Review: The Modern Power Mouse
Don Bradbury takes a look at the current state of mouse development
| Products | Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 Microsoft Explorer Mini Mouse Belkin Mini Optical Lighted Mouse Belkin Bluetooth Comfort Mouse |
|---|---|
| Company | Belkin/Microsoft |
| Web | www.belkin.co.uk www.microsoft.co.uk |
| Price |
Microsoft Mobile Mouse 4000 £34.99 |
| We like |
Huge range of functionality available; general ease of use |
| We don't like |
Be prepared for batteries ultimately going flat in wireless devices |
| Rating (see conclusions for overall rationale) |
Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000: 9/10 |
| Requirements |
After the ubiquitous keyboard, surely the most popular means of communicating with a personal computer is via the humble mouse? Except that, these days, your typical mouse isn’t likely to be very ‘humble’; it’s most probably busting with modern technological developments. We’ve been browsing Microsoft’s and other offerings, and handling a few of them, to check out the current state of play. The range of technology on offer is, to say the least, awesome!
These days the old trackball, if not exactly expired, is all but. And thank goodness for that! No more twitching of the mouse pointer when the dust collects on the ball and it’s guide tracks and out come the tweezers and dust blower. Even then you’d be lucky to get the thing working well again. It was often a ‘sling it and buy new’ scenario.
Now you can have - at a price, admittedly - optical and even laser technology for more precise placement of the pointer (and no dust catchers), battery powered wireless connectivity up to 30ft or so to a supplied USB nano transceiver, with either rechargeable or replaceable batteries supplied. Then there’s BlueTrack technology, which combines the power of optical sensing with the precision of the laser for unparalleled tracking capability on virtually any surface. You can, nowadays, use some mice without power interruption for up to ten months on a single alkaline battery. On some devices there’s an integrated status indicator that tells you when battery power is getting low. And on certain mice can even have memory built-in, so work files or portable applications automatically go with you wherever you travel.
When it comes to the outstanding array of facilities you can assign to the mouse buttons, the jaw drops with amazement at such a range of offerings as Windows Flip 3D, image magnification at the press of a button, and of course the very useful 4-way scrolling which means you can scroll sideways as well as up and down the page without raising your hand from the mouse. All this, plus the usual customisable pointer activity, makes life a whole lot easier for the PC user.
We couldn’t possibly cover every mouse type and feature, but let’s look at a few examples.
The Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000.
This little device fits nicely in the hand and is very comfortable to use. It brings, among other things, BlueTrack laser precision to pointer tracking, tilt-wheel horizontal scrolling, a precision booster, four button functionality with that huge range of options to which you can assign them, plus a whole range of others, and a tiny little nano transceiver to plug into your USB port.
We’ve long advocated the need for smaller transceivers than your typical USB stick size, but this particular transceiver is so tiny that, frankly, it can be a bit of a struggle getting it out of the port when it comes time to pack up; it’s a finger nail job. That’s especially so if the port grabs tightly to USB devices. We noticed that particular feature of some USB ports when we looked at a Samsung N110 Netbook recently. It hung onto any device we plugged in like you wouldn’t believe! We had to waggle it out, and we don’t think that’s good for a USB or any other type of port. In fact it’s so small that you can’t waggle this transceiver out; it has to be pulled directly, so that fear doesn’t apply in this case. Other things being equal, of course, the smallness is a good feature; there’s far less chance of it being dislodged.
Overall we thought the 4000 was a beautiful device; it accepted the transceiver into a socket underneath for convenient transportation, the scroll wheel was smooth (i.e. notch free), the battery was claimed to last 10 months (we haven't checked that), and all the buttons were conveniently placed and multi-functional as we said, all thanks to v7.0 of Microsoft's IntelliPoint software.
That software, by the way, comes with a hard-hitting agreement that you have to sign before it will install. It includes 'consent to the transmission of certain standard computer information over the Internet, plus the auto-downloading and installation of updates' (though in the software we noticed that you can, in fact, opt for the warning only). You 'may only install, use, access, run, or otherwise
Interact with one copy of the software, on a single computer, workstation, terminal, or other device for use with the device'.
So it's tough if the computer you want to connect the 4000 to doesn't have it's own legal copy of the IntelliPoint v7 software already installed. The device will, however, act as a standard USB mouse in the interim, i.e. without the IntelliPoint bells and whistles, so you'd have to manage without program specific button assignments and so on.
