Despite all the leaks, it turns out that Microsoft had one last product up its sleeve that didn't leak out before the launch and it's the new SideWinder X8. This is Microsoft's first attempt at a wireless gaming mouse and it looks like it's a couple of levels above the previous SideWinder mice.

The X8 has been redesigned and it looks much more comfortable to hold and most importantly, the thumb buttons have changed and are now much smaller and seem to be easier to press. But even more interesting is the fact that this is also Microsoft's first gaming mouse to make use of the new BlueTrack technology which was announced yesterday, which is meant to allow for much higher sensitivity than lasers, and Microsoft has designed the X8 to work from 200 to 4,000 dpi and as with the previous SideWinder mice, you can switch the dpi in the fly.

Microsoft claims that the X8 offers the "highest tracking speeds and feeds on the market" with 13,300 frames per second image processing, 75Gs maximum acceleration and 120 inches per second maximum speed. How this translates into real world performance advantages has yet to be seen. The wireless part is using the same 2.4GHz wireless technology as Microsoft is using for its other wireless mice, although the transceiver is quite different from what we've seen from any other manufacturer so far.

Logitech went with easily swappable battery packs for their G7 mouse, but Microsoft has taken a different route by creating a transceiver that attaches via USB to the PC and has a charge cable which attaches to the mouse via magnets to allow you to continue to play while the mouse is being charged. The transceiver also holds two pairs of exchangeable mouse feet, much like the extra mouse feet you get with the previous SideWinder mice.

The X8 has a total of eight programmable buttons and you can create profiles for different games which will kick in when you launch the game and you can also create macros. Other features carried over from the previous SideWinder mice include the dpi LCD screen and the quick launch button that gives you access to the Windows Vista games folder. The mouse wheel has been upgraded, as well, and can now be tilted.

The bad news, we hear you ask? Well, for starters you'll have to wait until February next year to get your hands on one, although if you live in the U.S., you can pre-order it on Amazon.com, although the U.S.$99.99 might put some people off.

You can find the press release here.