange them around the sensor, in a simple chamber covered by a single magnetically-locked cover.
USB Cable
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum uses a USB cable, instead of a wireless connection. The USB cable is 183 cm (6 feet) long, which is fantastic for desktops but a handful for laptops. The USB cable is braided for strength and durability. The cable joint is also protected by a hard plastic sleeve and the two main mouse buttons.
The USB cable allows the G502 Proteus Spectrum to achieve a higher polling rate of 1,000 Hz. Wireless mice, on other hand, maxes out at 500 Hz. That is a difference of response time of 1 ms vs. 2 ms. Of course, whether you can really tell the difference in real world usage is another matter.
What will really matter a lot is the fact that a USB connection will never suffer from interference, which can happen to wireless mice, due to nearby USB drives or other wireless devices.
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Logitech Gaming Software
The Logitech Gaming Software is not necessary to use the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum. However, it is highly recommended because it allows you to make full use of the G502 Proteus Spectrum‘s built-in features.
In the Home section, you get to switch between using the 3 profiles stored in the mouse’s onboard memory, or the profiles Logitech created for different games. Enabling Automatic Game Detection will allow you to scan for games in your computer, and assign preset profiles to use with the G502 Proteus Spectrum.
The profiles offer a variety of customisation options. You can change the functions of the 8 programmable buttons, adjust the DPI sensitivity levels, polling rate and even the colour of the RGB lights using up to 3 profiles.
Finally, the Logitech Gaming Software comes with a “recording feature” which they call Input Analysis. Basically, it allows you to log your key presses so you can find out which keys / buttons you pressed the most or longest during a gaming session.
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Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum Specifications
Specifications
Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
Processor
32-bit ARM processor
Profiles
3 On-board Profiles
Sensor
Logitech PMW3366 optical sensor
Resolution : 200 to 12,000 DPI in 50 DPI steps
User Settings : Up to 5 sensitivity levels can be preset
Max. Acceleration : > 40 G
Max. Speed : > 300 ips
Buttons
Two main buttons
Two top buttons
Five side buttons
One scroll wheel (doubles as a button)
USB Responsiveness
Data Format : 16 bits / axis
Report Rate : 1000 Hz (1 ms)
Glide Performance
Dynamic coefficient of friction : 0.10 μ (k)
Static coefficient of friction : 0.15 μ (s)
* Tested on wood-veneer surface.
Weight Tuning System
Five 3.6 g metal weights, allows for up to 18 g of additional weight
Durability
Main left and right buttons : 20 million clicks
Mouse feet : 250 kilometers
Size
Height: 5.2 in (132 mm)
Width: 2.95 in (75 mm)
Depth: 1.57 in (40 mm)
Weight
Weight: 5.9 oz, mouse plus cable (168 g)
Weight: 4.3 oz, mouse only (121 g)
Additional Features
Customisable RGB lighting
3 DPI indicators
Mechanical microswitches
Braided cable with hook and loop cable tie
Rubber grips
Dual-mode scroll wheel
Our Verdict
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum was designed with one goal in mind – desktop gaming. It is a full-sized mouse that offers a lot of palm support, and comes a nice braided USB cable that is 6 feet long. The PMW3366 IR sensor it uses cannot handle glass or glossy surfaces, but on regular desktop surfaces, it is precise and sensitive.
It also offers a ton of customisation features. You can customise the 9 programmable buttons for 11 functions, or the built-in LED lighting that supports up to 16.8 million colours. And like many gaming mice, you can change its sensitivity and polling speeds.
The Logitech Gaming Software it comes with is essential to accessing all those customisation features. It also allows you to fine-tune the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum for different table or mouse pad surfaces. Everything you need to adjust the mouse to your exacting needs.
Some may gripe about its plastic build but it doesn’t rattle or creak. In fact, it feels really solid and more importantly – stable. Gamers who find the G502 Proteus Spectrum a little on the light side can use its weight tuning system to beef it up a bit.
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We are not sure how popular RGB LED illumination is to you, but those who enjoy showing off their gaming PCs will love the fact that it allows them to choose from up to 16.8 million colours. Even better, they can sync the light and colour patterns with other Logitech G devices.
