TechRadar: All Mice/trackballs Feeds

Belkin Washable Mouse

James Ellerbeck — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:33:00 +0000

This year's award in the 'Creating a Solution for a Problem that Doesn't Exist' category has to go to this Belkin Washable Mouse.

Have you ever felt the need for a water-resistant mouse that you can wash to keep clean? Let's face it, we find most mice can simply be wiped clean without having to put them under the tap.

Awkward design

As a mouse in its own right, this is not the best Belkin offering we've seen. To make the top water-resistant, instead of a click wheel you get a strokeable strip of plastic over a sensor, creating a kind of track pad tool. This required an unusual amount of dexterity to control and didn't give a great feel.

But worse, just when one hand is scratching your head while you're wondering why on earth this was ever made, your other hand shoots up to smack you on the nose as you realise that the soft, matt, rubber finish of the thing actually collects dirt.

Pass the smelling salts, we're out!

Fanatec Headshot Controller

Henry Winchester — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:15:00 +0000

It's not everyday that something this plasticky, this tastelessly strewn with LEDs, this needlessly gimmicky, lands on my desk – yet today, I've been blessed.

After torturing my digits with Fanatec's atrocious, articulated Speedster gaming pad last month, I felt duty-bound to check out its Headshot mouse and pad combo.

For eighty pound coins, I don't think I'm alone in wanting something that's actually been designed rather than cobbled together out of parts of an old Spectrum 128K. Unfortunately, that's exactly what the mouse mat looks like; well, apart from the gruesome translucent LED-lit arc that holds the coiled mouse cable above the greasy surface, that is.

Frustrating device

But it's actually that slippery surface that is the standout feature of this combo. The fugly, ergonomic nightmare that is the mouse slides effortlessly across the matte black, making ﬁne movement in games and on the desktop simple. The Razer Destructor is still my current pad of choice, but the surface of the Headshot's approaches its equal.

What about accuracy of input? Well, everyone on our team found that pinpointing targets with the grotesque charade of a mouse is mediocre, and its only positive feature is the coiled tail suspended by the plastic arc o' light. It successfully keeps the cable from getting snagged and impeding your gaming.

For less money, you can pick up the simple, but effective Destructor and the beautiful Logitec G9 laser mouse. That would be my choice.

Genius Traveler 350

James Ellerbeck — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:57:00 +0000

The Traveler 350 is a USB-powered trackball mouse with six buttons and a scroll wheel.

A tongue and groove holder in the form of a plastic base with a suction cup harnesses the device to your laptop. The trackball and buttons work well enough, although in a confined space it's difficult to master, while the 'Flip 3D' button appears only to work in Windows Vista.

The scroll wheel is also a little loose and clunky. The software comes with a Mac driver for programming the buttons and works fine.

Unnecessary product?

Irrespective of the faults, several things are working against the Traveler 350 being adopted by Mac users. Firstly, when attached to the front-left or front-right of a Mac laptop it stretches the USB cable over the other free ports.

But more than this, Mac laptops come with a perfectly good trackpad of their own, and many more function buttons, begging the question: why buy?

Logitech v550 Nano

James Ellerbeck — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:46:00 +0000

Logitech has dozens of different mice on the shelves at any one time, though not all are Mac-compatible like this one.

The v550 comes with a small plastic peg that sticks to your laptop lid and clips into a shoe on the base of the mouse. You then hang the mouse from the peg when you carry the laptop around.

Compact and comfortable

When clipped to the peg, the mouse powers down. It powers up automatically when you slide it out from the grip, plus there's a separate manual on/off button. The tiny USB receiver tucks away into the mouse when not in use. The two supplied AA batteries are good for 18 months' use.

You get two buttons, a scroll wheel and a scroll-wheel click. (You need to download a free software driver from Logitech to enable sideways scroll and the application switch button.)

Overall, the mouse is comfortable to use and tracked well on all of our test surfaces.

Macally Turtle

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:28:00 +0000

The simple pleasure of a good old-fashioned mouse is easy to forget, but the Macally Turtle is a great example of how it doesn't need to be fancy to be functional.

The simple, symmetrical design with a basic three-button arrangement is eye-catching yet unobtrusive on your desk, and is a decent enough size that it can be used for almost any job – from complex image editing to simple internet browsing.

Retractable cable

However, don't think this is just your bog-standard mouse, because hidden away in the base is an ingenious, retractable USB cable.

Reminiscent of a hoover extension cord, the cable and connector are hidden in a neat little compartment and the cord can be extended to a length of 70cm.

It can then be retracted for transport, thanks to a spring-loaded mechanism, and is the kind of simple but useful feature we love.

The cable feels a bit flimsy and can curl up when fully extended, but these are minor quibbles. Overall, this is an excellent mouse for your money.

Samsung UM10 Optical Mouse

Tech staff — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:27:00 +0000

At first appearance, the Samsung UM10 looks a little odd and awkward to use.

