Logitech Announces POWERPLAY Wireless Charging System to Recharge Wireless Mice

cageymaru

Fully [H]
Joined
Apr 10, 2003
Messages
22,060
Logitech has announced their new $100 POWERPLAY wireless mouse charging system that is comprised of a wireless mouse charging pad, a hard surface pad and a soft surface pad. The proprietary mouse pad will charge the mouse anywhere on the mouse pad unlike wireless Qi chargers that usually only work in a small confined area. Of course new wireless mice are needed to take advantage of this technology, and Logitech has announced two new members to their family; the Logitech $149 G903 and $100 G703. $200 - $250 for a complete wireless charging system does seem a bit steep; but it does seem a lot more convenient. Every time that I have to plugin the cord into my Logitech G900, I wonder out loud if there isn't a better system coming.

Other manufacturers are working on similar systems using the wireless Qi system. At Computex, Corsair debuted a Concept Zeus mouse pad charging system that could charge your wireless phone in addition to your wireless mouse as it used the industry standard Qi wireless charging system. The big difference between the Corsair prototype and the Logitech POWERPLAY system is that the Corsair charger is currently relegated to only charging in a small area on the mouse pad due to the limitations of the Qi wireless charging system. Not to be outdone by Logitech, Corsair also announced that they are working hard to bring whole mouse pad charging to the system. Competition is the greatest motivator of technology progression! I hope that both system work great for so that there will be a real choice in which system a consumer chooses to go with.

The included POWERCORE module enables compatible wireless mice for POWERPLAY. It works with the all-new G903 and G703 wireless gaming mice. Easily swap in the magnetic POWERCORE module and you’re ready to wirelessly charge.
 
Well that's expensive(100 bucks for the pad another 100-150 for a mouse that works with it) but i suppose logitech has been pushing wireless gaming for awhile and this is it's more obvious evolution. I wonder if you have a wireless logitech keyboard will you have to still use a dongle or does the pad accommodate all logitech wireless signals not just the mouse.
 
Depending on how this works in the real world, this could remove my major complaint and headache with wireless mice.
 
I think this is a great solution for 49.99 or a combo pack with a mouse at a discounted price.
 
How often do your batteries need charged on a logitech wireless mouse? For me I replace the non rechargeable ones about every 18 or so months. I would never pay $100 for a charging station.
 
Last edited:
How often do your batteries need charged on a logitech wireless mouse? For me I replace them about every 18 or so months. I would never pay $100 for a charging station.

I use the G900, which is the predecessor to the mouse in the announcement. It has an internal battery that is rechargeable by plugging in a USB cord. I plug it in probably once a week.

I would buy this pad if it were about $50 and compatible with my existing G900. The mouse was too expensive to justify buying another with the same design so soon.
 
Just announced. Risk of cancer increased from wireless charging mice.
I don't think any wireless charger has ionizing radiation but i do know they are terrible for power efficiency.
How often do your batteries need charged on a logitech wireless mouse? For me I replace the non rechargeable ones about every 18 or so months. I would never pay $100 for a charging station.
It's a gaming product that 1000hz really saps power just a couple years ago you'd be lucky if your gaming mouse lasted 2 days, now it's closer to a week or so depending on settings.
 
How often do your batteries need charged on a logitech wireless mouse? For me I replace the non rechargeable ones about every 18 or so months. I would never pay $100 for a charging station.

With the older g700s mouse that i have, depending on how much i was using it, i could go anywhere from 2 days to a week on battery (although im typically around the 2 day mark).
 
Gamers really want... wireless mice? You mean like minecraft gamers?
0 cord drag is a real benefit. People spend money on mouse bungees and time trying to rig up ways to reduce drag. Ofc they are somewhat impractical for endorsement because in person tournaments will never allow wireless. I suppose streamers are a target though.
 
I think i'll stick with my once a day rechargable battery swap from the bank of 4 AA's i have sitting in the charger.
 
They need a whole wireless power system, and forget the batteries. Batteries are a point of early failure, plus the receiver for the wireless mouse could be built directly into the pad, bypassing the need for a separate dongle and reducing the interference that the mouse could encounter.
 
0 cord drag is a real benefit. People spend money on mouse bungees and time trying to rig up ways to reduce drag. Ofc they are somewhat impractical for endorsement because in person tournaments will never allow wireless. I suppose streamers are a target though.

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Clips-...qid=1497294149&sr=8-6&keywords=cord+organizer

Problem solved. I never liked the bungee thing, I just keep a clean desk and never really had issues with cords getting snagged.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Like
Reactions: blkt
like this
Great idea, but unless they come out with a G700/G700s successor that has the same button configuration but implements this wireless charging...no thanks.