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum also comes with a scroll wheel that not only supports vertical and horizontal scrolling, but can also switch between ratcheted and smooth scrolling modes. Just press the small button next to the scroll wheel to switch modes – it can’t be any faster or simpler than that! Unfortunately, the scroll wheel had too much inertia in its smooth scrolling mode, and was quite noisy in its ratcheted mode.
Other than the fact that smaller hands may find it hard to reach the DPI Shift button, we really enjoyed gaming with the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum. It is therefore our pleasure to award it with our Reviewer’s Choice Award. Congratulations, Logitech!
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19 September 2016 — Logitech today announced the Prodigy Series, a family of gaming gear that was designed to enhance the way you play. The new series, which includes two mice, a keyboard and a headset, all share the same attributes of high-performance technology, exceptional comfort, and a sleek and modern design.
The Logitech G403 Prodigy Gaming Mouse and Logitech G403 Prodigy Wireless Gaming Mouse deliver long-lasting comfort, thanks to their lightweight, ergonomic design. Rubber grips on the left and right sides give you added control, and the included 10g removable weight allows you to increase the weight if you prefer a heavier mouse.
Both mice are up to eight times faster than standard mice, which means when they are moved or clicked, the on-screen response is near-instantaneous. Each mouse has advanced button tensioning that helps keep the left and right mouse buttons primed to click, reducing the force required to click, delivering exceptional responsiveness.
These mice feature the PMW3366, the world’s most advanced gaming mouse sensor, preferred by eSports pros worldwide. Exceptionally precise and consistent, the PMW3366 gives you the confidence of quicker responses and more accurate targeting.
The mice can be used directly out-of-the-box, or with LGS you can fully configure the mouse to customize your lighting, buttons and DPI settings. Specifically, the G403 Prodigy Wireless Gaming Mouse is equipped with the same energy efficient, high performance wireless technology as the award-winning Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum.
The highly optimized 2.4GHz wireless connection has 1ms report rate for incredible lag-free responsiveness that outperforms competitive solutions, including wired ones.
Logitech G213 Prodigy RGB Gaming Keyboard
Designed for gamers of all levels, the G213 Prodigy keyboard features a sleek, spill-resistant design that is comfortable and durable. An integrated palm rest and adjustable feet let you set your keyboard to the ideal position, so it feels perfect during extended gaming sessions.
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The G213 Prodigy keyboard brings together the best in tactile feel and performance with keys built specifically for gamers. Each key on the G213 Prodigy is tuned to deliver ultra-quick, responsive feedback that’s up to four times faster than standard keyboards. Plus, its anti-ghosting gaming matrix is tuned for optimal gaming performance, keeping you in control when you press multiple gaming keys simultaneously.
The G213 Prodigy keyboard features five RGB illumination zones that can be personalized from a spectrum of up to 16.8 million colors. Change colors to match your setup, specific games, or showcase your favorite colors, and synchronize lighting effects with other Logitech G devices using Logitech Gaming Software (LGS). Low light leakage around each keycap means more light comes through the lettering and less spills out around the keycaps, making it easier to find your keys in the dark.
Additionally, the dedicated media controls allow you to play, pause, skip and adjust the volume of your music with a touch of a button, without having to switch out of the game.
Logitech G231 Prodigy Gaming Headset
Using 40 mm neodymium drivers, the G231 Prodigy Headset delivers high-quality stereo sound that keeps you immersed in your PC or console game from start to finish. The earcups are covered with carefully selected sports performance cloth for a comfortable, soft touch even after hours of use. And they slip off easily for washing to keep the headset in top shape. The earcups are also designed to be slim and light, without skimping on audio quality.
A crystal-clear unidirectional boom mic can be positioned to pick up your voice alone, ensuring that you will be heard loudly and clearly. And when not in use, the mic can be folded back into the headphones. In-line audio controls for volume and microphone mute are within easy reach on the connection cable.
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March 24, 2016 — Logitech today announced its best gaming mouse yet, the Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum. The new professional-grade wireless gaming mouse features industry-leading wireless technology, an advanced optical gaming sensor, a flexible ambidextrous design, customizable lighting, mechanical pivot button design and lightweight construction, for maximum performance and comfort over long gameplay sessions.
The Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum delivers a lag-free wireless performance and long battery life that’s trusted by professional eSports gamers.