It's a small flat mouse with a retractable lead that has a scroll wheel instead of conventional buttons. For left mouse button actions, there is a button in the middle of the wheel, while clicking the wheel itself acts as a right-hand click.

Compact and convenient

At first it takes a little getting accustomed too, but we found it a great way to work.

Measuring just 8mm in depth, it's slim and with a clip to tidy away the USB connector, it can be packed away to a small and convenient size. Our review sample had a metallic finish, but Samsung offers it in a range of colours.

You won't want to use this mouse for anything too taxing, such as games or for art packages, but for everyday use it works well.

Saitek Cyborg Mouse

Sat, 03 May 2008 17:12:08 +0000

Creating a mouse that stands out from the crowd has got to be a nightmare, especially when lurking in that crowd are the smugly popular G9 from Logitech and Microsoft's latest Sidewinder.

You've got to have that look or gimmick that's going to set it apart. What does the Cyborg have? It's motorised. Oh yes, something we've all been waiting for, a motorised mouse. But how does that help your gaming experience? Well, come closer...

What sets Saitek's mouse apart?

The mouse's motorised feature makes the length adjustable from an extra 0 to 15 millimetres, which can be set using supplied software and makes a sound like a Terminator getting an erection. And as soon as you wonder why no one thought of it before, you realise there was no need for anyone to think of it before.

My normal mouse is of fine length, and unless you suffer from hands that continuously grow and shrink, this mouse's selling point is going to be lost on you.

Ignoring the silly motorised adjustments, it's not at all bad. It has seven buttons including a four-way hat on the side, adjustable dpi from 400 to 3,200, and a resistance adjuster for the wheel.

Perfect for gaming

The profile setting software is incredibly versatile once you get the hang of it - keys and macros can be attached to any of the buttons, and a simple click of a button changes the profile. You can save profiles for different games - I played Crysis one-handed, albeit with an RSI-inducing level of awkwardness.

If you're in to strategy games or MMORPGs that require more keys than a jailer, the Cyborg is perfect. Just ignore the size adjustment feature - it's completely redundant.

Genius Traveller 525

Tech staff — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:55:00 +0000

First the good news; if you're one of them lefties then this is one of the few new mice you'll actually be able to use without any of that fascistic right-handed ergonomics.

Now the bad news, the Traveller 525 is a bit rubbish.

Difficult to master

We can see what Genius is trying to do, making a mouse modelled on the classic Mac Mighty Mouse, but the rocker switch mechanism on the Traveller 525 means that it can be a hit and miss affair trying to make sure you hit either the right or left buttons.

The 4D, optical scrolling function is a definite improvement over the Mighty Mouse's nubbin, but it can also be tricky getting it to actually work; I went through a couple of machines trying to get it to function as described before I finally found one that would play ball.

Cool but uncomfortable

It might look like a fairly stylish mouse, but it doesn't feel that comfortable in the hand, and lacks standard functions like forward and back buttons.

The extra task switch and search buttons might be handy for some productivity-heavy types, but despite the bargain price you'd be better off picking up a classic like the Intellimouse instead of this Mac-alike.

Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:59:07 +0000

The Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 doesn't seem to have the same feel of long-lived solidity as the old Intellimouse.

There's something a little too complex about the over-designed ergonomics that forces your hand into a rigid, RSI-inducing claw shape. And if you're a sinister lefty then you can definitely forget about this little rodent.

Over-designed mouse

Maybe I've been spoiled by the Sidewinder and G9 mice, but the lack of configurable sensitivity means that gaming isn't a pleasant experience and if your desktop's larger than 1024x768, even basic computing is a bit of a hassle.

The wireless capabilities though are fairly good, so if you can ignore the rubbish gaming performance, you've still got a general purpose media centre mouse.

Which would be fine if it weren't for the fact that Microsoft is still expecting you to hand over more than thirty Earth pounds for the privilege of owning a sub-par mouse.

Awkward to charge

It's also got a strange charging mechanism. The mains-powered charger means that you'll need to find another plug socket around your probably already over-subscribed mains. And really, who needs that?

Personally, the wirey-mess around my plug socket is frightening enough without adding more to it. Why the damn thing isn't USB-charged I don't know.

Macally Accuglide

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:52:48 +0000

This slimline, wired mouse (powered via USB) takes up next to no space in a laptop bag and is particularly good for presentation work on the road.

Like all super-small mice, though, it's fiddly to use over a long period of time, so isn't the ideal solution for regular office work.

Works from the box

The mouse comes with three buttons - left, right and scroll-click. There's also the dragging ability of the scrollwheel. Everything works as it should.

There's no need to install a software driver; the Accuglide works right out of the box. You don't even have to restart your computer.

On the downside, there's nowhere to hide the wired USB cable. We just wound it around the mouse, which is clumsy - some kind of retractable setup would've been nice.

There are plenty of other tiny wired/wireless mice on the market, remember, so hunt around for one that suits. Kensington and Belkin do good ones, too.