Logitech MX300 Optical Mouse

Review by Michael Tran on 06.03.03
Cowritten / edited by Harry Lam

Optical Technology:

Optical vs. Ball-Based Tracking (What are the advantages?):

Precision and motion tracking- Consumers of traditional mice often run into cursor tracking problems from surface contamination and mechanical wear on the device. The Solid State Optical Navigation technology provides superior precision and smooth navigation. It contains an 800 dpi sensor at a rate of 12 inches per second.

Longer Lasting Non-Mechanical Parts- This mouse features a "no moving parts" design, and as a result factors such as friction won't take their toll.  The mouse is much more "reliable" and longer lasting.

Ability To Be Used On a Wide Range of Surfaces: Traditional mice require a mouse pad for uniform contact with the mouse ball. Different from ball mice, the optical engine does not physically make contact with the surface; instead it uses reflections from the surface and then calculates the package information to gauge the displacement value.  Basically, you can use this mouse on almost any surface.

Closer look: Optics never make contact

The Optics:

An optical mouse has a LED that illuminates the surface over which the mouse is being used on. From this lit surface, a monochromatic camera with a focusing lens and processor analyzes the received images and converts the differences in images into information about the movement and displacement. The rate that the processor receives and analyzes this information is extremely fast. In addition, with this type of sensing technology, the smallest movements are detected. The processor recognizes the details of the surface and calculates the direction the mouse has been moved. If the processor is not receiving information, it determines that the mouse is standing still, shifting the optical engine into standby mode, where the snapshot rate is slowed. The LED is turned off during standby mode.

The lens- The lens provides a constant illumination that will accurately track the movement. In fact, the MX series of mice ensure optimal illumination of desk surfaces used by the mouse sensor.

LED- A LED is used to provide the illumination needed by the sensor for optimal tracking. The epitome of an efficient LED will deliver a minimum light output while functioning properly on a myriad of surfaces. The MX engine automatically adjusts itself to the required amount of light for a particular surface.

Surfaces- The optical sensor is able to work on a wide variety of surfaces because the sensor uses microscopic analyses of the motion while using fine texture in the surface to register data at a constant flow. The sensor takes images of the surface and compares successive images to determine the rate of displacement and direction of motion. Surfaces with texture or uniform pattern work well with the sensor.  Logitech does not recommend the use of optical mice on surfaces with reflective or refractive features such as, mirrors, glass, some half-tone printing surfaces, and 3-D mouse pads. However, in my testing my MX300 worked flawlessly on my Icemat (which is a mouse pad made from frosted glass).  Most optical mice have tracking problems on the Icemat, but the MX300 had no problems at all (no skipping or jumping at all).

Side of the Logitech MX 300