This new hardware is developed by the Redmond company and is supposed to combine the power of optical and the precision of laser, providing a superior mousing experience.

It’s easy to recharge with the accompanied docking station and also has a whole new design & style, as the mouse emits a cool blue light when you pull it out of its docking.

It works as following, the mouse makes use of a proprietary chip which houses advanced algorithms and pixel architecture for even better tracking. The blue optics used provide superior navigational accuracy just like laser mice. This light also is emitted in a wider and more diffuse beam to aid it earlier mentioned accuracy, while also it’s more incoherent, providing the same experience in a dusty environment as it would on a clean surface. This new toy is available from this month, and priced around $100 (about €75).

While above is all presented very nice, I don’t think the majority of people will really notice the difference. Nowadays mice, especially the laser type, already provide a very good accuracy. Maybe some die-hard gamers will run to the stores to get this goody, but the average Joe is already well served with the existing technologies.

Does this really matter? No! In the end, the existing hardware will have to be replaced sooner or later, it’s just a matter of time before we all have a Bluetrack. On the other hand, since Microsoft has probably patented this technology, this leaves very little possibility for competitors to create their own variant. Either they have to take a licence with MS, or develop their own new technology. I don’t see a company like Logitech eager to use this technology, as they most likely have the resources to come up with something of their own.

I hope this is not going to be another ‘Microsoft-only’ thing, like we had with the Office document standards. Okay, you can in no way compare these to each other, but I wouldn’t be surprised if in the end it’ll be exactly the same deal…