Logitech NuLOOQ
Overview
I recently started using the NuLOOQ on my Mac Mini and was pleasantly surprised with its performance. Right out of the box I have been using the NuLOOQ for brush adjustments in Photoshop and controlling my iTunes for easy listening. Then I started to customize the settings and now have some of my other programs configured to use the NuLOOQ as well.One extremely small but super useful feature is the ability to quickly drag around a massive image which allows me to quickly examine an image in Photoshop and make finer corrections. I tend to do a fair amount of photo retouching in my studio and now I am able to adjust my brush sizes but that’s not all, I can also change the hardness, flow or opacity all with the same tool and a simple button press.
Software
The Tooldial software allowed me to quickly change tools in Photoshop, paint with the Wacom tablet and all without ever touching the keyboard. Simply put this is an amazing productivity increase and I have only scratched the surface of the power behind the NuLOOQ’s customizable settings.
Hardware
The actual NuLOOQ hardware piece is quite stylish with some nice glowing buttons that allows me to quickly find it at night. The top of the NuLOOQ has a touch sensitive disk that offers subtle or extreme adjustments with very little effort on my part. A ring located in the middle is used for navigating or scrolling a document (which worked well since my mouse has no scroll wheel) yet lets me keep my other hand on the mouse for quick navigating of a web page.
Installation
Installation was for the most part very painless once I borrowed 1GB of memory since the Mac Mini only had 256MB and the NuLOOQ installer requires 512MB or more. I was then able to install the NuLOOQ drivers and tooldial. Once the installation was complete, I removed the PC memory, replaced it with the stock 256MB of memory and the product stills works quite smooth. I am not really sure why it requires so much memory out of the box, maybe I am not aware of a setting or something that requires it, or maybe the developer’s are just playing it safe.
Final Thoughts
The NuLOOQ is still connected to the Mac Mini but being a normal PC user I really hope they create PC drivers. Another thing I would like to see Logitech create is an open community where users could share their tool settings. This would allow a new customer to download the necessary tool presets for a program such as Flash (which at the time of this review) was not included in the default set. I also would love a wireless option since the rest of my desk is, but only if the speed is just as good.
Basically it comes down to what you can use it for. If you find yourself changing settings or picking new tools with the mouse then this is the product for you. The $79 price tag may seem a bit steep, although if you look at not only the hardware but also the fact that you get a nice program to manage the toolsets it really is a reasonable price.
Technical Details
- Includes the NuLOOQ Navigator and free ToolDial software
- Fluidly and precisely zoom in and out using the navring
- Find the tools and options you need faster than ever
- Customize the ToolDial for as much–or as little–control you need
- Compatible with Mac OS X: V10.4.4 or greater including Universal Processor: PowerPC G5 and Intel Core-Duo or greater
No Comments