Nope, it's not slippery. It has two very comfortable contoured grooves for your two finger on the top buttons and nice soft rubber on the sides. Got mine in July last year and it still feels brand new so it's not a crap product.
As for the cable length I can only propose two options. Open the mouse and shorten the cable (will require soldering I reckon) or alternatively make a tight little coil close to the usb connector and cable tie it in place with tiny cable ties.
There's also the wireless version but as you stated you want a wired one.
I have two logitechs lying in my drawer, each with a busted button which I could easily fix by using a spare microswitch from the other. I also have a new MS mouse in the drawer I don't touch. So I rate this prestigio quite highly I would say Even if it did only last me a year I would buy another one seeing it's so cheap.