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Logitech Performance Mouse MX

• New Logitech Darkfield Laser Tracking works on more surfaces than other mice–even on glass
• Tiny Logitech Unifying receiver stays in your computer–plug it in, forget it, even add compatible wireless devices without multiple USB receivers
• Flexible recharging system for easy charging through your computer or a power outlet, even when you’re using your mouse
• Hyper-fast scrolling lets you fly through long documents and web pages
• Sculpted right-handed shape with stealth thumb controls for rapid-fire web browsing, application switching, zooming and more

Product Description
With the Logitech Performance Mouse MX, you have the power to achieve. You can track precisely on more surfaces, even glass tables (4mm minimum thickness), with Logitech Darkfield Laser Tracking. And your mouse is ready when you are, thanks to the tiny receiver that stays in your notebook and flexible micro-USB charging.

Logitech Performance Mouse MX

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5 Responses to “Logitech Performance Mouse MX”

1. Cornwallis Alabaster Cuspidor, III (but you can call me Sprinkles) Says:
   April 4th, 2010 at 9:00 pm

   I was very resistant to buy this mouse because I have only bought Bluetooth mice since 2002. But mouse manufacturers are clueless to our needs and so I was forced to switch.

   And man am I glad I did.

   This mouse is worth it to overlook the ultra-tiny receiver. It is oh so smooth and uncommonly comfortable. I bought the Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 about three weeks ago and my forearm and hand have been aching ever since. It was the first non-ergonomic mouse, designed to be symmetrical for both right and left handed users, that I have used in many years and using it was downright painful. I also have the inappropriately named Apple Mighty Mouse which suffers from the same design flaw. The Performance MX, by comparison, puts very little strain on my hand and arm, and the groove where my thumb sits not only feels terrific, it also provides greater control. I will never buy a symmetrical mouse again.

   The kit that comes with it is smart and useful. The recharging cable is Micro-USB so when the mouse battery dies, you just plug one end into your mouse and the other into your computer, and use it like a corded mouse while it charges. Also, it comes with a Wall-to-USB adapter so you can charge the mouse in the wall if you don’t have an extra USB slot available. This means I can still use the mouse while it is charging from the computer or the wall. Very handy! My previous mice had charging stands and if the battery died, I couldn’t use them again until they charged. Logitech also included a USB extension cable to help desktop users reposition the USB receiver and a handy little bag to hold the power plug and cords for us notebook users. All in all, a very thoughtful kit!

   I am using this with a MacBook Pro and it had 3-button functionality right out of the gate without installing drivers. The USB receiver itself is very small. It’s even smaller than the magsafe power adapter head. Time will tell if I can safely keep it in the notebook while I place the computer in and out of it’s neoprene sleeve, but I don’t anticipate this being a problem.

   Do I wish this was a bluetooth mouse? Absolutely. But it is more comfortable than any Bluetooth mouse on the market, it moves the pointer with more fluidity, smoothness, and accuracy than any Bluetooth mouse on the market, and as much as I have enjoyed not dealing with receivers over the past 7 years… the total package provided by this mouse more than makes up for the fact that it isn’t Bluetooth.

   I highly recommend it.
   Rating: 5 / 5

2. Erik Harris Says:
   April 4th, 2010 at 9:10 pm

   This is a great mouse for anyone who hasn’t used Logitech’s prior flagship mouse, the MX Revolution. This is its replacement, offered at the same price as the now-discontinued revolution. Unfortunately, while there are some nice enhancements, it’s an overall downgrade, disappointing many users of the MX Revolution, myself included (there were over 100 complaints on Logitech’s announcement blog before they locked the post down, disallowing further comment).

   First, the good:
   
   - The new sensor allows you to use the mouse on any surface, including glass. They’re promoting this like crazy, but it seems like it’s not really a big deal (hard mouse on hard glass is a recipe for scratches on one or both, if any grit gets between them, so I don’t see myself wanting to use it on glass). This new sensor should mean better tracking on all surfaces, though, which is great.
   
   - The new thumb button underneath the rubber is really cool, and very convenient to use.
   
   - The DPI can be changed on the fly if you use the software that the mouse ships with.
   
   - The accessories are very nice – a travel case, a USB charge cord and a USB-to-outlet-power adapter (which presumably can be used with any USB-charging device), and a USB extension cord for the receiver.
   
   - The new receiver is tiny, so there’s no risk of accidentally hitting it and breaking it if it’s plugged directly into your computer.
   