“We talked with eSports pros and none of them love the cable on a wired mouse,” said KP Sim, Logitech Country Manager of Malaysia, Philippines and Brunei. “They wish they had the freedom of wireless but the performance and reliability of a wired mouse. So that was the design goal we gave our engineers, to build a wireless gaming mouse that was faster than the competition’s wired gaming mice. G900 delivers on this promise, and we’re confident it’s the best gaming mouse we’ve ever built.”
Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum Key Features
Professional Grade Wireless Technology
With a one-millisecond report rate, and highly optimized 2.4GHz wireless connection, the Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum outperforms both wireless and wired competitors. Thanks in part to the exclusive clock-tuning technology that significantly reduces power consumption, you can play continuously for 32 hours — an entire competition weekend — on a single charge (24 hours with default lighting). When you’re running low on power, the Logitech Gaming Software (LGS) Battery Assistant will notify you. There’s no need to stop playing to recharge as the mouse seamlessly switches between wireless and wired modes when plugged in. Since a full charge from empty only takes about two hours, you’re never attached to the cord for long.
Most Accurate Optical Gaming Sensor
The Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum features the PMW3366, Logitech’s state-of-the-art optical gaming sensor with our exclusive clock-tuning technology. Widely accepted by enthusiasts and professionals as the best gaming mouse sensor on the market, the PMW3366 precisely interprets every hand movement onto the screen for smooth, responsive performance, even at high sensitivity. It has zero smoothing or filtering across the entire DPI range (200-12,000 DPI), delivering exceptional tracking accuracy and consistent responsiveness at any speed.
Fully Customizable to Fit Your Hand and Style
The Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum gives you the freedom to configure your mouse exactly to your preferences. Going beyond ambidextrous, the Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum can be transformed into a truly left- or right-handed mouse, using the included magnetic button covers. The mouse is constructed for a non-prescriptive grip that accommodates a variety of palm, claw and fingertip holds. Using LGS, lighting color and brightness can be programmed to match your style, system and environment from a palette of up to 16.8 million colors. Bring your mouse to life with “breathing” light patterns, or set your lighting to sleep when you aren’t using your system.
Mechanical Pivot Button Design
The buttons of the Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum have been engineered to deliver a crisp, clean click feel with rapid click. A metal spring tensioning system and exclusive mechanical pivoting hinges are built into the main left and right keys. This system reduces the pre-travel distance between the buttons and switches, while also minimizing the force required to click, enabling faster recovery after each click. The result is a heightened response and a consistently fast, accurate and reliable click performance.
Precisely Engineered Lightweight Construction
Every component of the Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum has been optimized to reduce weight while maintaining stability. All elements of the construction have been analyzed and adjusted to remove fractions of grams, from the thin wall molding to the hollow “spoked” hyper-fast scroll wheel design. The result is a wireless gaming mouse that weighs in at 107g, making it comfortable to use over long periods and delivering quicker response to motion.
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System Requirements
Optional software download works with Windows® 7 and higher
Powered USB port
Internet connection and 100MB hard drive space (for optional software download)
Physical Specifications
Dimensions (L x W x D): 130 mm x 67 mm x 40 mm
Weight: 107 g
Tracking
Resolution: 200 – 12,000 dpi
Maximum acceleration: >40G*
Maximum speed: >300 ips*
Responsiveness
USB data format: 16 bits/axis
USB report rate: 1000Hz (1ms)
Wireless report rate: 1000Hz (1ms)
Wireless technology: Custom 2.4GHz
Microprocessor: 32-bit ARM
Glide
Dynamic coefficient of friction**: .11 μ (k)
Static coefficient of friction**: .17 μ (s)
Durability
Buttons (Left / Right): 20 million clicks
Feet: 250 kilometers
Battery Life and Wireless
Battery Life: 30 hours***
Wireless Range: 10 meters
* Tested on Logitech G240 Gaming Mouse Pad
** Tested on wood-veneer desktop
*** Battery life and range may vary based on use, settings and computing conditions
Warranty
2-year limited hardware warranty
Pricing and Availability
The Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum will be available in Malaysia from mid-April 2016 onwards from MCL Berhad. The suggested retail price for the product is RM 699 (inclusive of GST) / ~US$ 179.
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