Computers

Logitech enters the button-free mouse market with the Touch Mouse M600

Logitech enters the button-free mouse market with the Touch Mouse M600
Logitech has announced the new M600 Touch Mouse, where the familiar clicky buttons and scrollwheel are replaced by a touch-sensitive upper surface
Logitech has announced the new M600 Touch Mouse, where the familiar clicky buttons and scrollwheel are replaced by a touch-sensitive upper surface
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Input commands are activated by swiping or scrolling with the fingertips
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Input commands are activated by swiping or scrolling with the fingertips
Laser-grade optics are said to offer precision tracking on virtually any surface
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Laser-grade optics are said to offer precision tracking on virtually any surface
Logitech promises a chop-free, fluid scrolling similar to the experience you might have on a modern smartphone's touchscreen display, courtesy of its Flow Scroll software
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Logitech promises a chop-free, fluid scrolling similar to the experience you might have on a modern smartphone's touchscreen display, courtesy of its Flow Scroll software
Users can power the device with one AA-sized battery for up to three months of operation, or two AA-sized batteries for twice that at the expense of a little weight
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Users can power the device with one AA-sized battery for up to three months of operation, or two AA-sized batteries for twice that at the expense of a little weight
The mouse wirelessly connects with a Windows 7 computer or laptop via the included Logitech Unifying receiver
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The mouse wirelessly connects with a Windows 7 computer or laptop via the included Logitech Unifying receiver
Logitech has announced the new M600 Touch Mouse, where the familiar clicky buttons and scrollwheel are replaced by a touch-sensitive upper surface
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Logitech has announced the new M600 Touch Mouse, where the familiar clicky buttons and scrollwheel are replaced by a touch-sensitive upper surface
View gallery - 6 images

There's no doubt about it, we live in a touch-enabled world. Everywhere you look there's a smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer obeying the fingertip commands of users. Separate input peripherals like keyboards and mice have also had their keys and buttons replaced by a smooth, touch-enabled surface. Although somewhat late to the party (Apple introduced its Magic Mouse as far back as 2009), Logitech is about to release its own Windows 7 mouse called the M600.

The upper surface of the polished-stone-like surface of the 111.3 x 64.3 x 29.2 mm (4.38 x 2.53 x 1.14-inch) M600 is delightfully free of clicky buttons and scrollwheel. Input commands are activated by swiping or scrolling with the fingertips, and Logitech promises chop-free, fluid scrolling similar to the experience you might have on a modern smartphone's touchscreen display, courtesy of its Flow Scroll software (downloaded free from the product page).

Laser-grade optics are said to offer precision tracking on virtually any surface
Laser-grade optics are said to offer precision tracking on virtually any surface

As you might expect, the mouse wirelessly connects with a Windows 7 computer or laptop via the included Logitech Unifying receiver (one of which can handle up to six device connections), and laser-grade optics are said to offer precision tracking on virtually any surface. Users can program the mouse for left-handed use if desired and can power the device with one AA-sized battery for up to three months of operation, or two AA-sized batteries for twice that at the expense of a little weight.

Logitech says that the M600 will be available later this month for a suggested retail price of US$69.99, which is quite a bit more expensive than Speedlink's similarly capable CUE touch mouse.

Source: Logitech M600

View gallery - 6 images
9 comments
9 comments
Frank191
Am I the only one who prefers, by far, buttons to touch screens (or in this case touch mouse)? I bought a touch screen LG smart phone lately and its the worst cell phone I ever had,just because of the absence of buttons.
Terry Penrose
Hmm, maybe it'll be good, but I think I'd be alot more inclined to buy it if Samsung made it using something like their touch screen Tech.
Or you could try this from xda developers MM32: Turn Your Phone Into a Mouse
http://itunes.apple.com/app/mobile-mouse-pro-remote-trackpad/id289616509?mt=8
Testing with a Samsung Galaxy S i9000 2.3.4. works great.
Sambath Pech
I\'m always on my computer when I\'m eating dinner - so my buttoned and scroll-wheeled mouse does get crummy in between the buttons and scroll wheels every now and then. This new mouse would be a breeze to clean because there\'s no nooks and crannys for stuff to get lodged in between. All of my stuff is Logitech because their customer and warranty service is simply superb.
Gadgeteer
$70? That\'s more than a Magic Trackpad costs! Sorry, Logitech, but I gave up your M500 mouse despite its \"hyper-fast scrolling\" in favor of a Magic Trackpad, which I got for less than $50 on eBay. Inertial scrolling in OS X works even better. And the Magic Trackpad is ergonomically better because the user doesn\'t have to grip anything. Finally, with the free BetterTouchTool software (donations accepted), I get a ton of application-specific options for an enormous variety of multitouch gestures using anywhere from one to five fingers. If there\'s one thing I\'ve always hated about Logitech devices, it\'s that their Mac software is absolute junk, which is why I always needed to use USB Overdrive shareware with their mice. This M600 isn\'t even Mac-compatible and as far as I can tell, isn\'t multitouch, either.
BZD
I sense another Apple lawsuit coming
Gene Jordan
@Gadgeteer You are comparing Apples (sic) to Oranges on many counts. First of all, the $70 price is the MSRP and most of us realize that it\'s not going to retail for that - or compare to prices you found on ebay for a totally different product. The Trackpad is not a mouse, it\'s a trackpad. Some people like the trackpad feel, others like a mouse. I prefer a wireless trackball, but I don\'t go ranting online about a product that I won\'t be using, especially considering that you obviously haven\'t tried this product yet and likely won\'t be, since it\'s not made for the operating system that you are using. Why even bother posting if all you\'ve got is something negative to say?
Rustin Lee Haase
I like Logitech products and would enjoy this kind of mouse, except it has a **BIG** flaw in my application. My laptop has only 2 USB connectors and hooking up its proprietary adapter reduces that in half. The logical solution that should have been used in the first place can be spoken in a single compound word.
BLUETOOTH
Come On, Logitech. Get serious.
Gadgeteer
Gene Jordan,
If you want this overpriced toy, you can have it. I prefer something with literally ten times the functionality, and as Rustin Haase noted, that doesn\'t waste one of my USB ports in order to be wireless. Not to mention having to install Setpoint, Flow Scroll and Unifying software. Typical Logitech, where they can\'t seem to put all the software together.
Bill Bennett
got it today, love it,, 70 bucks won\'t buy a tank of gas, it\'s priced right