If you’re ready to step up from your basic three-button wired mouse, the Logitech lineup is an excellent place to start, and the M510 Wireless Mouse is a worthy option. This wireless mouse features a contoured shape that’s aimed at increasing a more comfortable fit and comes with side-scrolling, zooming, and full control over five buttons via the accompanying Logitech Options software. It doesn’t offer earth-shattering speed, resolution, or accuracy, but the level of control is a compelling buy-in for your home office setup.
Design: Slim and ergonomic
The Logitech M510 Wireless Mouse is slimmer than most mice. The cinched middle allows for a comfortable fit of the palm on the top of the mouse with fingers wrapped around the sides in the rubber gripped area. While it’s advertised as a full-size mouse, it’s only slightly longer than the Logitech Master MX3 or Logitech Marathon Mouse M705. Both of those models are considerably wider, though. Like its model counterparts, the M510 features an on/off button on the bottom of the device and programmable buttons—including two near the thumb rest. While this mouse appears to have only two more additional buttons than you’d see in a basic mouse, the addition of the scroll wheel button and side-scrolling actions offers more capability than meets the eye without overwhelming the hand. The battery compartment is also easy to open and close, clicking into place smoothly, and it has a slot for the Logitech USB receiver for easy stowing.
Performance: A mostly responsive and fast multi-tasker
The beauty of the M510 is the programmable nature of this wireless mouse. It is far more capable than its streamlined appearance. The back and forward buttons located near the thumb rest are aimed primarily at supporting easy web browsing. Since I have small hands, this movement was a bit of a stretch and slightly disruptive. The scroll wheel is also programmable based on the click function and the left and right directions. I chose to assign desktop left/right functions to those buttons, which made navigating multiple desktops and displays an absolute breeze. Zooming also comes with several choices, including a smart zoom function that works the way it sounds: a click of the button zooms in and out intuitively and includes directional scroll control while zoomed in. While the 1000 DPI sensitivity makes this mouse slightly more sensitive than a typical daily-use mouse, completing even the basics was slightly annoying. The default scrolling and pointing speeds felt off to me. I adjusted both repeatedly but couldn’t seem to find a happy medium between faster speed and control. I also noticed consistent issues with accuracy and speed. Clicks and scrolling came with a definite lag and sputtering action. Another slight drawback is the volume of the scrolling wheel. It emitted a loud clacking noise unless I made a very concerted effort to press my hand flat against the scroll wheel. Unfortunately, there’s no button to change the scrolling speed or silence that noise.
Comfort: One size fits most
The combination of a slim build with enough surface area for the palm offers a fairly universal fit. Users with both larger and smaller hand sizes have reported a high level of comfort with the M510. My small hand found it ergonomic because of its contoured shape, but it was just slightly too long to feel comfortable with all button movements. Logitech says that this is an ambidextrous device, and I can see that being true only if you’re okay not using the two thumb buttons with the left hand.
Wireless: Solid USB receiver
The Logitech M510 Wireless Mouse doesn’t offer Bluetooth connectivity, but does come with steady 2.4GHz wireless performance via the Logitech Unifying USB receiver. Wireless performance from the USB dongle was consistent and immediate, regardless of whether I plugged it into my MacBook, a Windows laptop, or a Chromebook. And while Logitech says this mouse can operate within a 30-foot distance, it stopped a bit short at 15 feet.
Software: Decent options and easy to configure
Logitech Options makes customization a cinch. It’s easy to find the software on the Logitech site, set up an account if you don’t have one, and then the software allows you to connect up to six peripherals to the sole Unifying Receiver, and assign functions with a click of a button. You’ll find scrolling speed and pointer speed settings there, too, but I didn’t find these to be very effective at improving accuracy or speed. By default, the software is set to automatically update and it stores a backup of your mouse settings in case you need to revert any customizations. The other benefit of the software is a visualization of the battery life, though there’s no actual percentage. But you can receive an automatic email that lets you know when the battery has reached almost total depletion and needs to be replaced.
Price: A little pricier than the competition
Spending $50 to $100 on a wireless mouse opens the feature set considerably. But It’s trickier to find an ergonomic mouse with programmable buttons and the same kind of scrolling function for under $50. At around $40 with a long warranty, solid battery life, and customization power, the M510’s unique value set distinguishes it from less expensive competitors that don’t offer quite the same mix of features.
Logitech M510 Wireless Mouse vs. Microsoft Wireless Mouse 900
The Logitech M510 Wireless Mouse is an affordable option in the world of programmable wireless mice. Its unique shape appeals to shoppers looking for a more comfortable fit and the Logitech software keeps customization simple and flexible with just a click of a button. While the performance isn’t astounding, the good outweighs the bad at a reasonable price.
