No mousepad, no problem; Logitech Performance and Anywhere Mouse MX

The laser mouse has always had a surface that has been a forbidden fruit. Until now these mice have sat atop their cozy mouse pad from afar silently weeping as they dreamt of tracking to their heart's content across that distant icy plane. The trackball and ball mice have been teasing and taunting as they skate effortlessly across that and many other planes. Well Logitech has given our friend some traveling gear with its new Dark Field technology. Dark Field you say? Sounds evil. If evil is letting a mouse track on glass and many other surfaces, I don't want it to be good. That's right, not one, but two laser mice that can track on glass and just about any other surface (i.e. clothes, leather chairs, carpet, etc.).

I know what you are thinking. When I saw this for the first time I was skeptical. I kept thinking to myself, "There has to be some chubby guy watching me on a spy camera that is moving the mouse cursor in unison with me." It is still a distinct possibility, but I doubt they would go through the elaborate measures necessary to bug my office to pull this off. Fortunate for you, I'm not being punked. These mice really do work on glass and work well at that. I have included video footage below to help alleviate your skepticism.

Glass Test
I ran my test on 7mm thick black tempered glass. Please note that the packaging says that you need at least 4mm thickness to operate the mice. I used masking tape to create two squares on the surface. One has been cleaned with glass cleaner and the other has been left "dirty". For the purposes of this test, dirty is defined as having dust, cat hair, fingerprints, and...uh possibly dead skin cells?

Make sure to watch the cursor moving on the screen in the background.

You can see that the mouse cursor follows my movements pretty well. I moved the mouse in horizontal, vertical, and circular motions to get a feel for how well it works. Not scientific, but it does the job. I would roughly equate its glass performance with a Bluetooth enabled mouse on a mouse pad. The dirty surface actually had the mouse tracking even better since it had more stuff to grab on to.

One little interesting note is that I used the Performance MX on the mouse pad with my Logitech G9 and it actually tracked better than the G9. You should keep in mind that the G9 is a wired mouse and it basically got schooled on its home turf. This is largely due to the slick traction pads with large surface areas that the Performance and Anywhere MX mice use.

Features

Performance Mouse MX

• Medium-large size with a comfortable grip for a well-endowed hand
• Windows Flip 3D/Mac Exposé button on the thumb section that is easily accessible while not being hit accidentally
• Forward and back buttons are easy to reach with your thumb
• Rechargeable with a battery/DPI level indicator
• Fingertip zoom button below forward/back buttons; used by holding button while scrolling
• Switch between infinite scroll/regular click scroll via easy access button below mouse wheel
• Horizontal scrolling capable

Anywhere Mouse MX

• Larger than the traditionally size challenged portable mice
• Standard forward/back buttons on left edge near right hand thumb
• Flip 3D/Mac E Exposé button below mouse wheel
• Horizontal scrolling capable
• On/off switch doubles as a cover for the laser
  
• Convenient storage for the Unifying receiver in the battery compartment
  
• One battery can be removed if the user prefers less weight

Accessories
Performance Mouse MX

• Unifying receiver (controls up to 6 other compatible devices and two receivers can be left in a home and office computer to automatically switch mice/keyboards between each without having to pair them again)
• USB extension cord for charger
• USB charger with wall socket adapter (convenient plug design to show which side is up)
• High quality zipper tote bag for accessories
  

Anywhere Mouse MX

• Unifying receiver
• Two Duracell batteries
• Sleek, form fitting travel/storage case for mouse
  

Price
Performance Mouse MX - $99.99 Suggested Retail Price
Anywhere Mouse MX - $79.99 Suggested Retail Price

The mice should be available sometime during this month. Amazon still shows it as a pre-order.

Conclusion
I tend to be a person that looks more on the positive side of products, but I could not see how anyone could give these mice a poor review. They work exactly as advertised. How do they work? Sorcery of course. Logitech's Dark Field technology picks up the smallest bumps on the surface and translates that into a great user experience on glass and other surfaces. Please know that not all types of glass will work. Fancy and expensive glass that is virtually completely smooth will likely not let the mice track so well when the surface is clean. A few fingerprints and some dust should suffice to rectify that though.

Overall both mice perform outstandingly well. I could not be more pleased with them and I will likely be buying more of them for personal use to replace the newly antiquated laser mice around my home. From the large surface area slick pads on the mice to the cleverly and lovingly designed tote bags, these mice have it all. Well, at least until thought directed computers are more practical. I suppose these will do for now.