In the presentation peripheral market, there is sadly not that much to choose from. The R800 is the better of two presenters that Logitech sells. The R800 is very small, just over 5 inches long. It fits very comfortably in your hand, and all the main buttons are easily accessible without the need to shift the device around in your palm. The unit runs on 2 AAA batteries, which to my surprise were actually included in the retail packaging. The USB receiver stows nicely in the butt end of the device, however it is roughly 1 3/4″ long (excluding the USB connector) once inserted into a PC (perhaps so you don’t forget it?). The unit comes with a case which, in my opinion is just a little too small for the device, as I have to be careful to not scratch the end of it when closing the zipper. The device turns on and off via a slide switch on the left side. The device boots in about 3 seconds, and is ready for use. The device does not need any drivers or special software to use, so it is great if you are going to be using it on other people’s computers. The presenter has a 1mW class 2 green laser activated by a momentary switch, and a wireless range of up to 100′. On the top of the device are 5 buttons. The laser button is on top, followed by 2 large forward and back buttons for advancing the slides. Below that are 2 much smaller buttons for starting and stopping the slideshow, and blanking and unblanking the screen. Above all the buttons is a rectangular LCD. It displays the current battery level, as well as the signal strength of the receiver. In the middle of the display is the timer readout. Using 2 buttons on the right edge of the device, you can set a timer from 1 minute to 9 hours and 59 minutes which outlines the time for the entire presentation. You can pause and resume the timer throughout the presentation. The display shows you the time remaining and a progress bar of what time you have left. The device will vibrate just like a cell phone at 5, 2, and 0 minutes to the timer’s expiry, and then will count up with the progress bar flashing aggressively.

I was surprised when I got the device that the timer was not set using some sort of software on the computer. It would have been better if it had some way of programming in not only the time for the entire presentation, but for each slide individually, so you can keep pace. Even without that, the device does what it should, and I would recommend it to anyone who gives a lot of presentations whether it be at school, work or otherwise. The only downside is the price. Logitech states the MSRP at $99, which is outrageous for essentially half a mouse with a laser pointer in it. I was able to find a retailer which sold it for $72, but even then it is still a bit steep. The reason for the pricing in my opinion is that there are simply not enough presenters in the market, and people like me who need them will pay whatever is necessary to get one. If other major companies came out with presenters, I would love to see how they stack up to the R800.