| Product: |
Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000 |
| Date: |
25.05.08 (121 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Compact, comfortable, accurate - no problems yet!
Disadvantages: A bit small for some maybe.
The Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000 (bit of a mouthful) is a nice piece of kit to go with your computer (particularly a laptop, but it would also be fine for a desktop PC).
As mentioned in the title it has no wires, and no ball inside, using instead what Microsoft calls "High Definition Technology" - or a little red laser thingy to the rest of us. Apparently it is clearer than other optical mice, but they would say that. I have found that certain surfaces such as magazines upset it, and it also goes haywire if you take it too far away from the computer (0.762 metres according to the spec).
This is because the mouse comes with a USB receiver which plugs into the back of the computer while you are using the mouse, and which can be slotted into the bottom of the mouse to switch it off when you are not. Microsoft claims that (presumably even if you don't switch it off at night) the battery will last more than six months, but it didn't for me. At a rough guess with a decent non-rechargeable AA battery I would say it lasts about three months for me and now that I use rechargeable ones it is more like one month.
Changing the battery is not exactly a hassle though. Press the little button on the back and the top pops off allowing you to change the single battery without difficulty. As of its first six months or so of use I can say that it has not yet malfunctioned, which I would certainly hope to be the case since it (should) come with a three year warranty. And because it doesn't have a ball it doesn't get clogged with fluff and gunk that has to be extracted using precise surgical instruments every other week.
Measuring 99mm x 58mm x 38mm it is quite a small mouse, but doesn't compromise on comfort, fitting nicely in your hand although there is really only enough room for your fingers - not your palm. Because of this it is very portable, but it is a question of whether you mind the small shape. Personally it doesn't bother me at all.
Finally it has three buttons (including the wheel which doubles as a button) - so not one of this go-anywhere-do-anything uber-mice with a gazillion buttons and a smoothie maker, but perfectly adequate for everything that I use it for. Oh, and it can be used in either hand.
The only problem really is the price tag - normally one of these mice will set you back about £21, which strikes me as quite a lot since you can get a perfectly acceptable mouse for a fiver, even an optical one. How reliable these are however is another question: I have never tried them, and really I am very impressed with my little Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000.
It is also worth noting that it will only run on the following operating systems: Microsoft Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP, Vista and Apple Mac OS X 10.1 - 10.3. It also has various system requirements:
PC
- 45 MB of hard disk space
- USB or PS/2 port
- CD drive
- Microsoft Intellipoint Software version 6.1 (the mouse should be shipped with this)
Mac
- 15 MB of hard disk space
- USB port
- CD drive
- Microsoft Intellipoint Software version 6.1 (the mouse should be shipped with this)
Summary: A nice compact mouse.
| Processing/Quality: |
|
 |
| Reliability: |
|
|
| Ease of use: |
|
 |
| Speed: |
|
|
| Variety of features: |
|
 |
| Precision: |
|
|
|
|
