Logitech on Wednesday announced that it has shipped its billionth mouse. The milestone coincides with the 40^th anniversary of the demonstration of the first computer mouse back in the year 1968.

Logitech was founded in a farmhouse in Apples, Switzerland in 1981 and shortly thereafter established strong ties in Silicon Valley. Logitech introduced its first retail mouse in 1985 and reached the 100 millionth mouse mark in 1996. Sales of Logitech mice topped 500 million seven years later. Today, Logitech sells mice in more than 100 countries worldwide and manufactures an average of 376 thousand mice per day and 7.8 million every month.

“Since the first click of the Logitech P4 mouse in 1982, Logitech mice have played an indispensable role in the evolution of the personal computer. During the last few decades, the way people use computers has changed dramatically – what was once strictly a business tool has become highly integrated into our personal lives. Logitech has continually pursued innovations to meet those changing conditions, introducing – in the last five years alone – the world’s first laser mouse, hyper-fast scrolling and the nano-receiver,” said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive officer.

As Logitech celebrates its milestone, many will be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the first public demonstration of the computer mouse.

“What a wonderful coincidence that the leading mouse manufacturer has announced such a significant milestone in the same month that we celebrate Doug Engelbart’s legendary public debut of the computer mouse. Logitech’s product innovations support Engelbart’s vision of human-computer tools for interactive and collaborative work,” said Curt Carlson, president and chief executive officer of SRI International.

The mouse has served very well in the most recent decades, but going forward it may evolve into something different, according to Logitech.

“Looking to the future, the gesture-based Logitech MX Air mouse and the hybrid Logitech diNovo Mini palm-sized keyboard hint at what can be expected from Logitech’s next generation of innovations. While the traditional mouse and keyboard still make the most sense for productivity, the emergence of the digital home and new forms of entertainment are opening the doors to new ways of interacting with the computer, whether it be voice, touch or something entirely new,” said Rory Dooley, Logitech senior vice president and general manager of the control devices business unit.

Tags: Logitech