Also means I'd have to give up my Ratpadz....ehhhhh...
 
Sigh. I dislike almost everything about what they announced.
First and foremost, it's no big deal to plug my G700 in for an hour once per week.
Second, those prices are nanners. Seriously, no.
Third, the 703 looks as bare bones as a mouse gets.
Fourth, the 903 is another "enthusiast" part that looks like a Mass Effect Reaper and lacks buttons in the places people actually want. 2 thumb buttons and a bunch of buttons on top? What?

I don't think I could be any more disappointed.
 
My G900 gives me the warning that it is a 30% every 2 days. Then again my computer runs 24/7 and I'm doing stuff all day and night. I wish I could drop a couple of Panasonic Eneloop Pro batteries into it. :)

I think the thing is a bit expensive; the mouse pad needs to come down 50% at some point when revision 2 eventually comes out. Also it need to charge other wireless devices in the future.

Glad you'll liked the article. :) Thanks!
 
I think i'll stick with my once a day rechargable battery swap from the bank of 4 AA's i have sitting in the charger.

Pretty much what I do. My old MX mouse used to go a week. The new one goes a few days. I'm sure it'd last longer if I remembered to turn it off, doesn't seem to have an efficient sleep mode. Although it does allow you to plug in the USB cable to charge while still using it as a [now] wired mouse - it actually switches to wired and not just charging with wireless.

My G900 gives me the warning that it is a 30% every 2 days. Then again my computer runs 24/7 and I'm doing stuff all day and night. I wish I could drop a couple of Panasonic Eneloop Pro batteries into it. :)

I think the thing is a bit expensive; the mouse pad needs to come down 50% at some point when revision 2 eventually comes out. Also it need to charge other wireless devices in the future.

Glad you'll liked the article. :) Thanks!

Mine takes a single Eneloop, I think it's the G700s model. Burns through them quickly though - I think the manual says 8hrs if you're in full power (high refresh) mode. I chose that particular model so I could swap Eneloops instead of remembering to plug it in.

The MX was easier in that regard as it had a docking station I always remembered to drop it into. They seem to make each model very tied to the design and not a single model that can do it all - USB wired mode, Eneloop, and docking station compatibility.
 
Last edited:
Now they just need to make a desk pad that will charge your mouse/keyboard/headset/phone/watch/fitbit, and cool your beer all at once.
 
The mouse should be powered by kinetic energy of your hand and possibly also static electricity. :whistle:

In all seriousness, I never understood the need for wireless. Just make sure there is nothing behind your mousepad, route the mouse cable from behind your monitor into a single counter-clockwise loop with the cable connecting to the mouse on -top- and you are set. You may have to flip the mouse a few times one way or the other to get the cable untwisted and the loop to settle, but after this the cable will never get in the way.

I learned this with the Logitech M-CQ38 in the days of Quake. The cable never hopped onto the pad or experienced drag. Now that we don't have huge CRT monitors to route behind, the clip NickJames recommended would be perfect.
 
I need wireless because I'm playing from my couch. I'm not about to run a 10-foot cable to the back of my PC when the current batches of wireless mice work 100% fine. I can't tell any different between my G700S and a wired mouse. For that matter, I like the button layout better than wired mice anyway. I only have to charge it once every 10'ish hours of use and can hot-swap batteries of all sorts as needed.
 
Seems insanely expensive. I have to charge my mouse, at most, once a week. I can just set the sucker in the cradle before bed and I'm good for another week or so. With a new battery, it'd probably last 2 weeks. Besides, I've already got a ratpad (and another new one in storage),
 
I don't get wireless mouse for gaming. For normal everyday computing usage, sure. But not gaming. If you're going to run a cord mere inches from the wireless mouse, why not just get a wired mouse. Wireless isn't going to be faster than wired, period. It's just physics.

Cord drag you say? You haven't optimized your computer setup and mouse correctly. If it bothers you THAT much, wrap or coat your mouse cord with low friction adhesive or sprays. Find something to lift the cord up off the desk. Find ultra thin low friction mouse pads. Get slow friction sheet that covers the whole computer desk, and do away with a mousepad.
 
I also have a G700s that only lasts a day so I just leave it plugged in 24/7. My old logitech mouse lasted months at a time and although it wasn't a precision gaming mouse it never stopped me from top fragging...
 
I recently decided to try all wireless keyboard and mouse again (for the 3rd time) and love it so much this time I will never go back. The last few times I tried I just don't think the technology was up to snuff but that is no longer the case. My mouse is the G900 and it works as good, if not better, than any wired/wireless mouse I have ever had or used previously.