Microsoft Explorer Mini Mouse
This rather more expensive mouse claims to bring the advantage of operating satisfactorily on an extensive range of surface types. Mobile users will value that. In general, the main types of surface these laser devices don't like are highly reflective, such as glass mirror or polished metal. As the Microsoft sales pitch says, 'BlueTrack Technology works more places than ever before, including on granite countertops, living room or airport carpets, even on a wood table or a rough, unfinished park bench'.
The Mini Mouse also lets you assign a wide range of function options to the buttons, of which there are five, plus the tilt facility of the scroll wheel. There's no doubt that productivity can be increased with such things to hand as Flip 3D (default option for the scroll wheel), where a quick stab at the wheel puts Windows Vista or 7 into Flip 3D mode for easy selection between the applications you currently have open.
Perhaps, then, you'll avail yourself of the hugely advantageous horizontal scrolling of large spreadsheets and so on. In fact the apparently endless list of power options has to be seen to be believed.
This mouse features the same 2.4GHz wireless operation, although it's transceiver is very much larger - almost standard USB stick size. However, it too will dock underneath the mouse for transportation, although it's not fully recessed into the underbody, merely a somewhat unsatisfactory half way. But the provided carrying pouch helps in this regard by preventing the transceiver dropping out during transportation because this transceiver docking also doubles as an on/off switch, though that's not nearly so convenient as the physical on/off switch on the 4000.
We have to say that having the bright blue - though admittedly low power - laser switch on when you gaze into the base of the mouse while installing the battery might be considered somewhat alarming. This is, after all, one of the warnings the literature presents you with when you first unpack the device. We recommend that you just hold the mouse in such a manner as to avoid the beam entering the eyes.
A glowing blue light also emanates around the base of the mouse during startup, but that's really only a feature of attraction rather than practical application. It does, however, confirm activity.
The Mini Mouse we found very easy to handle and manipulate. Like the 4000, the scrolling is smooth, the buttons are responsive, and altogether it's a satisfying feeling while you work to have so much functionality to hand.
The single AA Alkaline battery is claimed to be long-lasting, so sudden power loss shouldn't be a problem, however there's no power indicator on this mouse.
Belkin Bluetooth Comfort Mouse
There are, of course, alternatives to standard wireless optical or laser mice. Belkin, for example, produce the Bluetooth Comfort Mouse, a rather swish all-white and grey device that offers a simpler array of functions and buttons. The latter, three in all; left, right, and scroll wheel cum button, although the latter does feature tilt for horizontal scrolling. These many will consider perfectly adequate for their needs.
The scroll wheel is mildly notched, and the left and right buttons are reassuringly clicky, though we have to admit some reservations over Bluetooth technology in general. If your PC comes Bluetooth ready, then by all means give this mouse some consideration. If it doesn't, then be prepared for the setup and pairing procedures - which are not, in our experience, as convenient as standard 2.4GHz wireless.
It's twin AA batteries should last a fair time, though they are not rechargeable. Nevertheless, we feel this Bluetooth mouse will satisfy a great majority of potential users who are suitably equipped with Windows XP, Vista, or 7.
Belkin Mini Optical Lighted Mouse
When we reviewed this device some months ago we were impressed with the simplicity of its operation. Not power stuff, just left and right buttons plus scroll wheel whose tilt doubled for horizontal scrolling. See the full review of the Belkin Mini Optical Lighted Mouse for more details.
Its main feature was a wired connection, and that wire was of variable length so there's no unsightly stretch of cable across the desk. But there are advantages to a wired connection. For a start, you don't have to concern yourself over whether the PC you're going to use it on has IntelliPoint or other specialist software installed. There's also no connectivity issue; Windows' standard drivers are summoned for duty automatically. And you may just like the rather funky automatically varying lighting that this mouse brings into play while you use it.
Not a power mouse then, this, just a usable, reliable device that does the basic jobs of a computer mouse.
In conclusion
We must point out that the product ratings we show do not compare like with like. The mouse you choose may depend on personal preferences such as dedicated presentation controls, overall functionality, cost, and general ergonomics for your particular applications. So the ratings stand alone; they are not comparable between products.
The Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 was our favourite wireless device, and it comes at an attractive price, too. There are perfectly adequate mice that cost even less, so your choice may depend on application, but if you want a modern, multi-function power mouse, this could very well be the one to go for.
If you insist on using a wired device, we still like the little Belkin Mini Optical Lighted Mouse, though its response to the controls is, we believe, not quite in the class of the better products. Its very small when used in the typical male hand, for a start, but you get used to that. However, there are no potential wireless concerns, nor any doubts over power supply.
Bluetooth mice? Well, they can work well, but pairing can be problematic in our experience, and there seems to be no good reason for preferring a Bluetooth mouse over a standard wireless model which can generally be relied upon to work 'out of the box'.
