Unfortunately, it isn't. I experienced numerous problems from the get-go with this 'dream' duo. The Bluetooth 2.0 doesn't even hold up to it's 1.0 predecessor. The software, while classically underwhelming, falls short even for Logitech. The performance in Windows, (not specifically Mac supported) and in gaming experiences lag and glitches. The much touted LCD keyboard display I found rather useless as well. But let me start at the beginning of my list of woes.
I'm a Logitech man through and through, and was hoping that the MX5000 could replace my aging (but still beautiful) original DiNovo Combo. The MX5000 arrived and in perfect Logitech style was thoughtfully packaged and well presented. The parts are simple enough. There's a tiny Bluetooth 2.0 dongle for your tower. A classy combination stand/charger for your shiny new MX1000 Laser Mouse, and the keyboard itself, batteries included. After a quick glance at the manual (and the requisite mouse charging time) I plugged in my Bluetooth dongle and inserted the included Logitech Setpoint software CD. (Which by the way, you're forced to use at this point in time as the drivers on the website will prompt you to update via the included software, so DON'T lose your disc!) The installation seemed to go rather smoothly at first and prompted me to restart, then to update, then an error message came up missing a file, then missing a disk drive. After a bit of researching I found that the Logitech software updates from online, then updates the firmware of the keyboard itself. As a result, not much interaction is allowed through this step. The problem with my system in particular is that my Windows installation is not on C: drive. While I'll admit it's far more common for the average user to have windows on C: drive, I didn't and this caused no end of problems.
I went to a second computer whose default windows installation was C: drive and installed the whole kit again, let it update and update the firmware and it went off without a hitch. Everything seemed to work fine except the touch sensitive volume control (like ipod but vertically touch sensitive slider for volume) didn't work at all. Well back to the main system with the upgraded firmware to determine the problem. After uninstalling and reinstalling for a second time we seemed to be up and running with once again, no volume control.
The media pad worked fine for play, stop, next and previous track skipping. Although I found the touch buttons to be hard to press and too small for my large hands. I emailed Logitech support regarding my problems with the volume strip and explained my steps so far. Logitech promptly responded within 24 hours with a canned, "uninstall and reinstall" response. Which, of course, did nothing. I decided to forego the volume strip and just test performance over several days. Lag is what I found. The mouse and keyboard both have at least double the delay as the Bluetooth 1.0 DiNovo combo. When you first move the mouse or type something after being idle for a while, you can wait up to 8-12 seconds for any kind of response on-screen. This is simply unacceptable and should be at least an improvement over previous generation Bluetooth products. Once the mouse was moving or the text was typing Logitech shone through. The mouse is comfortable, smooth, solid and responsive. The keyboard keys have just the right kind of resistance and the keyboard as a whole feels solid and well built.
It's a joy to type on and to use, it also performed well in gaming. Then it didn't. I was in the middle of mouse use when it wobbled across the screen in a stuttered arcing loop that in no way represented the hand gesture I just made. This happened several times and I've determined that it was resulting from some interference from both my 2.4ghz home portable phone and Cell phone. If they are within a solid 6 feet of the dongle or peripherals, drunk mode is enabled.
The LCD Screen took some getting used to, it displays track progress from Itunes and WinAmp along with song titles and email subject lines when they came in. Now I may be old fashioned or set in my ways, but I haven't managed to make myself used to using the keyboard as a reference for this information, so it was largely ignored. Although at rest and default it does show the time, date, and temperature, which was fairly handy.
I finally bit the bullet and tried reinstalling and updating the Setpoint software several times and succeeding only in crashing my computer in more and more dramatic ways, in an attempt to get the volume working. Eventually logic won out and I removed the Setpoint software entirely and use it in completely feature free 'basic' mode. Where the Windows XP plug and play show it as a basic keyboard and mouse and all the pretty features were turned off. This was the best experience thus far with the Duo, as I experienced no particular issues in this mode. And there is where it stays. With more buttons than the Starship Enterprise and all of them de-activated for the sake of simple, quick, hassle-free performance.
Logitech needs to update their software, desperately, from its current version, as the headache is just not worth the payoff for all the features listed. If you can get past the buggy install and upgrade process, and have a standard windows installation, you may not experience any of the problems I went through. However, the startup lag and widespread interference issues still makes me wary of recommending this to anyone but the most die-hard Logitech fans. Logitech offers a more expensive update to the DiNovo series that includes the classic DiNovo keyboard with the MX1000 mouse and Bluetooth 2.0 support and I'm setting my sights on that being a better upgrade. If you're looking for one notch down from extreme top-of-the-line I would recommend the MX3000, MX3100, or the RF version of the DiNovo combo. It seems that Logitech just hasn't gotten the hang of Bluetooth yet.
