Logitech Performance MX Mouse, 2010 Review

I just picked up the latest version of my favorite mouse, the Logitech Performance Mouse MX. I use these on Macs, and while Apple makes nice hardware I don’t like their mice very much. First of all, I work faster with two buttons. I’m aware the Mighty Mouse has two buttons — I used one for a few months, but I went right back to the Logitech MX series. Of course now that I have the latest and greatest MX Laser Mouse, a review is in order…

Durability

This is my fourth Logitech MX mouse in the last 5 years, although two of them were used simultaneously. So, these seem to withstand an average of 2.5 years of daily use. The first two MX mice I used had a plastic coating that started peeling off towards the end of their lifetimes. The one I just replaced didn’t suffer from the peeling plastic problem, but the mechanism underneath the left button began to stick, turning single clicks into double and triple clicks.

A better way to charge

Past versions of the MX Laser mouse came with a charging cradle. While I prefer charging mice to those that take batteries, the cradle introduced an issue that plagued every previous version of the MX Laser mouse. After about a 1 to 1.5 years of use, it would become increasingly difficult to get a good connection to the metal contacts on the underside of the mouse when seating it in the cradle. When this began to happen, it would sometimes take a few minutes of moving the mouse around and re-seating in just the right position before it would begin to charge.

I am pleased to report that the latest version of the MX Laser mouse no longer comes with a charging cradle. Instead, the mouse charges via USB — plug the charging cable into the mouse and the supplied power adapter, or connect the mouse to your computer via the included USB cord. Not only do you needn’t to worry about a flaky cradle, but you can continue using your mouse if the batteries run out while you’re working.

Speaking of power, the included power adapter is also improved. Past versions were the type of over-sized power adapter we all hate… it doesn’t just plug into your power strip, but it also covers up an additional plug. Thankfully this power adapter has been redesigned and no longer takes up that extra space. In the photo below, the old power adapter is on the left and the new design is shown on the right.

A nicer dongle

The new MX Laser mouse’s dongle is smaller and has a few added features. What’s a dongle? You know what a dongle is — those little USB receivers for wireless devices. Take a look at the size reduction:

The old version is on the left, and the new smaller version is on the right. Notebook users will appreciate the smaller size as it’s much less prone to being snapped off by accident, e.g. getting snagged on a passerby in a crowded coffee shop.

This is also a multi-tasking dongle. It can receive from multiple Logitech wireless devices, which frees up valuable USB ports if you happen to use more than one of these devices.

Other features

In addition to these design improvements, you’ll find the following features in the MX Laser mouse:

• “Darkfield Tracking” improves laser tracking performance on trouble surfaces such as glass.
• Multiple programmable buttons. I like to program one of the thumb buttons to bring up the ALT-Tab/CMD-Tab application switching menu.
• Friction-less hyper fast scroll wheel: one flick and you can jump to the top or bottom of a long document or web page. I use this constantly.

Where to get the Logitech Performance MX Laser Mouse

The Logitech Performance Mouse MX is available at Amazon.com. I overpaid for mine at Staples, but if I hadn’t needed it immediately I would have ordered it from Amazon.

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