I have had my little wireless mouse from Microsoft for about 3 years now I think! I had a logitek one before this one and it lasted about 6 months before packing in, so I decided to spend a little bit more money and get a decent brand and it has certainly paid off.

~~~ Product description ~~~
The mouse comes in a little, compact, pyramid shaped box with the traditional Microsoft logo and branding on it. You do have to kind of gnaw and chew your way through some of the plastic packaging with a pair of scissors (why do they always make things like this impossible to open?) but once you get inside you are rewarded with your cute little compact mouse and a great little tiny compact USB connection.

The mouse is just under 5 inches long and 3 inches wide and slightly oval shaped. It is ergonomically designed to fit comfortably into your hand. The top and sides are flat, matt black plastic and the border around the top of the mouse is shiny black plastic. The buttons are incorporated into the mouse so the top is smooth and curved and very neat and tidy. The little roller at the top is grey and works for scrolling and click and dragging. The USB connection is 1cm by 1.5 cm but when plugged into the laptop it only protrudes by less than 1cm. This is really useful for when you are using your laptop on the go as there is no danger of you catching the USB on anything or breaking it as it is so neatly placed.

Turning the mouse over, you will see a little flat sliding on/off switch and the laser. There is also a compact little battery compartment for 1 AA battery. The little USB transceiver can be stored inside your mouse in the battery compartment. This mouse is much lighter than most that I have tried and is an excellent portable or permanent mouse for your computer or laptop.

~~~ Usage ~~~
The mouse takes 1 AA battery. I always use good quality batteries and 1 battery will last me around 6 months (or more) which is in my opinion, excellent value considering I always forget to switch it off.

When you plug it in, the compute makes that reassuring "du-dum" noise and automatically installs the driver software. The software is compatible with Windows 7, Vista and XP and with Mac OS X v10.4x -10.6x.

The mouse is an optical mouse with a 2.4 GHz wireless connection. This means that the mouse works from a distance of up to 30 feet. It is best used on a matt mouse-mat designed for this type of mouse as if you use it on a reflective surface or a highly patterned surface it will cause interference. You can see this as your cursor will be less accurate or will move around incrementally on its own.

Speaking of cursor accuracy, the tech specs tell me that the cursor accuracy is 1000 DPI which means 1000 dots per inch. My own experience of this excellent mouse tells me that 1000 DPI must be very good, because this is the most accurate and responsive mouse I have ever used. As you move it the cursor respond in perfect synch. It rarely tracks or misses a movement and the buttons are smooth, solid and bouncy enough and they click in a very satisfying manner.

I have to admit that this mouse is really easy and quick to install and use, its smooth and simple and comfortable.

~~~ Price and Availability ~~~
The Microsoft Wireless Mobile 1000 costs £10.99 on Amazon uk. I got mine for £15.97 in Tesco. It is widely available in electronic shops although Amazon will likely always have the best price.

~~~ Conclusion ~~~
This is a great little compact mouse which I use every day. I have had no problems at all with this mouse and would highly recommend it. It has seen me through assignments and dissertations as well as messing around on the internet and it's still going strong. It is solid and reliable and can withstand the normal rigours of daily use.

It is comfortable to use and provides smooth and reliable interface with the computer. The long battery life provides good value and the design of the mouse makes it extremely portable for your laptop.