 |
Kensington Mouse-in-a-Box Optical Pro
by daverave[O.o]
I've been using one of these mice for about two months now, and I'm satisfied with the overall quality of the device. Let's see what we have here. It's an optical mouse, so there's no mechanical parts to clog with dirt, and degrade movement accuracy. This mouse has no problems coping with surfaces ... that are either reflective, or indeed un-even. (I can use this mouse quite nicely on my knee!) It's a nice accurate mouse, with no problems in the responsiveness department either.
The mouse will connect to your computer via a USB cable, which means that your PC must not be over two or three years old, since most PCs before that time probably will not have a USB port. On the plus side however, it's got a rather long (about 2 meters) cable attatched, so you won't have a problem if your desk is large, or your PC is physically located at a distance from your work area.
Ergonomically speaking, the mouse is definately comfortable to use. It fits nicely in the palm of your hand, and is of a symetrical design, so I presume it's equally suited to all you lefties out there!
This mouse could be considered a little expensive, since it is really only a bog-standard optical mouse - it's not going to light up or allow you to travel through time. But hey, at around £12 it can't be all bad.
Read the complete review |
 |
Kensington Mouse-in-a-Box Optical Pro
by robertliu84
Well, there isn't much of a mice wars about, but this mouse from Kensington (who I've never heard of until now) is pretty "attractive". The mouse I have now is Kensington's Mouse-in-a-box Optical Pro. From the name, you know that it is a mouse in a box, and it is optical. i.e. it has no ball as it uses the ... relatively new technology which scans the desktop about 1500 times a second for accurate movements.
I got this for just under £25 from dabs.com. Why I chose it? Well I originally was looking and almost bought Microsoft's WheelMouse Optical, but then decided on a Logitech mouse. But I always liked to be different and found out that Kensington, which was completely new to me. I clicked on the info button, and found there to be no info, so I went to do some research into this mouse.
I ended up at: http://www.kensington.com/products/pro_mic_d1326.html
where I found a picture of it. This was the major turning point as it looked the most attractive mouse I've ever seen. Microsoft is well known for it's ergonomics, Logitech for it's functions. To be different I selected this mouse as it looked different, and also was very affordable.
The mouse: The picture makes it have more blue, but in real you won't really see it unless you have very bright lights. The main advantage of this mouse is that it is optical, so requires no cleaning and will give very accurate + smooth movements. There are the standard 2 buttons, as well as the scroll wheel and 2 extra side buttons. The Kensington MouseWorks software that it came with also allows you to configure it.
I've read some reviews on epinions.com about how it has bad ergonomics. I agree that it could be better, a bit more like MS perhaps? but it does fit into your hand quite naturally, although it will take a few hours to get use to the change. The base also sticks out a bit, so makes it feel as though the mouse is bigger, although
its of comparable size. You can click quite easily with the normal 2 buttons and use the scroll quite simply, which makes web browsing and reading long documents so much easier. The two side buttons on the otherhand could use with improvements. To press one side, you must push from the other so the mouse doesn't fly away. This is no problem most the time but you can accidently push the other button at the same time, which can load a program if you have configured it to do so. Overall, this mouse is quite user friendly and fairly easy to use (once you have it set up properly). On the rear end of it there is a red light, which lights up when you are moving the mouse then dims when it is stationary. It does take time to get use to as when I left the mouse up, (which I did quite often with a standard ball mouse) this mouse lights the surroundings up in red...
So that's the mouse. It comes with a USB connection and so is compatable with Windows 98/ME, or Macs. It also came with a useful USB>PS/2 adapter. So is also compatable with earlier versions of Windows(+NT), by using the PS/2 port instead.
Setup: I thought, since I had a USB port and this mouse supports USB, I'd might as well choose the easier option of using USB. I plugged it in, and switched it on. Everything installed BUT some problems. The cursor occasionaly wanted to move to the edge of the screen. It didn't always move where you wanted it to, and sometimes only moved in a small box. Hmm...I thought I made a big mistake in trying to be different. I went to Kensington's website and found the support section. This tries to help you. You type in your question/problem, and it brings up a collection of FAQs. Some helped, but they weren't always specific enough. I emailed them the problem and checking my inbox about 3 hours later I got a personally and detailed reply on how to solve the problem using the USB. So good customer service. However, I have yet to know whether th
is actually solves the problem, as I have used the PS/2 adapter to run the mouse. It works fine, the MouseWorks software works and it provides me with very smooth movement. So now, after solving any driver conficts the mouse is 'perfect', and works without any problems.
Kensington has produced a MouseWorks software and what this does is basically configure what YOU want the buttons to do. You can create shortcuts, hotkeys, scrolling, double click- with one click, anything you want it to do, just configure it here. Since most the time I am browsing the web, I have the left button for BACK, the right button for FORWARD, so I can go through the webpages quickly. If I press both left and right at the same time, I load Winamp so I can listen to my music. Very handy.
This program also allows you to adjust the mouse settings, such as speed and acceleration. Very useful and a good upgrade to my computer.
Kensington also promises a 5-year replacement warranty, so I hope it lasts atleast 5 years.
I have given it 4 stars due to the fact that setup wasn't a breeze, but overall, once set-up it works fine. Affordable and looks great with it's silvery/translucent blue colours.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Kensington Mouse-in-a-Box Optical Pro
by jamieaah
You mouse has become jammed with dirt and hair.Yes now you need to get a toothbrush and clean it out...uhh. The mouse-in-a-box instead of a a moving mouse-ball uses clever optics to sense movement, thus giving smooth gliding movement. The mouse comes with all the normal extras(scrol wheel and right/left hand option).The ... extras that make it different are the two programmable buttons on the side.These buttons can be made to do some great tasks such as cut,paste,copy and paste repetitive data.
Here are the specifications for its use:
PC-Windows 98 or ME with USB port
PC-Windows 95, 98 or NT with PS/2 compatible mouse port
Macintosh-USB port, OS 8.1 or later
Yes did you read that!USB port!For those not in the know it can be just plugged in to a USB port and used.
I have personally used this mouse at my friends house, and like to say the thing that i prefer over it to over optic mice(such as microsofts range) is its shape, which seems to fit just right for both left and right handed people.
The price is quite cheap too.I have just recently ordered one for myself!!!
Read the complete review |
