Logitech has been producing peripherals for some time now, but what they've lacked is a concrete "this is for enthusiasts" brand identity. Ordinarily a vendor producing a specific "gaming" brand is met with eyerolls and rightfully so, but Logitech's gaming peripherals have sort of floated in their expansive product lineup with only the "G" prefix to really distinguish them. What we're looking at today is a push towards a very concrete, very distinct branding that will make Logitech's gamer oriented products much more readily identifiable.

As far as the refresh itself goes, we'll start with the quartet of mice being released. These are essentially refreshes of many of their existing mice with new skins and more importantly, newer and better hardware under the hood. The new versions all see an "s" suffix added to the model numbers, but with them we get better switches and sensors across the board.


Clockwise from the top left: G100s, G400s, G700s, G500s.

Other than the upgraded internals, Logitech deliberately hewed very closely to the existing designs in terms of both materials and feel. Their attitude was "If it ain't broke, don't break it," and while my first inclination might be to chide them on being lazy, the reality is that I agree. These mice (especially the G500) were nigh perfect on their initial release, so there's little reason to mess with success. I will note that I'm not a huge fan of the new visual design, though. MSRP for these mice will be $39 for the G100s, $59 for the G400s, $69 for the G500s, and $99 for the G700s wired/wireless combo mouse.

Next on the agenda are Logitech's new keyboards, but I have a slightly harder time getting excited about these.


The Logitech G19s (top) and G510s (bottom).

These keyboards are straight up new products. Both feature completely color-configurable full-keyboard backlighting and Logitech's GamePanel LCDs. The GamePanels have apparently been pretty popular on their existing keyboards, and Logitech isn't really messing with success with these new keyboards. Instead they've improved durability by using hydrophobic coatings on the palm rest while double-coating the keys for improved longevity. That said, Logitech went with the RGB color-configurable backlighting as opposed to mechanical key switches, so these are still membrane keyboards. If you're like me, that's a bit of a disappointment.

The G19s has a full color LCD GamePanel and actually has an external power brick that allows it to use a single USB 2.0 connection while offering two powered USB 2.0 ports, the backlighting, and the panel. MSRP is set for $199.

The G510s is only slightly cut down; instead of the powered USB 2.0 ports, you get integrated USB audio that toggles on when you plug headphones and a microphone into it. I'm actually pretty keen on that as opposed to using a passthrough, as it makes Windows' clunky audio switching more tolerable. MSRP is set for $119.

Finally, Logitech is releasing two new headsets, both of which I found surprisingly comfortable. Finding a good gaming headset can be difficult for people who wear glasses (or even over-ear headphones in general), but the grip of the new headsets, the G430 and G230, was remarkably gentle while still being secure. Both headsets feature a noise-cancelling microphone. The more expensive G430 (at $79) sports 7.1 surround sound and includes a removable USB audio dongle, meaning you can opt to use it as a basic pair of headphones if you're so inclined. Meanwhile, the more affordable G230 (at $59) foregoes these accoutrements, instead offering basic stereo sound.

Common to all of these products, Logitech is unifying device drivers under one piece of software (something some of their competitors still lack), all but the G430 are Mac compatible (though there's no reason you can't remove the USB dongle and use the G430 as a basic headset on a Mac.) Availability is scheduled for the beginning of April 2013 in the United States, and May 2013 in Europe.

Update: The keyboards are apparently refreshes as well. I'd say if it ain't broke don't fix it (like the mice), but I suspect there will be room for improvement with these. We'll see when the review units arrive!

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  • 07Galford007 - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link

    While I don't care for the garish design of their keyboards, I do like their mice. I've use MS ones in the past before and they've worked fine but I've had great luck so far with Logitech products. I had an issue with a G9 mouse and they made it right and sent me a G9x in return.

    I don't buy every one of their products out of brand loyalty or anything, but I am interested to see what new peripherals they come up with.
  • Jodiuh - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link

    These things are EXTREMELY GAUDY. I'll keep my G400 and get 1 less kill per week.
  • monkeypenguin - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link

    They brought back the G1! About time, my old one is dying.
  • Krantzstone - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link

    Really lost as to why they didn't make their new gaming keyboards mechanical, considering the G710+. They were really late to the mechanical keyboard realm and this just seems like a step back.
  • Death666Angel - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link

    Was wondering the same thing. I bought a Corsair K90 a few weeks back because of all the mentions of it here on Anandtech. It came with 2 broken LEDs and the retailer where I bought it wanted me to go through Corsair for replacements. I have not heard good things about Corsairs RMA process and I had heard many a people getting broken LEDs even with their 2nd or 3rd replacement units. So while the price was okay (80€) and the mechanical keys were great, I exchanged it for my money back. I would try a mechanical Logitech keyboard with the LCD in heartbeat for ~150€.
    As for mice, I'm happy with my old MX518. The wheel is very quiet which is important because my PC is in the bedroom and my wife often goes to bed earlier than me. I had a G5 before, but that was just too loud and didn't offer anything over the MX518 in my opinion. :)
  • dishayu - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link

    I think you need to be more concerned about waking up your wife with the mechanical keyboard. Any mouse wheel is inaudible over loud mechanical keyboards. ;)
  • 07Galford007 - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link

    I agree. Since I'm not a big fan of their keyboards, I bought a Razer Black Widow Ultimate Stealth. I do like Logitech's other products though, although I agree with Jodiuh that these products are a bit gaudy. If they made their new KBs mechanical, I'd consider buying one at some point, but I don't want to go back to rubber domes if I don't have to. It's like going from a 16:9 monitor to a 4:3 one...
  • FormulaRedline - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link

    "These keyboards are straight up new products."

    Dustin, this is not correct. Both the G19 and G510 have been out for years. You can buy them on NewEgg right now. The only thing that's changed is the color scheme, just like the mice.

    I have multiple generations of Logitech G keyboards and mice (and a steering wheel for that matter) and love them. Glad they aren't changing the formula, but still looking forward to the next generation.
  • NesuD - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link

    The g510 is not a new product in any way. It has been part of the Logitech lineup for some time. I have owned one for over a year myself.
  • ioconnor - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link

    I used to only buy logitech components. However they made it difficult to get my gaming keyboards replaced. The first time I got nowhere and bought new. The next time I posted a nasty blog expecting to get the same treatment but they replaced both. No luck with my mice since the three year limit expired. Yes they make you prove when you purchased with a receipt. I only have one gaming mouse left which I still use. My keyboards though jamb and stick so badly I don't use them for anything other than testing new rigs.

    I am not a gamer though. So I now buy mice from Frys. They have optical mice for $10 with lifetime warranty. Not 3 year warranties like Logitech. Unless Logitech lets me register my products for lifetime warranties I will never purchase another Logitech part. Their products may look like quality but time has proven otherwise.

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