   - The new receiver is a “unifying” receiver, meaning it’ll work with other cordless devices that support it. If you plan to buy another brand new Logitech input device, and if they stick with this interface in the long term, this could be really useful.

   The bad:
   
   - What made the MX Revolution revolutionary was the smooth wheel scrolling, which could be activated by a customized “SmartShift” setting – spin it fast, and it’ll switch to smooth scrolling mode automatically. Since it was controlled in software, it also meant you could program ANY button to toggle scroll modes. Once you get used to this feature, you’ll NEVER want to use a mouse without it. Unfortunately, Logitech dropped the feature, so you’ll never again find a new mouse that has the feature. It was replaced by a cheap-feeling mechanical toggle button that cannot be reprogrammed. This is a major step backwards. They claim it was removed because it confused users, but public user comments _unanimously_ say otherwise. I strongly suspect it was discontinued because it was more expensive to implement than the current method.
   
   - The MX Revolution had a cradle, which made it really easy to charge the mouse – drop it in the cradle overnight. The Performance MX replaces it entirely with a power cord, which has a small, fragile plug. This is probably better for travelers and laptop users, but a step backwards for desktop users.
   
   - The Forward and Back buttons were shifted forward on the mouse. Unless you have a very long thumb, this means that the Forward button will require some reaching to use. Their placement on the MX Revolution put both of them in easy reach.
   
   - The MX Revolution would stop discharging when you stopped using it. Leave it on the table overnight, and its charge level will be the same tomorrow. This only sometimes works with the Performance MX. If you leave the Performance MX lying around without manually turning it off or plugging it in, though, and your battery level might be “Low” or “Critical” the next day. Or it might not be. It’s inconsistent. (See addendum at end)

   Some people decry the loss of the side rocker wheel, but personally, I never found it to be a useful feature on the MX Revolution. Regardless, that wheel served as three buttons (rock forward, back, or press), which have been replaced by the single thumb button that I really like. If you want lots of buttons to assign functions to, the Performance MX has two fewer assignable buttons than the mouse it replaces, which might be annoying.

   I’ll get used to this mouse, but at its price, if I had paid for it, I would return it for something else. Fortunately or unfortunately, Logitech’s reliability isn’t what it used to be, so my MX Revolution failed just before its warranty expired (the latest in a long string of Logitech devices that have failed right around their warranty expiration for my family), and Logitech’s wonderful customer service replaced it with a new Performance MX. I’ve always found Logitech’s customer support to be absolutely top notch (which is why I keep buying Logitech hardware even though it keeps failing), but in this case, their warranty replacement turned out to be a significant downgrade that would not be worth the price this mouse sells for. Some stores still have MX Revolution mice in stock and for sale. If you’re considering buying this mouse, I strongly encourage you to seek out an available MX Revolution instead.

   Still, this isn’t a bad mouse. Whereas I’d give the MX Revolution 4.5-5 stars, I’ll give this one 3. For the price and features, though, 3 stars aren’t enough to make this mouse a good deal.

   Addendum on 05 Dec 2009 – I was finding that this mouse discharged its batteries both quickly and inconsistently (sometimes it’d take 2 hours to go from full to empty; sometimes a day). It turns out that the charger, which I complained about above for its small, fragile-seeming connector, is really quite poor. The mouse uses one standard NiMH AA battery; I replaced it with a fresh high-quality Eneloop battery, and it lasted five days, and charged the generic included battery. When the Eneloop ran down, I put the original battery back, and it is going strong after three days. Sadly, this means opening the mouse once or twice a week to replace the battery, but I think that beats plugging the tiny plug in every day, sometimes multiple times per day, and having to use it with the stiff cord attached.
   Rating: 3 / 5

3. Jack Puglis Says:
   April 4th, 2010 at 10:01 pm

   I’m used to being disappointed by products after reading the advertising hype. Not so with this mouse–I’m very happy that I spent the money that I did to buy it. I’ve used it every day for several hours for a week now and I like it better as time goes on.

   Ergonomics: The mouse is very comfortable and well-designed. My previous mouse had forward & back buttons near the thumb area, but they were so close to where my thumb was positioned that I would often hit one when first grasping the mouse. The thumb-rest on this mouse is very well-designed; it’s easier to hold & control the mouse because the grip is so much surer.

