Logitech wants you to cut the cord ... to your keyboard, mouse, and game controller.

Over the last year or so, the peripherals maker has unveiled a wide lineup of cordless hardware. In the ongoing battle between Logitech and Microsoft for supremacy in input devices, Logitech has clearly staked out the cordless market. Microsoft only offers a single cordless mouse and has not yet released an announced keyboard-mouse package. Logitech, on the other hand, offers a choice of five keyboards, four mice, two trackballs, and a game controller, all cord-free.

A couple of caveats apply here:

• As long-time TNPC readers will know, I have only recently recovered from a computer-related repetitive motion injury and, thus, I take ergonomics very seriously. One size does not fit all. The layout, size, weight, key touch, and other design factors in each input device require that users find one that meets their personal needs for comfort. Don't go by pictures or model names. Most computer and office superstores put input devices out on display; give them a try.
   
• Note also that Windows XP (and all other flavors of Windows) native keyboard-mouse-game controller will give basic support to Logitech's devices, but not such special features as mapping special keys and buttons. For example, it will support only two buttons and a scroll wheel for a mouse. (The same holds true for Microsoft's hardware, by the way.) You need to install Logitech's own "iPoint" and "iTouch" software to activate the special keys and buttons.

All of Logitech's units passed the crucial Across the Room Test. I could take the keyboard or pointing device with me to the other side of my office and still communicate with the PC. No, you are not going to do a lot of typing that way. But you might well want to control your digital music software from a distance, for example, or put the keyboard on your lap while Web surfing. The devices run on cordless phone frequencies, and Logitech says it has tested extensively to be sure there will be no interference between phones and peripherals,

Flagship of the Logitech line is the Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical Mouse and Keyboard (street price, just under $80) .

Sleek, black, well-featured, the bundle also includes a version of Logitech's Cordless MouseMan Optical. MouseMan, the company's top-of-the-line, four-button, cordless, optical mouse is $45 alone, which makes the bundle a very good deal.

The keyboard has a low-profile, making it easier to fit it on your desk, in slide-away keyboard drawers, or -- this being cordless, after all -- on your lap. In addition to the standard keys, the board has a nice set of add-ons. Top center is a multimedia control center, with a volume control dial, and keys to launch a player, start/stop, change tracks, and all that. The top-left and top-right corners have programmable buttons to go to Web sites or launch applications. And on the left side is a scroll wheel intended to take over some of the work you might do with the mouse in your right hand.

If the Cordless Freedom Optical is not to your liking, the diverse Logitech product lineup includes an ergonomic Cordless Freedom Pro keyboard (below, left) and, if you have a PC in basic beige, the neutral color Cordless Freedom iTouch.

One of the key features in the Logitech keyboard-mouse bundles is that the transmitters and devices are fungible. If you decide you want a different mouse, you don't need to change transmitters. You just push a button on the transmitter and one on the device, and -- zap -- your new mouse or trackball is on the air.

Thus if you want an ambidextrous unit (MouseMan, below right, is for righties), there is the Cordless Optical Mouse,

Ttrackball users can choose between the Cordless TrackMan FX Optical, below left, (you move the ball with your fingers) and the Cordless TrackMan Wheel Optical (you move it with your thumb).

Sidebar: And Games, too

Wireless game controllers seem to be a no-brainer, and Logitech has released its WingMan Cordless Rumblepad ($50), a force-feedback controller in the standard "handlebar" configuration. It has all the triggers, joysticks, and buttons a gamer could want, plus software to allow you to customize configurations for each game.

However, my favorite Logitech gaming device is not cordless at all. It's the $200 MOMO Force steering wheel and pedals.

Not just any wheels and pedals, mind you. A leather wrapped wheel and aluminum-clad pedals that wouldn't look shabby in a Lexus. MOMO is a maker of prestige auto accessories, and the unit emulates the look of the company's products. (One bit of tackiness was some stick-on MOMO decals to be installed by the user. The stickers fit poorly and peeled off; you will do better to leave them in the box.)

The pedal action was smooth and the wheel nice to grip. The force feedback can be tailored to the needs of your game. All-in-all a nice way to go for a simulation of the Monaco Grand Prix.

I asked a Logitech spokesman about the market for an expensive controller. Noting that it was a limited production unit, he said, "I wish we had made more; we could have sold them all."

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You can reach Al Gordon at:

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