Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer - mouse

I bought this mouse because I wanted to try out this new optical mouse technology since my previous Microsoft classic ball mouse use to clog sometimes and then the ball required cleaning. Plus the 5 buttons and Wireless functionality would be very useful for me.

In using the mouse for the past 12 months I find the extra 2 side thumb buttons absolutely amazing! I use them all the time now with the default forward and back internet browser functions. You can assign a wide variety of functions to the buttons for example copy, paste, maximize, etc. This mouse also has the standard left and right buttons and a click button on the scroll wheel. All of these buttons are also customisable in the IntelliPoint software.

The wireless signal from the mouse is picked up by a small receiver device (palm sized) which connects via a cable to a USB port on your computer and has a green light on it. This receiver device sits on the back of my desk out of sight. You may want to consider this if you are using this mouse with a laptop. I have tested the range of this mouse and it worked through walls about 10 metres away, so range shouldn’t be a problem.

The movement of the mouse is excellent and very accurate, the optical sensor of this mouse was meant to be twice the scanning frequency of other optical mice, making the movement much more accurate. A point to note it that there is sometimes a very short delay when you put your hand on the mouse to move it as I understand this mouse turns itself off to save power as you remove your hand from it. Movement feels much better without the resistance of a cable!

A major problem I have with this mouse is when changing the batteries it sometimes decides to play dead and not come back on. I have to keep taking the batteries out and putting them back in. I think this may be a defect with the battery connectors in my mouse and I think I will have to return it for a replacement. This brings up another good thing about this mouse; it comes with a 5 year Microsoft Warranty.

Now for an important part of any wireless mouse, the battery life. I have found that good quality batteries (for example Duracell) tend to last the longest which is up to a month, where as cheaper batteries tend to last up to a week. The mouse takes 2 AA batteries. I do use my mouse a lot and I find 1 month acceptable for the amount of use I get out of it. But this is something you should think about before you buy any wireless mouse. You will need a never-ending supply of AA batteries. The IntelliPoint software also has a battery monitor for the mouse which warns you before they run out.

As good as this mouse is I do not trust it 100%, for instance when I change the batteries and it does not come back on. I recommend you have a back up corded mouse somewhere handy in case this one breaks down.