A few days ago a friend was over and asked if he might use my desktop PC to check his email. What kind of friend would I be if I said no, right? So after a few minutes I heard him say, “Hey! I really like this.” “Thanks” I responded. But honestly I had not a clue to what he was referring. I knew it couldn’t be my computer. My desktop is an aging Sony Vaio, 1.7 Ghz P4, that has grown a little long in the tooth and definitely has its own issues (What CD-RW Drive?).

“You like what?” I ask. “The Mouse, I like the mouse”, said he. Funny, I hardly ever think of things like that or take particular note of them, right up to the point they stop working. But hey, that’s just me. The mouse that he seems so fond of is the Sony PCGA-WMS5 Wireless Optical Mouse. Sony has such catchy names.

Some Context

I long ago grew tired of the typical trackball type of mouse. Not one particularly into preventive maintenance, my mouse would get slower and slower and the action would become jerky as the inner workings of the mouse picked up more and more dirt. So, I’d be forced to empty out the track ball and then painstakingly clean all those little wheels in there with a tweezer. Trust me. This is not me at my best. So an optical mouse made a lot of sense to me. My first was an IBM wired Optical Mouse that I picked up at Best Buy during a clearance sale. It installed in moments and I was off to the races. For my purposes it worked just fine, though it had a flimsy feel to it. But it worked. It worked everyday for 2 years flawlessly until one day it just didn’t. I had a dead mouse! So, what to do? Obviously, get a new mouse.

To the Rescue

It was then that I remembered the Sony “goody box” my sister-in-law had given me. As an advertising exec manufacturers are always sending her their stuff. Being a devout Mac fanatic she generally passes on anything without an Apple logo on to me. Well inside the goody box from Sony I spotted the Sony wireless optical mouse. How fortuitous is that, huh? A freebie no less!

Sony PCGA-WMS5 Wireless Optical Mouse

Sleek, silver and totally symmetrical, the Sony PCGA-WMS5 Wireless Optical Mouse weighs in at about 4.5 ozs. with batteries installed. The install was incredibly quick, requiring me to simply plug in the USB RF receiver into an available USB port. Hitting the Enter key was all I had to do other than to install 2 AA batteries into the mouse, turn it on and press the connect button. Wala! A sprightly mouse.

Main Features

There are all kinds of technical specs that relate to the mouse, and if you need to see the Detailed Product Specs just click through.

My main concerns were with the ergonomics, battery life and functionality of the device. Simply it is a two button scroll wheel mouse. It require 2 AA batteries. A fresh pair of alkaline batteries generally last 2 – 3 months without requiring me to turn the mouse off when not in use. How long would they last if I did shut it off? I’m not likely to find out. Again, it just isn’t me. The range of the mouse is just over one meter which is way more than sufficient for my (and I think the vast majority of users) use.

I am told that at 800 DPI, this is a very quick mouse. Well you’ll get no argument from me there. But the feature I like most about this mouse is that it just feels so good in the palm of my hand that I seldom think of it at all. It feels solid and comfortable and above all responsive to any movement, button click regardless of the surface it is on. (Where is that mouse pad anyway?)

One of my early concerns was the fact that it is wireless. Not that I’m fond of wires mind you, but I have a little experience with cordless phones and 9 year-old daughters. They seem to have a way of disappearing (the phones, that is). So far, so good. Maybe it has something to do with the reverence in which the ability to IM is held among 9 year-olds. Thank god for parental controls.

Summing Up

This is an extremely comfortable mouse to use. Even if it had not been a “freebie”, I would have spent the $50 current street price. It has been flawless in everyday use for the last two years. If you need more advanced features in your mouse, you may have to look elsewhere, but for the vanilla PC user this is about all the mouse I think most of us can use. I use it, I like it, I recommend it.


Regards,

Rudi

©Rudi Xeno 2006

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 0.00