MoGo wireless Mouse w/ free bluetooth adapter (update: 4/16/08)
Written: Dec 19 '07 (Updated Apr 16 '08)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Compact, wireless, and comfortable. Bluetooth adapter works for other devices too.
Cons: Sluggish at times. No Scroll wheel. Expensive unless on sale.
The Bottom Line: After a sale price and $20 rebate at Buy.com, this was a very usable and worthwhile investment for mobile comfort on my laptop. The free bluetooth adapter is a bonus.
|
|
|
| peachjam's Full Review: Newton Power MoGo (MG-100-01-0012-01) Mouse |
An excellent and inventive design has a lot of people talking about the MoGo Mouse. It's innovation is that it fits into your laptop's PCMCIA slot for both charging and storage. It also looks hi-tech and works very well. Please join me for a review of the MoGo Mouse.
Note: I reduced my rating to 3 of 5 after a few months of use mainly because it isn't sliding on surfaces as easily as it did on day 1. Also the mouse has been 'jumping around on the screen - not tracking right.' I contacted customer support and they are sending me a replacement mouse. It is still very handy, has great battery life, and is so portable. But, read on to find out more.
What's New?
What's so innovative about the MoGo Mouse? Well, it is the first mouse (to my knowledge) that fits inside the PCMCIA slot of a laptop computer. A laptop should be mobile, and although laptops are typically configured with a touch pad mouse built-in, many users prefer a mouse for long hours of computing on a laptop. I personally don't mind the touch pad when traveling because it is one less item to grab and you can use it while the computer is on your lap. Most other mice take up too much space when you are traveling light. However, the MoGo mouse really is easy to transport, and just as easy to use. Because it is optical, it can also be used on a variety of surfaces. Right now I am using it on the fairly rough carpeting in my son's bedroom and it works fine. I wouldn't have carried a typical mouse on top of my laptop to another room in the house because I would end up dropping it. Even tiny wireless or USB laptop mice are still bulky at best, and would need to fit into your pocket or somewhere in your laptop case. This mouse hides inside your laptop (and charges at the same time). That is great innovation.
Summary of Innovation: It's really cool!
Function before Form
Innovation is only as great as a product's ability to do what it was designed to do. At the core, the MoGo is supposed to be a mouse. And it really does better than fair at this task.
In order to be small, the MoGo is thin. It's shape is exactly the size of a credit card. It is about 1/4 of an inch thick. By adding an integrated "kickstand" that flips down, the MoGo is positioned in a way that comfortably fits my hand - lifting the back part of the mouse into my palm slightly. I have very large hands, and most mice feel small in my hands already. But amazingly, this mouse is comfortable once I tried a couple of different positions. The two buttons (there is no middle scroll wheel on this mouse unfortunately, but more on that later) are fairly close together and I found that using my first two fingers on the buttons works better than using my first and middle finger like I normally would on a mouse. I can either grip the sides of the MoGo with my thumb and pinky finger; or just rest my two fingers on the buttons - using the slight indentations for grip - and move the mouse fairly easily without gripping it. This doesn't work quite as well on carpet, but it works very well on a slick surface like a kitchen table.
One noticeable missing feature is the scroll wheel. At first this was a great disappointment. But then I learned that Mogo offers some free software called Pointix Scroll++. This software allows you to turn your right-button into a scroll feature. You right-click and hold the right button and drag the mouse in any direction. This scrolls the window your are viewing in the direction your mouse moves. After installing it, I really like it - almost better than the scroll wheel actually. It's a fair compromise to its portability (a wheel couldn't fit into the PCMCIA slot). I have read that MoGo may come out with a version of the mouse with a scroll pad between the two buttons. That would be a good development, I think.
Another piece of free software available with the MoGo allows you to activate other features of Windows by doing 'glicks' (which are special movements of the mouse). Features such as 'back', 'forward', and other movements can be done without the need for extra buttons.
Summary of Function: It works as a mouse just fine, including scrolling.
Bonus Bluetooth Adapter
The MoGo works with Bluetooth technology. Many modern laptops have bluetooth already configured on them, but older laptops and many desktop computers don't have bluetooth features. The MoGo Mouse I bought came with a free USB bluetooth adapter. Bluetooth is the name for a wireless technology that allows computers to connect to other peripheral devices without wires. Besides mice, you can use bluetooth to connect to devices like headphones, headsets, cameras, printers, modems, fax machines, networks, pdas, etc. I have an older laptop (see my Sager laptop review" on Epinions), so the bluetooth adapter was a big plus for me and made it worth the $30 price (after rebate) that I paid from Buy.com. The MoGo retails for $70 even without the bluetooth adapter.
This was my second experience with bluetooth. The first time was connecting (or pairing as the bluetooth lingo goes) a headset to my cell phone (see my review of the Plantronics Voyager 510 headset"). Being somewhat familiar with the process of finding and pairing a bluetooth device, the process with the MoGo and the laptop went fairly smoothly. I first had to charge the MoGo in the PCMCIA slot (took about 60 minutes to fully charge the first time). While that was charging I installed the bluetooth adapter. It came with a small mini-cd, which quickly installed the drivers. I then inserted USB bluetooth adapter into the USB port. Windows XP found the adapter in moments and it was installed. While I was waiting for the MoGo to charge, I tried installing my bluetooth Plantronics headset to my laptop. It worked, and I was listening to iTunes on my headset for awhile until the MoGo was charged. Once charged, I paired the MoGo with my laptop.
To pair the MoGo, you press (with a pen or toothpick) a tiny 'connect' button on the bottom of the MoGo. This activates a search mode that allows it to be detected by your bluetooth laptop. The laptop found the MoGo quickly. I activated the device in the bluetooth software, and windows alerted me that there was a new device connected. Soon, I was mousing around with the MoGo mouse.
Subsequent connections are made quickly by flipping down the "kickstand" on the MoGo and pressing the mouse button.
Summary of Bluetooth: Smooth and simple if you've done it before.
Performance and Battery Life
From what I have read the mouse should last for as long as you need to work before needing to recharge. Whether this means 4 hours or 8 hours I have yet to find out. Charging is quick, however, and I can always use the mouse pad while the MoGo is recharging if necessary.
I found that when I used both the MoGo and the bluetooth headset at the same time that there were slight hesitations in the mouse movement, but when used by itself it seems fine.
Looks are worth something
My daughter says this mouse looks cool. That says a lot. I like the materials used in the MoGo. The top surface has a metallic feel, with some texture to it. The result is there is good grip on the buttons. There is enough grip to move the whole mouse just by resting the two fingers on the buttons. The black edges add a nice look to it.
Summary
I think for the price that I got the MoGo it was an excellent investment. The two year warranty gives me some assurance that this device will be around for awhile. I don't think I would pay the full list price of $70 for it, but when you add the free bluetooth adapter, I am extremely pleased with this purchase.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 50 w/30 reb.
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
peachjam
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: Troy Funte
Location: Titusville, PA
Reviews written: 84
Trusted by: 112 members
About Me:
I'm a family man, which actually keeps me off epinions more than I would like.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.