A welcome improvement in mouse technology and design
Written: Jan 08 '09
Product Rating:
Pros: Shape, Design, Appearance, Construction, Comfort, Tracking on a multitude of surfaces.
Cons: Buttons are a bit harsh to click, so-so battery life, disproportionate weight.
The Bottom Line: It's a tad weighty, and small hands might want to try it in person first, but the comfort factor, technology, and looks make this mouse a smart choice.
fmluder_x's Full Review: Microsoft (5AA-00001) Mouse
Patience is a handy virtue when it comes to reviewing products. Had I handed in my thoughts on Microsoft's new Explorer Mouse the day I bought it, I'd have reported my disappointment regarding its weight, accuracy, and clickityness, which overshadowed many of the finer qualities. Thankfully I decided to wait it out and give it a chance, to let my first impressions settle in and actually use the thing for a few weeks to see if it could change my mind. Equally thankfully, it mostly has.
The things I liked most about it from the get go were the design and the way my hand felt when resting on and using it. The shape is unique and attractive from almost all angles, except maybe from the typical directly-above view, where it looks fairly normal. It's designed ergonomically and feels very natural in the hand. I use the Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 at work, which is also specifically designed to feel natural and ergonomic in use (and it does), but the Explorer mouse actually achieves the same feat without the awkwardly tall shape. I’ve owned two previous models of Microsoft’s Explorer mouse, a Logitech MX laser mouse, and I also presently own the Microsoft Mini Notebook mouse. It’s not without its drawbacks, but this is by far the most comfortable mouse I’ve used.
There are three distinct textures on the Explorer mouse that feel and fit together well. The palm piece is a dark gray matte finish with a subtle softness and good grip, and tends to dissipate sweating. The soft brushed metal where your thumb rests is smooth and very comfortable, albeit a little slick if you need to adjust the mouse’s position. And the plasticy right and left click area feels tactilely engaging with a little give that lets you know your fingers are on the right spots. Despite these 3 areas' different colors and materials, they coalesce nicely, and combined with the saucer like shape they give the mouse an almost alien appearance, in a good, futuristic, and fantastic sense.
The scroll wheel is smooth (no clicks as you rotate it) which might kill the deal for some design professionals and gamers, but which I've always liked more for browsing websites and scrolling through thousands of pictures or documents.
The big marketing point is the proprietary BlueTrack technology that increases accuracy and usability across a wider variety of surfaces, and this it does in fact do, however, on my first day (and only the first day) I experienced a strange lag and then over-compensation of mouse movements when using it on a wooden surface that I've previously used normal laser mice on without issue. This was one of the most annoying and disappointing aspects and initial impressions that would have caused me to write a more critical review had I written it on day one. Either due to a glitch, perhaps the battery needing to be broken in, or just my plain ol' getting used to it, it doesn't seem to exhibit that lag-compensation behavior anymore, and hasn't since about the second day.
I tested the mouse on every difficult surface I could find in the room and it tracked very well on all of them: microfiber, shaggy rug, fine-patterned carpet, even CD Jewel cases. The only hiccups it had were when the little latch that keeps the battery in would get caught on a piece of the carpet.
Appearance wise, the most striking feature that complements the shape and design is the blue glowing base that comes on only when you first start moving the mouse (after a period of inactivity). It just looks great, and contrasts great with the curved chrome trim that surrounds and accents the base.
Two things I haven't come completely around on, though I can live with, are the buttons (left and right click and programmable back and forward) that are a little too hard and harsh to click, and the weight of the mouse. It's not that the mouse itself is altogether too heavy, but rather that the weight is disproportionally shifted to the bottom of the device (where your palm rests). Working on a small or medium sized desk I often find myself picking the mouse up and moving it to a default position when the cursor on-screen gets in an awkward place and there's not enough room to reposition it by moving the mouse normally. That is to say, if your desk doesn’t have a large mouse movement area, or even if it does but you have a habit of keeping the mouse inside a defined area, you eventually end up having to pick the mouse up or drag it at an angle to reposition it without the cursor on screen moving, and this is a situation where the smoothness of the various textures on the sides of the mouse, combined with the weight on the bottom, make it difficult and cumbersome to move. Even if you don't pick it up all the way and instead opt to drag it slightly, the edges don't glide well. In normal circumstances these might be dealbreakers for me, but in this case, the sheer comfort of this mouse is enough to offset those deficiencies.
Lastly I would just mention that the battery life has been a bit on the weak side. After a full initial charge, I got roughly a week of moderate-to-heavy use out of it before needing to put it back on its (very nice) charging base. Charging didn't take too long, just a couple hours, and the mouse did fade in and out a red little warning light for a few hours before it lost power, which was a nice touch.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this mouse for people with large hands or piano fingers (like mine), with the caveat that you try it out in a store if possible, and preferably alongside its smaller brother, the Explorer Laptop mouse. One might be more suitable than the other to you, and the lightness of the smaller version might resolve some of the weight issues if you find your hand is comfortable on it.
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