Logitech
Logitech M220 Silent: a quiet entry-level mobile mouse
Aprox. 14€
See specificationsWith its new Silent mice, Logitech is thinking of night owl workers, those who want to remain discreet in the community and more generally lovers of silence. As the first representative of these almost stealthy mice, the M220 Silent is positioned at the entry level ... and this can be seen a little too much.
Positive points
Buttons actually quieter than those of a standard mouse.
Small and light.
Perfectly ambidextrous.
Small wireless receiver that fits inside the mouse.
Bad points
No side buttons.
Disappointing quality of plastics: unpleasant to the eye and in hand, slippery.
Skates not that quiet.
Our review
Presentation
The Logitech M220 Silent mouse is available in three colors (gray and black, red and black, blue and black). The three versions are displayed at the same recommended retail price of € 24.99 and are guaranteed for three years.
Ergonomics
The M220 Silent comes in the form of a small nomad, wireless mouse, with reduced dimensions and mass (99 x 60 x 39 mm for 73.6 g with its AA battery; 75.2 g if the we add the USB receiver which is housed in the mouse for transport). Its shape is also very classic, but Logitech has the good idea of making it ambidextrous thanks to a perfectly symmetrical design. On the other hand, the hand is undoubtedly less welcomed than on the superior model (M330 Silent) - this is the price to pay to suit both left-handers and right-handers.
We notice it from the first use, the manufacturing quality is not the strong point of this M220. Its all-plastic appearance immediately betrays its entry-level positioning and you simply have the impression of handling a child's toy because of the hard plastics used, barely textured to prevent fingers from sliding too much.
Given the small size of the mouse, only a finger tip is suitable for handling. Unless you have very small hands, forget the idea of putting even a small palm on the back of the mouse. It is not what it is designed for anyway; it is more of a nomadic mouse to take with you or to use as a backup. Right-handers will prefer the M330 Silent by far for a more sedentary use.
The M220 Silent is content with the essentials with only three buttons, one of which is associated with the dial. No buttons on the edges unfortunately, so you have to do without very practical functions like "next page" and "previous page", which is annoying for a mouse dedicated to office automation.
As promised by Logitech, all the buttons can effectively be described as silent. The clicks produced are thus not very noisy and the noise emitted is muffled and not sharp, unlike a traditional mouse. This is made possible by the use of special switches resembling touch switches. Information taken from Logitech, it would however be micro-switches (micro-switches), but personalized to eliminate the noise of acute click. Unlike tact switches, which have a lifetime limited to a few hundred thousand activations, micro-switches can withstand several million activations. The manufacturer thus announces a lifespan of 5 million activations for the switches of its M220 Silent, equivalent to that of the switches that equip the M185 and M280. More high-end mouse switches like the MX Master or the Triathlon reach double, or 10 million activations, while it is not uncommon to see gamer mice climb to 20 million.
Still a question of silence, the wheel, although notched, is also very discreet. On the other hand, this is not the case for PTFE pads, which are content to ensure correct gliding, but remain fairly audible on hard surfaces; it is therefore better to use a mouse pad if you wish to remain discreet until the end.
Regarding autonomy, Logitech promises a longevity of 18 months with a single AA battery, depending of course on the duration of daily use. Suffice to say that we could not verify this statement after the few days necessary for the test.
Precision
The modest optical sensor of the M220 Silent is not suitable for video games since it picks up quickly during somewhat abrupt movements. On the other hand, it turns out to be quite sufficient for office automation and tolerates different surfaces well, except glass or excessively reflective materials. The precision is also suitable, as is the maximum sensitivity of 1000 dpi which allows the use of high definition screens. Only users of multiple Ultra HD screens could find fault, but why would they buy an entry-level mouse with such a configuration?
Conclusion
If the Logitech M220 Silent is indeed silent, particularly the buttons, it neglects the manufacturing quality with an off-putting all-plastic appearance and not very pleasant in hand. The absence of side buttons is also regrettable. Despite a fairly low selling price, it's hard to be convinced, unless you're looking for just a basic mouse that makes very little noise.
Specifications