Logitech are good all round general manufacturers of computer stuff of the highest quality. It then comes as no surprise when they decide to release a mouse that can only be called the "Executive Toy Mouse", purely because of it’s wealth of features and it’s high cost. Can this little squeaker give the Microsoft pedigree of mice a run for their money, or is it just a very expensive paperweight?

Main Product Specs

• New benchmark in optical systems combines high resolution and high frame rate to achieve superior performance.
• Ground-breaking new engine captures more data every second, measuring even the smallest movement.
• 800-dpi sensor ensures unparalleled accuracy.
• Advanced digital radio technology provides the performance of a corded USB device within a six-foot range.
• Rapid charge base station combines both receiver and charger in one to ensure that your mouse is always ready for work (or play).
• Cruise Control™ system combines two buttons with scroll wheel to ease scrolling through long documents or web sites.
• Quick Switch Program Selector moves you between active documents and programs.
• Two thumb buttons let you move forward or backward between pages.
• Sleek contoured shape fits snugly into your right hand.
• Image Processing: 4.7 megapixels/sec
• Acceleration: 10g
• Speed: 40 inches/sec
• Windows® 95, Windows® 98, Windows® NT, Windows® 2000, Windows® Me, Windows® XP
• USB or PS/2 port
• Five-year warranty

When first looking at the mouse, the first thing you notice is the lack of a cable between the mouse and the PC, and then a little thought hits you, along the lines of "I don’t want to keep taking batteries out of it all the time!".
The MX700’s transmitter also doubles as it’s charging bay, so when you are not using it, you can park it vertically in it’s charger, and it will start increasing it’s juice thanks to two small electrodes on the front of the base of the mouse. This very nice touch means that if you are a good little user and remember to replace the mouse every night, it will mean you won’t have to change the batteries at all (unless you wear through the rechargeable ones that come with it, in which case you will). Even then, the base station also solves the problem of where to put the mouse when you are not using it, charging or not.

The surface of the mouse is moulded to fit right-handed users and the extra buttons added to the mouse. There are the traditional "Left" and "Right-click" buttons, but in a nice styling change, they are actually part of the nice silvery shell, with no visible join at all, thanks to the bending plastic. This does confuse people who are not used to the mouse, thanks to it’s stealth-buttons!
Where the thumb goes on the left, above the groove are the forward/back buttons, primarily for use for Internet Explorer instead of hitting the same buttons on the window.
Surrounding the scroll wheel, there are three more buttons. From the top, there are the "Cruise Control" pair, where one scrolls up and the other scrolls down so that you don’t have to overuse the wheel, and below that is the "Quick Switch Program Selector", which is Logitech’s version of Alt-Tab. The positioning of this button is sadly perfectly in line for those who rest their middle finders on the wheel, as they may find they are changing applications during a game when they only want to change weapons.
All of these buttons can be adjusted using the Mouseware software that comes with the rodent. Unfortunately the selection of what you can do with each button is limited to certain actions and keys, so specialization of the mouse buttons only works so far.

For the last few weeks of using it, I have found it to be a very comfortable mouse. People with big hands (such as I) will be at home with it straight away. This is a big mouse, so big in fact that it kept on falling off the edge of my Ratpadz for the first week, purely because it is a fair bit larger than normal mice.
The batteries inside add weight to the mouse, but since the mouse glides perfectly over most surfaces anyway, this excess baggage isn’t noticed at all.

Overall, the mouse is great for gamers whom don’t want cables or batteries to change constantly, and also for those style conscious few who need something a bit shinier than normal. The slight problems with the task-switcher button only mar what could be considered the best mouse available on the market.