To be honest, probably the thing which persuaded me to buy this most was its cheap price, and the fact that it doesn't use a trackball. Instead it uses lasers and such, to pinpoint the direction to move better.
At the time I spent about £20 using the Dabs website, and I haven't looked back since. I had just built myself a new computer, and I wanted a half decent mouse with the money I had left over, which wasn't much. I didn't really research it much either - which luckily, didn't come back to haunt me. I have loved this mouse and it has lasted me so long.
The mouse is less traditional in the sense that it no longer uses a trackball inside to aim. Instead a bright led laser is used which reflects off the surface it is being used on (currently a wooden table) and I find this is a lot more accurate.
I got quite fed up with the trackball kind of mouse's, as I find these were quite slow when being used, and they got dirty very easily. Dirt would gather inside the mouse itself, on the little bars which were used every time the mouse ball turned, to sense the direction being moved, and with dirt on these it gave the mouse an awkward feel. It didn't really feel very smooth, but now that is very different using the Intellimouse. No dirt or such is able to gather up inside the mouse, or interfere with the sensor, as there is only a tiny hole where the red beam is emitted. The only place where the dirt does gather is on the 4 raised pads in the corner on the underside of the mouse. These pads allow the mouse to be moved smoothly across surfaces, but do tend to gather dirt quite easily.
Though this is exactly the same with most mouse's available at the moment, most of them will inevitable gather dirt quite easily in the same positions. It doesn't really cause much hassle though; you just have to wipe the dirt with a tissue or such every time it builds up too much. It probably doesn't help me though that I use the mouse on my computer desk, and should really get a decent quality mouse mat.
I feel this mouse has a very nice smooth action when in use, it's accurate and very easy to use, and manages to do fine when game-playing and such as you would need a fast mouse.
One of my favourite features of it is the back and forward buttons located on the 2 sides in the middle of the mouse. When pressed during browsing the Internet, these either take you forward a page, or send you back a page. This is incredibly handy, and a great little feature. People who are unused to the mouse may find they knock them a little easily and suddenly are confused as to why the Webpage has changed, but this takes little getting used to. After a few minutes use you find they are invaluable, especially if you were to go and use a mouse without them. You could call it being lazy, but they do make browsing the Internet a lot easier. The mouse also comes with the scroll-page feature, which is located on the top of the mouse in-between the left and right button. This is another invaluable feature of the mouse, though it is now expected with any modern mouse.
The colours on the mouse are pretty basic, but it still manages to look quite trendy. The side buttons are silver, as is the middle scroll wheel, and the front of the mouse. The rest is just white, and has Microsoft written on the bottom, obviously. Below the word Microsoft is the laser, covered by some red plastic. This lights up every time you move the mouse, and looks pretty smart when used in dark conditions. Incidentally, lifting the mouse up and pointing towards someone's face in dark conditions can be a bit harsh, as it is very very bright.
Unfortunately the mouse could have been made more comfortable for the user, as it is a bit basic, though it's not exactly uncomfortable. Paying a little more would obviously get you a higher model, and you would be able to find a very comfortable one, but this one feels fine still. It is designed for both left and right handed people in terms of handling, which is a nice feature too.
The packaging which the mouse came in looks very nice and smart, showing off the mouse and its special features. Installation is very simple, just plugging it in the mouse port, making sure the USB port is attached to the keyboardconnector. Then you simply insert the CD and follow the on-screen instructions to install the drivers.
Overall I rate this mouse very highly, especially regarding the fact it only cost £20. It has lasted me a very long time, and the laser technology used seems a big step ahead then the traditional track-ball mouse of the past. A great little mouse for the money, it handles excellently and has some nice features.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Another great review. Lots of detail. I have one of those trackball mice because of arthritic hand pain - takes some getting used to using the ball instead of moving the mouse itself, but it is very comfortable. Derek
Apr 21st, 2005
exceptional by (10%):
very helpful by (90%):
