Logitech Wireless Performance Mouse MX Review

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.

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