The only thing I would change about the G900 is to have a replaceable battery (2xAA(A) would be best) so I could have spare(s) charging and just swap when needed. That would be ideal imo.

This wireless mouse pad idea is okay but doesn't get me going because maybe I want a different pad, or even no mouse pad at all. Then this would just be a glorified (and large) charging station/dock.

Also, the price on both the mouse and charger is crazy.
 
I don't get wireless mouse for gaming. For normal everyday computing usage, sure. But not gaming. If you're going to run a cord mere inches from the wireless mouse, why not just get a wired mouse. Wireless isn't going to be faster than wired, period. It's just physics.

Your statement would imply that physics is the only limiting factor in mouse technology but that is not the case. Drivers, software, sensors, etc. starting adding different latency to the overall input of any more. Many things are involved and the overall response time will vary greatly among both wired and wireless mice.

Also, some wired gaming mice have more lag - higher input lag and response time - than the G900 wireless mouse.

I would not assume that all wired>all wireless, always. I think the blanket you are throwing over wireless peripherals, mice in particular, is no longer justified (although I though the same way until recently researching the G900).

Logitech did a great job with this mouse (G900) at reducing the overall response time down to numbers that even beat out some "gaming" wired mice. I would imagine these new mice, like the G903, will also be in the same low latency category. I look forward to the improvements and better accessories (wireless charging) to support all these wireless technologies.
 
I don't get wireless mouse for gaming. For normal everyday computing usage, sure. But not gaming. If you're going to run a cord mere inches from the wireless mouse, why not just get a wired mouse. Wireless isn't going to be faster than wired, period. It's just physics.

I also used to be in the never-wireless camp. That has completely changed since I tried out the G900. The tech has come a long ways. I can detect no input lag whatsoever. And I play twitch FPS. It also can used with a usb wire plugged in so it's really the best of both worlds.
 
This would have been jaw-droppingly amazing about 8 years ago, when we were still putting our wireless mice into cradles every night. These days my Logitech whatever-it-is gets two AA's swapped in every six months, maybe? A solution for a problem that no longer exists.
 
I am using the G900 as a corded mouse most of the time, and I only fall back to the wireless mode when I use it on the go, so the idea of having this mat is not too enticing for me (not with the sticker price)
 
Always used wired, until i decided gaming from a recliner seem more fun. Using some cheap bluetooth keyboard and a g700 on a wooden board. Bought a 4 pack of NiMH panasonic batteries with charger for about 10$ on amazon, and its exactly the same battery that came with the mouse. The charger is on top of my desk and i always keep at least one charged, swapping batteries takes less than 10 seconds. They don't last as long as non-rechargable batteries do, but I have probably saved at least 100$ in batters over the years, i use the mouse a lot and keep it in full power mode and can get about 8 hours of game time before swapping a battery, and they charge about the same rate.

I like the idea of the wireless charging pad, but for someone in my situation, the corded mouse pad defeats the purpose of my comfort gaming sessions. Now maybe if the mouse pad acted as a wireless battery backup, no cords at all, i might be a bit more swayed...
 
This would have been jaw-droppingly amazing about 8 years ago, when we were still putting our wireless mice into cradles every night. These days my Logitech whatever-it-is gets two AA's swapped in every six months, maybe? A solution for a problem that no longer exists.

Not entirely with something like the G900, G903. It should last easily for a day on a change but the batteries aren't replaceable so if you forget to charge it you have to use it as wired mouse for a few hours. The mat is sort of cool idea but it's easy enough to get a light cord and run it properly so that you can't feel the drag of cord so $100 for a charging matt that I'm guessing must produce some heat is an expensive solution.
 
I use the G700s with eneloop 2550 pros and easily get 2 days on them between charges... I also flip it over and use the OFF switch.

Consequently i also have my phone charger and watch base near the tether cord so its not a big deal to plug it in at night.

This system is wayyyyy too expensive for any real sales.

If it was a new kickazz product rather than a modified existing one.....okay might get some takers. Most would rather add another ssd for that price.

Nice try logitech, would be better if it somehow scavenged power from wifi and cell signals lolol
 
I love my G602, I do not have to recharge my eneloop batteries for months (~around 3-4 as I recall)! I remember my backup G700 eating through batteries like candies but I hope we are long past that point where we have to charge batteries daily/weekly.
 
The G602 has great battery life, but man does that button configuration suck a fat one. I'd honestly love to see a G600 wireless option.
 
Corded for lyfe yo.

As someone that has (and always will) a desktop computer, I'm always fine with a wired mouse. If I gamed on a laptop and had to plug in the cord and unplug the cord every day and every time I move the laptop that would be a different story.
 
Back
Top