   Zoom, Forward & Back Buttons: These three buttons are located a bit above the thumb rest and are very intuitive. The zoom button is just above your thumb, but far enough that I don’t accidentally press it. When I do use it, the wheel increases or decreases the size of the image. Hit it again, and the zoom mode goes off, but nicely leaves the image at the size that you set it so you can continue working.

   The Forward and Back buttons are above the zoom button and I found them comfortably placed to access when I wanted them but not get in the way when I didn’t. They work well–it’s usually easier to hit the back button than move the mouse to the left arrow in my browser.

   Scroll Wheel: Here, the mouse pleasantly surprised me with its “hyper-scroll” feature. I expected a slightly enhanced scrolling capability–after all, when marketing people write “hyper,” meaning super-duper and extreme to the max, they usually mean that this version works properly where their previous product was buggy. OK, I’m cynical. This feature is a true improvement. When you press a release button that is conveniently located slightly behind the scroll wheel, it frees the scroll wheel to spin, enabling you to scroll through pages very fast. When you touch the wheel to stop it from spinning, the scrolling stops instantaneously. You can simply push the release button again and you’re back to “click” scrolling.

   Slightly Strange Software: The software that comes in the package on a CD enables you to adjust certain mouse settings to suit your own preferences. However, you must go into the Control Panel / Mouse application to set things like the number of lines per wheel “click,” the “double-click speed,” and the pointer image (I like a large black arrow because of vision problems). I would have expected an integrated suite of software that handled all of these things, or at least advice from the manufacturer that informed me that certain mouse settings had to be made in the control panel.

   Other Stuff: Simple things enhance this mouse, like very low-friction feet. All of my previous mice were harder to move on the desk or table surface and therefore harder to control. The only alternative that I could think of was to go into the control panel and set the “mouse speed” slower than it was when I was doing any kind of fine work. With this mouse, the low-friction feet make it much easier to make fine movements with the pointer, and in general make the mouse more pleasant to use.

   Speaking of friction, the mouse has rubberized pads on the right and left sides, making for a non-slip grip, unlike my previous mouse, which was clearly molded from recycled potato peels or something. The serious point is that I haven’t yet found my fingers slipping when accessing any button.

   Overall Comfort: A harder-to-define characteristic is how the mouse feels overall. I find my hand and arm less tired, and the grip feels natural to me–it is shaped correctly to my hand. Previous mice, like the piece of… well, let’s say “low-priced” mouse that Dell supplied with my computer, forced my hand to conform to the mouse. The result is a feeling of “rightness” when I first take hold of this device.

   Battery Recharge: Logitec thought through this one very nicely. I’ve had the mouse for a week and charged when I first got it. It’s been on all this time. BTW, the mouse actually has an “on-off” switch. After I pulled the mouse out of its box, I charged it while I was using it by simply connecting the mini-USB connector to the wall charger. It was then similar to using a wired mouse while it was charging. Logitec also supplies a USB cable so you can charge the mouse from any of your computer’s USB ports. No putting the mouse into a cradle to recharge, which prevents you from using the computer.

   Receiver Extender Cable (USB): None of Logitec’s literature and no review that I’ve found properly states the simple reason for this cable: when you have problems with erratic pointer movements because of interference, too great a distance from the mouse to the receiver or obstructions between them, this cable enables you to move the receiver closer to the mouse. This gives you a so-called “inverse square-law” advantage in signal strength: for example, at half of the distance between the mouse and the receiver, the mouse’s transmitted signal strength is four times higher at the receiver.

   I paid $99 for this mouse at Best Buy in NJ. I think that this is a case where paying more gets you more. This mouse is a great product and I recommend it.
   
   Rating: 5 / 5

4. Ron Cronovich Says:
   April 4th, 2010 at 11:58 pm

   UPDATE Sept 15: My original review was mainly positive but knocked off a star for some minor issues. I got a replacement which fixed one problem but introduces another. I’ll insert comments into my original review.

   —-

   I agree with almost everything said in the other positive reviews about the great ergonomics, the scroll wheel that you can toggle between hyperscrolling (very useful) and the more common measured/notched scrolling, the many useful features attached to the other buttons, the way you can use the mouse while the battery recharges, and the incredibly tiny receiver that works with other compatible devices.

   Maybe you’re having trouble thinking of a way to justify spending $100 for a rodent. I was too, but I thought of a way to justify it that maybe a few of you might find helpful:

   Before now, I’d never spent more than $30 on a mouse (except once, a $50 microsoft bluetooth mouse that doesn’t work too well). But I was never happy with any of them. They were either uncomfortable after an hour or so of use, or stopped working after a while, or something. So, after a few months, I’d give up and buy another one. Over time, I spent probably $200 on a series of cheap mice.

