Logitech's PowerPlay mat wirelessly charges a mouse while you use it

[midian182]

Wireless gaming peripherals have come a long way in the last five years, offering huge improvements in both lag time and battery life, but having to charge them can still be a pain. Logitech, however, could have revealed the perfect solution at E3: the PowerPlay mouse pad, a mat that constantly charges compatible wireless mice.

Unlike Corsair’s similar project Zeus concept, which uses the Qi wireless standard, the proprietary charging tech in Logitech’s system is able to cover the entire 10.82-by-12.59-inch surface, rather than just one corner. So no matter where your mouse is on the mat, it’ll be getting charged as you use it.

It works by creating a 2mm electromagnetic field across the whole surface, which is picked up by a Powercore module magnetically attached inside a compatible Logitech mouse and converted into an electrical charge that powers the device.

There are concerns that a constantly charging mouse could result in some performance issues, but Logitech says this won’t be the case.

“[PowerPlay] delivers this power without interfering with the precise measurement and data transmission of a high-performance gaming mouse,” the company claims.

The $100 bundle comes with a wireless charging base, two surfaces (soft and hard) that users can switch between, and a Powercore module. There’ll be two compatible mice available at launch: the G903, which is a slightly upgraded version of the G900, for $149.99, and the $99 G703 – an almost identical copy of the G403.

The mice, which boast longer-lasting, better switches than their predecessors, go on sale in June, but you’ll have to wait until August for the PowerPlay system’s launch.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/69666-logitech-powerplay-mat-wirelessly-charges-mouse-while-you.html

 

[Arris]

Cool idea, I always thought QI mouse mat would be a good idea but nice to see a slightly different take on it from Logitech. Or I could just plug a cable into my G900 every 2-3 days... yeah, I think I'm ok with that and I'll save myself $100+ dollars rather than buying a charging mouse mat.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Neat idea, but I have to ask something. If you are buying a wireless mouse and a charging pad that will plug into the PC, why not just buy a wired mouse?

 

[Kibaruk]

Neat idea, but I have to ask something. If you are buying a wireless mouse and a charging pad that will plug into the PC, why not just buy a wired mouse?

It makes sense although there are some moments where you really need to be wireless. This is for those cases maybe, who knows.

 

[Adhmuz]

Neat idea, but I have to ask something. If you are buying a wireless mouse and a charging pad that will plug into the PC, why not just buy a wired mouse?

It makes sense although there are some moments where you really need to be wireless. This is for those cases maybe, who knows.

At the price they're asking I'll just buy two mice, thank you very much.

The idea is cool, and should have come about much sooner, but the price just seems way too high, if Logitech is planing on having this adopted by other mouse manufacturers (doubtful) the price might go down. But if there's one thing I know in the peripheral world, inter-brand compatibility is often low on the list of priorities when making a device.

 

[Kibaruk]

The idea is cool, and should have come about much sooner, but the price just seems way too high, if Logitech is planing on having this adopted by other mouse manufacturers (doubtful) the price might go down. But if there's one thing I know in the peripheral world, inter-brand compatibility is often low on the list of priorities when making a device.

Wireless gaming mouse are expensive as they are already, without putting into the formula the QI-type charging and the apparently high requirements for this to work precisely even while charging. If they stick with the QI would be great, just add the QI tech into the mouse and you could purchase any type of Qi mat that suits you.

 

[Uncle Al]

That's a pretty good application. I would be curious to know how long the mouse can go w/o charging, will it still connect to the computer wirelessly, and do I have to worry about the condensation on my fingers from my very cold beer sitting next to it?

 

[Brock Kane]

Cool idea, I always thought QI mouse mat would be a good idea but nice to see a slightly different take on it from Logitech. Or I could just plug a cable into my G900 every 2-3 days... yeah, I think I'm ok with that and I'll save myself $100+ dollars rather than buying a charging mouse mat.

Yeah same deal here! I too have the G900. I'll wait til Logitech has an upgraded mouse pad that is RGB. Just like the Corsair MM800 Polaris, which I am using now.

Like you said, no sense in upgrading the G900 to the 903 just for on-the-fly charging, when the G900 was expensive enough.