With a look only William Shatner could love and more bells and whistles that a marching band, the G9 laser mouse is Logitech’s latest offering in the lucrative gaming peripherals market. Why is it a lucrative market, you might ask? The answer is simple; paying NZ$180 for a mouse should yield some pretty good margins for Logitech.

The mouse comes with two interchangeable outer covers, each slightly changing the look and feel of the mouse. The covers differ little from each other, although different materials and slightly different sizing will see gamers choosing one and quite probably never ever touch the other again. The shape and size of the mouse is radical when compared to other gaming mice, and will most likely suit gamers playing with a ‘claw-like’ style.

The G9 sports the usual suspects of buttons, with two thumb buttons, two buttons for dedicated dpi switching and a side tilting mouse wheel. The mouse wheel can switch between standard and ‘free spin’ mode, presumably for the game playing Excel junkies out there.

Despite an odd appearance, the G9 does have the numbers on its side. It has a dpi range of 200 to 3,200, and processes 6.4 mega pixels per second. According to Logitech’s specifications, the mouse buttons are good for 8 million clicks, and the mouse feet should cover 250 kilometers before they pack it in.

The jury is still out on the final scorecard for the mouse; check the October issue of PC World. I will say this though, Logitech has chosen an unusual design for its mouse, and combined with the price that could end up being its pitfall.