Logitech MX™1100 Wireless Mouse (910-000718)

Having come to find that I spend more hours than I care to admit in front of my laptop, and feeling the coupled woes of that investment, I thought I might alleviate a portion of those woes, if not my time, by reacquainting myself with something long lost to the portable generation - the mouse.  Knowing the mouse of yesteryear to be solid, reliable, tethered, besot by the trappings of lost hairs, and ever confused by its various working surfaces, I decided I needed to modernize and get one of those whiz bang gizmos all the young ‘uns are talking about.  With that in mind, and an eye on the current sales, I chose for myself the prize filly of the bunch, the Logitech MX 1100.

After many refinements from its humble years amongst the mice of yesteryear, Logitech has brought itself, vicariously, as it were, to the forefront of the modern mouse market.  Through careful design improvements, added and updated features, and, most importantly, value, Logitech has created a mouse so superior to its competitors that it hardly need worry their presence.  All this lofty rhetoric is not without caveat though, because the mice of the Logitech lines do carry one thing that the others do not: an often exorbitant price.  Again, as I repeat from above, these trouble times have called for desperate measures by the retailers of these less-than-essential items and the prices have fallen.  So much have they so that are now well within the grasp of the average user.  Should you be that average user and you find your hand around one of these mice and a decent percentage off the tag, I urge you to close the hand, and the deal, and not look back.

While there are perhaps mice with better looks and certainly those with worse, the MX 1100 stands out as one of the beauties of the mouse world.  It is painted all in shades of black and to magnificent effect.  Logitech has added just enough flair to make it appealing but without going over the edge and placing form ahead of function.  The mouse itself is carefully sculpted to retain the utmost in ergonomic comfort.  As such, it contours off to the right in an effort to unload any strain on the carpal tunnel and that ever-barely-tenable median nerve.  Also in deference to the nerves of the hand, the buttons of the mouse are laid over the surface of the device in such a fashion that barely any movement is necessary to manipulate any one of them.  I often find myself using this mouse in excess of four hours per day and I have yet to feel any strain in my wrist or fingers as has happened with less carefully designed mice I have used.

The buttons on this mouse number more than those countable with the naked eye.  There are actually 10 buttons on this mouse and all of them are programmable by the user via the included software.  Most are unlikely to be changed, since their factory preset intent is generally devilishly clever and save for a preferred quick launch or some other personal setting, most users will be quite satisfied with them as they arrived.  The most enjoyable of these buttons is that mounted under the thumb rest.  This particular button is not actually visible on the surface of the mouse but performs, with a gentle movement of the thumb, the same function as alt+tab on the keyboard.  It will switch between the open programs the user has running.  This button was moved from its former position in older MX mice on the center top of the mouse to this more hidden area.  This serves to keep the index and middle fingers in place and not force the added flexion needed to adjust a button behind the scroll wheel as often.

In what has to be one of the biggest improvements to the mouse since eliminating the messy and unreliable trackball, Logitech has altered the scroll wheel to increase its usefulness far beyond that of the staid, clicking wheel on most current mice.  To aid in the transition and for scrolling in those documents that are shorter, the 1100 allows you to switch between the older, staccato scrolling and the newer, free scrolling.  The free scrolling allows you to make one single swipe and end up at or near the end of the page.  While this may not always be useful for the average user, those working with large documents will enjoy the ability to reach the other end of the file far more quickly.  Switching between the types of scrolling is accomplished by pressing the button immediately adjacent to the wheel.  I found that one single click was all that was ever necessary and the mechanism has yet to fail in any way.  And rest assured those of you afraid of clicking the button while overzealously swiping the wheel, that careful placement has rendered this largely unlikely.  I did do that once or twice when I first used this mouse, but I quickly became accustomed to the amount and angle of deflection necessary to get the wheel moving toward the bottom of the page.

The sensitivity of the mouse is an important point with any mouse.  Gamers prefer to have sensitivities far beyond those of the average user so that they might wield their on-screen accouterments with the delicacy becoming of a winner, but most average users are happy just to have a sensitivity above that of the ever-senseless track ball.  To delight both worlds, the MX 1100 has a button at the north end of the thumb area, which allows the user to adjust this sensitivity.  Those working with laptops  or desktops with smaller screens may desire a lower sensitivity so that they don't go clear across the screen with each movement whereas those working with a much larger screen might desire a higher number so as to not get mired in one particular corner of their screen real estate.  I keep mine somewhere in the middle so that I need not switch when playing my strategy games or moving across small web pages.  I have found that at approximately 1200dpi, I can tailor my hand movements to the on-screen needs without having to adjust the sensitivity.

One of the most distressing features of this mouse is the lack of rechargeable batteries.  Earlier MX models all contained these batteries and could always be easily recharged by placing them in the docking station on your desk.  The only plus from this is the absence of the docking station.  Since there is no need for it as a recharger, there is no need for it at all.  This means that there is one less item to clutter your desk, although perhaps this would be a small price to pay for the Earthly savings of rechargeable batteries.  The included software will calculate the remaining battery life when queried and there is an on-mouse indicator as well to ensure you aren't ever left with a dead mouse and not a battery in the house.

To assuage any real fears about the constant disposable of dead batteries, Logitech has designed this mouse with the maximum power longevity in mind.  Average battery life is rated at 9-12 months with normal use.  This is helped by the low power transmitter in the mouse, which uses minimal energy to stay connected with the computer.  Also, there is an on/off switch for instant desistance of consumption.  Should you be of the forgetful type, or perhaps not inclined to press this button every time you feel the urge to take a walk, know that the mouse also has a built in timer that will automatically cut power to the mouse once the predetermined time has elapsed without any movement.

Overall, Logitech has created a wonderful mouse in the MX 1100.  It has all of the latest features to be found in the mouse market and it has what may well be the best looks in the market.  While Logitech continues to fine-tune each of these features with each new release, you can be confident that this mouse will provide superior performance and looks for as long as you wish to make it a useful member of your desk accessories.