Logitech 2005 Annual Report Download - page 59

The Company has expanded its product portfolio to include a new line of advanced remote controls for
home entertainment. This is part of the Company’s strategy to pursue new opportunities in the living room
environment, positioning Logitech at the convergence of consumer electronics and personal computing in the
digital living room. The Company’s line of advanced remote controls, with Smart State Technology™, provides
simple, intuitive control of even the most elaborate entertainment system.
The Mobile Environment
As digital information and communication are evolving into the mobile environment, the opportunity exists
for Logitech to support a broader set of platforms. Logitech believes that the growing number of users of mobile
phones, notebook computers and mobile entertainment platforms, such as portable digital music players and
gaming devices, will bring additional demand for complementary personal peripherals. Additionally, new
technology provides the ability to digitally capture handwritten notes and messages, and thus creates further
opportunities in the mobile environment. Wherever and whenever people want to access, create or consume
digital information, the need exists for devices that allow users to conveniently access the digital world in an
intuitive and personal way. Logitech plans to support this need in mobile environments, as it does in the office
and in the home environment.
Products
Logitech operates in a single industry segment encompassing the design, development, production,
marketing and support of personal peripheral products. Most of the Company’s products share certain
characteristics such as common customers, common sales channels or common company infrastructure
requirements.
Logitech’s personal peripheral products include input and pointing devices such as corded and cordless
mice, trackballs, and keyboards; interactive gaming devices such as joysticks, gamepads and steering wheels;
multimedia speakers; headsets; web cameras; and advanced remote controls. The Company’s product families
are summarized below.
Cordless and Corded
Mice
Logitech offers many varieties of mice, sold through OEM, system builder and retail channels. Most
cordless pointing devices from Logitech use the Company’s proprietary 27 MHz digital radio technology to
transmit data to the host computer. Optical LED technology has substantially replaced the ball with a tracking
system that works via light, using a light beam to illuminate surfaces on which the mouse is traveling.
The Company’s introduction of its flagship Logitech®MX™1000 Laser Cordless Mouse in 2004 marked an
important milestone: the first laser-based optical system. The nearly singular wavelength of laser light is capable
of revealing much greater surface detail than LED technology. The laser mouse has 20 times more sensitivity to
surface detail than LED optical mice, allowing the laser to reliably track even on tricky polished or wood-grain
surfaces. Combining laser with Logitech’s powerful MX processing engine and Fast RF™wireless technology,
the Logitech MX1000 Laser Cordless Mouse sets a new performance benchmark for responsiveness and
accuracy. The MX1000 mouse also incorporates lithium ion rechargeable batteries, tilt wheel plus zoom and
eight programmable buttons.
The Company recently introduced the MX™518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse, targeted at the PC gaming
market. The MX518 delivers an ultra-high resolution of 1600 dpi, and includes controls so that gamers can shift
resolution, mid-game, to as low as 400 dpi and as high as 1600 dpi. It also features a widened 16-bit data path
that allows the mouse to transmit 8,000 bits of information per second.
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