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Holiday Tech GuideLogitech Performance Mouse MX

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CNET Editors' ChoiceAug 09

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The good: New Darkfield sensor lets you mouse almost anywhere, including glass; wireless and rechargeable, with no downtime while recharging; tiny USB microreceiver works with other products in Logitech's Unifying devices family; variety of useful, customizable buttons.

The bad: Expensive (but worth it); Unifying feature only a benefit if you upgrade to other Unifying products.

The bottom line: Logitech has met and surpassed Microsoft's recent mouse technology innovations by introducing the most versatile mouse sensor on the market in its new Performance Mouse MX. But even if you don't have a glass table crying out to become a workspace, this high-end input device has enough features and cushy design to make it a justifiable indulgence for anyone who takes their cursor control seriously.

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CNET editors' review

CNET Editors' ChoiceAug 09
  • Reviewed on: 08/27/2009
  • Released on: 08/19/2009

Following Logitech's announcement of its new glass-tracking Darkfield mouse sensor, Microsoft countered that only 7 percent of mouse users were interested in mousing on glass. Microsoft also suggested that the remaining 93 percent had already been satisfied by its own BlueTrack sensor, which, unlike Darkfield, is available in mice as low as $40. In those simple terms, Logitech's Darkfield flagship product, the new $99 Performance Mouse MX looks overpriced. The problem is that this ignores the fact that the Performance Mouse MX has more going for it than its newfangled sensor. Microsoft's BlueTrack line offers some versatile, budget-sensitive mice. If you're willing to spend for the best, the Performance Mouse MX delivers not only category-leading technology, but also a refined, if familiar combination of design and features that make it very much worth its higher price.

Up until last year, the laser sensor had established itself as the mouse industry standard, even in high performance gaming mice. While capable of much greater accuracy than the old IR sensor, the common mouse laser is limited in the kinds of surfaces on which it can track. Irregular surfaces, like cloth, or shiny surfaces, like glass, mirrors, and even marble countertops and varnished wood can throw off the reading. Microsoft solved most of those issues with its BlueTrack sensor at the end of 2008. BlueTrack projects a wider, more intense beam of light than traditional laser mice. The only solid surface it can't handle is glass. Here's where Darkfield has its edge.

We tested the Logitech Performance Mouse MX and Microsoft's BlueTrack-powered Explorer Mouse on a fully transparent glass table, and on another glass table with a frosted underside. In both cases, the Logitech mouse maintained its signal while the Microsoft mouse failed. The Logitech mouse also handled all of the surfaces the BlueTrack mouse pioneered, from carpet, to a pants leg, to high-gloss marble. Mirrored surfaces are still too challenging for either mouse.

We can't claim to have tried every variety of glass out there. Your results may vary with safety glass, tinted glass, and other surface treatments and material combinations that find their way into a potential work surface. Still, we're comfortable saying that transparent glass is among the more common potential mousing surfaces out there. And if you've longed to go mouse pad-free on that glass-topped coffee table or desk, Logitech's Darkfield sensor can make that dream a reality. Microsoft's BlueTrack sensor can't.

The sensor technology out of the way, Microsoft's Explorer Mouse becomes a less relevant comparison to the Performance Mouse MX. Both are wireless devices, and both offer battery recharging, but the Explorer Mouse has a much less ambitious take on those features than the Performance Mouse MX.

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Where to buy

Logitech Performance Mouse MX: $84.99 - $109.99
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Newegg.com
$89.99 Yes 5.0 star rating
CompUSA
$99.99 Yes 5.0 star rating
J&R Music and Computer World
$94.88 Yes 5.0 star rating
TigerDirect.com
$99.99 Yes 5.0 star rating
Amazon.com Marketplace
$90.21 Yes 5.0 star rating

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Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

  • alaTest.com

    Editors' rating: 97

    Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 49 reviews of Logitech Performance Mouse MX from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 86/100 and users 87/100. Comparing these reviews to 85934 other Mouse & Pointing Devices reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 97/100 = Excellent.

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  • pcmag.com

    Editors' rating: 70

    Summary: The Logitech Performance Mouse MX's high-tech tracking technology gives it functionality other mice can't easily match, but in a less-than-intuitive design.

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  • digitaltrends.com

    Editors' rating: 85

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Logitech Performance Mouse MX