Home | News | Reviews | Previews | Hardware
Logitech Freedom 2.4 Cordless Joystick
Score: 80%
Developer: Logitech


Function:

The Logitech 2.4 Cordless Joystick is a beautiful, well constructed device. It has a triangular base, a nicely contoured twist handle, and is finished in black and silver. The throttle, hat switch, trigger, and remaining buttons all have a nice, solid feel to them. The handle has a nice, not too stiff feel to it.

This is a cordless device, and as such, it includes the joystick, receiver (which plugs into any available USB port), and the CD-ROM disc with the drivers and profiler software. Installation was a breeze, and the joystick worked great with a variety of simulation games, including Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, Midtown Madness 2, IL-2 Sturmovik, and Mechwarrior 4.


Performance:

The Logitech 2.4 Cordless Joystick was always able to make a connection to the receiver, and worked flawlessly with all of the tested games. It didn't seem to matter how close or far away the joystick was from the receiver, as it never seemed to falter.

Features:
  • Twist Handle
  • 10 Programmable Buttons
  • 8-Way Hat Switch
  • Throttle
  • 20 Foot Range
  • Frequency-Hopping Technology
  • Power Management
  • Weighted Rubber Base
  • Indicator Lights
  • Profiler Software

Drawbacks & Problems::

The joystick is clearly built for right-handed people with big hands. My small hands could use the joystick, but I was unable to comfortably hold the handle and access the hat switch and other top mounted buttons. I had to release the handle somewhat in order to reach all of them.

Although the Logitech 2.4 Cordless Joystick performed well with all of the simulation games I tested it with, the profiler software sometimes could not identify it. It would report that no Wingman devices were present. This did not affect the games, but did mean that I could not create or use profiles with them.

The base is cumbersome, as its triangular shape does not really fit comfortably on your lap, which is where a cordless device is likely to sit. It did work well on a flat surface though, and was comfortable to use positioned in such a location.

This is a good joystick, and extremely well built. If you find the shape comfortable, then it will likely serve you well for many years. It has a very sexy, futuristic and rugged design. But if you pine for a more conventional stick, or you have small hands like I do, then you might wish to keep searching for the perfect joystick.


-Gordy, GameVortex Communications
AKA Gary Lucero
Minimum System Requirements:

PC with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP or Macintosh. It requires a USB port.
  Test System:

Windows XP Home, 2 GHz Pentium 4, 256MB RAM, GeForce 4 Ti4200 w/64MB RAM, SoundBlaster Live! Value, 32x DVD-ROM.

This site best viewed in Internet Explorer 6 or higher or Firefox.