Logitech to quit the OEM mouse business

[HEXUS]

Will continue to diversify with investment in music and video accessory designs.

Read more.

[Saracen]

You had me worried there, as I've always liked Logitech mice, ever since my first optical mouse about 20 years ago.

But it's only OEM mice they're dropping, not their own brand mice.

Phew!

[Biscuit]

Seems like an odd move if you ask me. You would think this kind of business would be the, 'bread and butter' type stuff that they can churn out year after year to cover overheads and hide losses.

[cheesemp]

Didn't even know logitech did OEM mice. I wonder who they did them for as I never found OEM mice to be any good (and I don't have expensive tastes - an 8 year old microsoft 'basic optical' mouse at work and a £13 gigabyte gaming mouse at home...)

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Didn't even know logitech did OEM mice. I wonder who they did them for as I never found OEM mice to be any good (and I don't have expensive tastes - an 8 year old microsoft 'basic optical' mouse at work and a £13 gigabyte gaming mouse at home...)

Dell being one of them and some of them are actually quite good since they use laser sensors.

[cheesemp]

Dell being one of them and some of them are actually quite good since they use laser sensors.

Thats even more surprising as its the Dell mice i've not liked recently (way too light and felt really uncomfortable).

[crossy]

Didn't even know logitech did OEM mice. I wonder who they did them for as I never found OEM mice to be any good (and I don't have expensive tastes - an 8 year old microsoft 'basic optical' mouse at work and a £13 gigabyte gaming mouse at home...)

IBM used to use them exclusively, in fact I think I might still have an IBM branded Logitech (with PS2 connection) lying around. Top shell says "IBM", but underneath the serial sticker says "Logitech".

Like Saracen, I was sore troubled by the thought of no more Logitech mice, but relieved to see it was just OEM's getting denied. Although, what's to stop an OEM from approaching Logitech and buying mice (at cost of course) to bundle with their kit, just leaving them as "Logitech" rather than Dell, Samsung, Acme, etc.

To be rude, it's only the Logitech mice and keyboards I'm interested in (Anywhere Mouse MX, MX1000 and a K800 is what I've got at the moment). I have zero interest in the rest of Logi's portfolio.

[Bagnaj97]

It makes sense to me, for basic mice there's got to be intense competition from chinese manufacturers - even Poundland has optical mice. I suspect it's an awful lot of effort for razor thin margins, and the higher end of the market is more lucrative.

[shaithis]

I do wonder if it's to up sales of their retail models (which have considerably higher profit margins on them) TBH

[GuidoLS]

Didn't even know logitech did OEM mice. I wonder who they did them for as I never found OEM mice to be any good (and I don't have expensive tastes - an 8 year old microsoft 'basic optical' mouse at work and a £13 gigabyte gaming mouse at home...)

As others have said, Dell and IBM were 2 of them. They also did the OEM stuff for WYSE, HP and Gateway. Alibaba still has at least a dozen different varieties listed as being Logitech oem mice - unbranded and in a myriad of colors - the kind of junk you'd find at a flea market (car boot for you folks over on the other side of the mud puddle). Not sure I'd buy any of them, but...

[tribaljet]

You had me worried there, as I've always liked Logitech mice, ever since my first optical mouse about 20 years ago.

But it's only OEM mice they're dropping, not their own brand mice.

Phew!

I felt very much the same, they do quite nice quality products. And given I've recently got a G502 (far more ergonomic than I antecipated) to replace my worn Razer Copperhead, was worried about any implications that could've happened in terms of support.

Dell being one of them and some of them are actually quite good since they use laser sensors.

Laser sensors aren't an upgrade over optical sensors but rather a sidegrade.

[crossy]

Laser sensors aren't an upgrade over optical sensors but rather a sidegrade.

I'm not convinced of that - the "Darkfield" (laser) sensor in the AnywhereMX seems to be more tolerant of mousing surface than the optical-powered predecessor. Similarly the MX1000's early laser sensor is pretty good. But ymmv.

Other thing is that - to my view anyway - when laser sensors really came on stream we saw these ridiculously precise gaming mice.

[Pleiades]

Guess they're not going to bother with producing another Trackman Marble Optical wireless then :-(

Despite a lot of posts on their website from all over the world desperate for something similar to replace these unique trackballs... and mine's just died after about 5 years (or more)...

[nitro912gr]

You had me worried there, as I've always liked Logitech mice, ever since my first optical mouse about 20 years ago.

But it's only OEM mice they're dropping, not their own brand mice.

Phew!

same here, I trust them for years now and never failed me. Even their cheaper offering is better than most of the other mouses combined.

[tribaljet]

I'm not convinced of that - the "Darkfield" (laser) sensor in the AnywhereMX seems to be more tolerant of mousing surface than the optical-powered predecessor. Similarly the MX1000's early laser sensor is pretty good. But ymmv.

Other thing is that - to my view anyway - when laser sensors really came on stream we saw these ridiculously precise gaming mice.

Laser sensors do indeed track better on different surfaces, but then they suffer from jitter, reverse acceleration and cursor lag. I understand that a wireless mouse is welcome to have better tracking, but overall I expect a sensor to work optimally when on a stationary pad to which optical sensors do outperform laser sensors.

The only reason I got a laser sensor mouse in the first place was due to it being one of the first mice that happened to have high polling rates (which are much more important than DPI for me), because things like higher DPI ceiling (which ironically is highest on an optical sensor) aren't anywhere essential for me (after having upgraded my mouse, my DPI settings remained on the same ballpark, only more granular).

[Jim - ASUS]

I'm not convinced of that - the "Darkfield" (laser) sensor in the AnywhereMX seems to be more tolerant of mousing surface than the optical-powered predecessor. Similarly the MX1000's early laser sensor is pretty good. But ymmv.

Other thing is that - to my view anyway - when laser sensors really came on stream we saw these ridiculously precise gaming mice.

I don't know if you read this PC Gamer article last week, but it's pretty interesting: http://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-mouse-myths-busted/