   When the Performance MX came out a few weeks ago, I saw all the positive reviews (from users and from professional publications and websites), and it occurred to me that maybe if I spent more for a really good mouse, I’d be happy and wouldn’t have to keep buying $30 mice every few months.

   As I said above, in most ways I think this is a great mouse and agree with the many other positive reviews. But I’ve experienced some minor issues, too.

   1. When you start pushing the mouse around after it’s been sitting idle – even for just a few minutes – there’s an annoying one- to two-second lag before the cursor reacts. UPDATE Sept 15: Logitech tech support figured out that this was a defect. I got a replacement, and it’s perfect. With Amazon, I didn’t have to pay shipping for the replacement, and I didn’t have to return the first mouse until after receiving the replacement. Very happy with Amazon’s service.

   2. At this time, the number of devices that are compatible with the unifying receiver is very small: just two keyboards and three mice. The unifying receiver would be far more valuable if there were more different types of compatible devices. For example, I would like to see a numeric keypad and also a presentation/pointer that could work with the unifying receiver – logitech makes both such devices now, but they won’t work with the unifying receiver.

   3. I’m probably being too picky here, but I find the “click” to be a bit tinny, and louder and less satisfying than other mice I’ve used. UPDATE Sept 15: the replacement mouse is worse. The left button makes the same tinny click when you press down, but when you let go it makes a louder sound, almost like a knock on a door. (The right mouse button doesn’t do this. Go figure.) This gets annoying after a while. Sorry, but if I’m paying $100 for a mouse, I want it to be just about perfect.

   Since almost all the other reviews of this mouse are very positive, I am sure that my experience with two of them each having a minor but annoying defect is uncommon. In absence of these apparently rare defects, this is a really great mouse.
   Rating: 4 / 5

5. Premiata Forneria Marconi Says:
   April 5th, 2010 at 1:42 am

   I’ve owned a number of Logitech mice — among others, I’ve owned the G5, the G9, the VX Nano, the MX1000, the MX Revolution, and now, the Performance Mouse MX. I believe I’m qualified to pass judgment on Logitech’s newest pointing device, the Performance Mouse MX.

   For starters, the Performance Mouse MX (“PMMX”) improves upon the MX Revolution’s (“MXR”) somewhat kludgy mechanism for switching the scrollwheel from a freewheeling mode to a clicky “detent” mode. Where the MXR required the user to firmly press on the scrollwheel to change modes (often resulting in the mouse generating a scrollwheel button-press event rather than changing the scrollwheel mode), the PMMX uses a button just behind the scrollwheel to switch between those two modes. This is a far less frustrating method, and is also better implemented than the G9 mouse’s bottom-mounted mode change button which required that the mouse be turned over to switch modes.

   The PMMX also improves upon the MXR’s charging design considerably. While the MXR required you to put the mouse in the charging cradle to recharge its battery — thus rendering the mouse unusable for the duration of the recharge cycle — the PMMX can be recharged on the fly while the mouse is in use by attaching a micro-USB cable to the front of the mouse and plugging that cable either into a powered USB port or into the back of an included AC-to-5V USB adapter. While Logitech’s charging solution isn’t nearly as elegant as Microsoft’s implementation on their Sidewinder X8 (which uses a thin wire with a magnetized “charging paddle” which grips the front end of the mouse fairly tightly), it is equally as functional and is a quantum leap over the MXR’s charging cradle.

   Additionally, I could detect no discernable “wireless lag” between the mouse and the PC. The MX1000 had considerable lag as well as occasional glitches in how it interacted with the OS (sometimes resulting in the mouse tracking over only part of the desktop); the MXR still had some lag, enough to make it difficult to play certain “twitch” games (first-person shooters, for the most part), but no show-stopping tracking issues. Also, the PMMX seems to track more smoothly across all the surfaces I’ve tested it on (wood, cloth, mousepad, glass tabletop, glass patio door) than the MXR ever did; the MXR won’t track reliably across glass on its best day, while the PMMX seems to be surface-agnostic, as it tracks equally reliably across every surface I’ve tested.

   All in all, the Performance Mouse MX is a worthy successor to the MX Revolution, and would also serve well as a wireless gaming mouse. Its few flaws are outweighed by its improvements on its predecessor. I heartily recommend it.
   Rating: 5 / 5

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