Logitech MX Air Mouse - on your desk, or in the air

Logitech's MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse has been officially unveiled. This mouse features the new Freespace motion sensing technology which makes it possible to use it in the air.

This Freespace technology is only used in the air, when you're using the mouse on your desk it will use its laser-based tracking system.

The patented Freespace technology is based on a combination of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) sensors, DSP (digital signal processing) technology and RF (radio frequency) wireless technology. These combined technologies allow a user to hold the mouse in any orientation, point in any direction, and enjoy effortless, intuitive cursor control. Additionally, sophisticated algorithms distinguish between intentional and unintentional hand movements – effectively canceling the slight involuntary tremors everyone experiences when holding a device in the air.

Gesture-based commands add a new level of sophistication to the MX Air mouse. To change the volume, people press and hold the volume button and simply gesture – to the right to increase volume, or to the left to decrease it. For music applications, a small circular motion to the right activates the skip track command, while a circle to the left repeats the song.

In place of a traditional scroll wheel, the MX Air mouse features a touch-sensitive scroll panel. A swipe of the finger across the surface enables the inertial scrolling mechanism, which adjusts its speed according to the speed of the finger swipe. Media functions such as Play/Pause, Volume/Mute, Back and Select can be easily accessed in the air by pressing the large, orange backlighted buttons with the thumb.



“The MX Air mouse offers a radically new way for people to control their PC entertainment,” said Rory Dooley, Logitech senior vice president and general manager of the Control Devices business unit. “It’s for anyone who has listened to music on their PC and been frustrated by having to return to the desk to change songs or volume. It’s for people who want to share vacation photos with friends and family without being tied to the desk. It’s for any of the millions of people using the Internet to browse and watch videos on sites such as YouTube or Grouper. And it’s for people with a living-room computer or media PC who want to navigate their media content on their terms.”

The MX Air mouse uses Logitech's 2.4GHz Digital Cordless technology which offers a range of up to 10 meters. The mouse uses Li-Ion batteries and ships with a charging cradle. The MX Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse will sell for $149.99.