Customer Reviews

Reluctantly Switched From Bluetooth
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.

UPDATED: one problem solved, another replaces it
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.

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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.

This Mouse is a Delight
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.