The better mouse
FINDING A MOUSE both small enough to tote around with your notebook and big enough to be truly useful on a regular basis is tricky. Most portable systems are just too small to be comfortable on a long-term basis and a full-sized mouse is a pain to lug around.
With the ArcMouse I think Microsoft may have found the perfect balance. When you unpack the mouse the first thing you notice is that it more closely resembles a bridge than a mouse. It almost looks as if someone had scooped out the bottom side of the mouse, leaving only the piece you rest your hand on. That actually works well, as you end up curling your fingers under the mouse as you use it.
As if that weren’t enough of a design statement, the back of the mouse then folds away underneath the front for easy travelling. You can even take the dongle you plug into the USB port and attach it magnetically to the bottom of the mouse for easy stowage. It has all the usual array of buttons and wheels, so you don’t have to skimp on those to look trendy.
Now to the negatives: At just more than R600 it’s not the cheapest mouse money can buy. It also has (courtesy of some new laser technology that Microsoft has used) the fastest tracking I’ve yet to see on a mouse. Turning down the speed on my computer barely made a dent in the sensitivity of the tracking.
When I took it out the box it glided across my desk as if it were on wheels. However, after a day or so the gloss had worn off the little pads on the bottom and it didn’t glide as smoothly. That’s not a big issue but I’d have preferred to have a consistent experience from day one rather than seeing a noticeable change once I started using it. This is one for the fashion conscious among us. Not for the price conscious, though.
Finweek
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