Microsoft Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 7000 - mouse

...mouse and am getting a Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000. This mouse takes normally non rechargeable batteries which apparently last 6 months, so hopefully I should not have any such problems with this mouse.




This was my first Microsoft mouse as I normally purchase Logitech, but with having a bad experience with the Logitech MX Revolution I decided to give Microsoft a try, and I wasn't disappointed. ...
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The Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 is black in color with a silver trim running around its circumference, it looks very classy and the ergonomics of the mouse are superb, its fits perfectly in the hand
and all the buttons are in easy reach. I will point out though that this mouse is no good for left handed people.

Starting from the underneath, we have a ON/OFF switch (which I would recommend switching ... more

UPDATE:
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After trying to charge the mouse for the second time, the mouse would stop charging after 3-5 minutes. What would happen was the green charging light would flash for 3-5 minutes and then this would change to red and flash. On looking on the internet I read many posts on this problem, so it would appear I'm not alone.

I am in the process of returning the faulty mouse and am getting a Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000. This mouse takes normally non rechargeable batteries which apparently last 6 months, so hopefully I should not have any such problems with this mouse.

This was my first Microsoft mouse as I normally purchase Logitech, but with having a bad experience with the Logitech MX Revolution I decided to give Microsoft a try, and I wasn't disappointed. I purchased the Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 from Ebuyer for £46 including next day delivery.

The Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 is black in color with a silver trim running around its circumference, it looks very classy and the ergonomics of the mouse are superb, its fits perfectly in the hand
and all the buttons are in easy reach. I will point out though that this mouse is no good for left handed people.

Starting from the underneath, we have a ON/OFF switch (which I would recommend switching to off after you have switched your computer off, basically this makes the batteries last even longer) on the subject of batteries, the batteries usually last me around 16-18 days and that is with approximately 5-6 hours of use per day, like I mentioned earlier, I would advise when you shut the computer down to just switch the on/off switch on the bottom of the mouse to the off position, this makes the batteries last that bit longer. With the Intellipoint software installed, you will get a little pop up window appear warning you that your batteries have reached their critical level and they need to be charged, you will also see a red light show on top of the mouse which slowly flashes.

Still underneath we have 4 little pads which aid the smooth movement of the Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000, a flap which you lift up to put in the included rechargeable AAA battery, I am pleased Microsoft have opted for a standard AAA rechargeable battery as a lot of rechargeable mice now have an in-built rechargeable battery, which can be difficult to impossible to replace, also if the rechargeable battery were to go flat you can always insert a standard Alkaline AAA battery to power the mouse, and then at the end of the day you can take this battery out and re-insert the rechargeable one and place the mouse on mouse's charging base to charge during the night. BUT PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO RECHARGE AN ALKALINE OR OTHER NON RECHARGEABLE BATTERY!. Still underneath there is a button which is used to pair up with the included dongle transmitter, but this shouldn't be necessary, the mouse works basically straight out of the box, also on the underneath is the charging socket, and lastly the hole which the laser light shines out of.

Now the rest of the mouse, on the left handside we have 2 buttons, these can be re-programmed to do other features with the mouse's Intellipoint software, but personally I have these programmed to do the forward & back in Internet Explorer 7 and in Firefox 3. On the top of the mouse is a light which lights up green (flickers slightly while charging and remains lit when fully charged) I am presuming that this will either light up red or possibly flash green? when the mouse needs charged, but like I mentioned earlier I have yet to establish the battery life. Next we have the scroll wheel, the scroll wheel on the
Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 does not have the usual click to click that we are all familiar with, instead Microsoft have opted for a notchless scroll wheel, which may seem strange at first but believe me with a day of use you will be used to it, I find the notchless scroll wheel a lot better than the click to click that I was used to.

This was my only concern before purchasing the Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000, but in use I am now preferring it to the usual click to click that I was used to, I find the notchless scroll wheel of the Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 to be a more precise way of scrolling, I would be very surprised if anyone were to find the notchless scroll wheel a problem. Last but not least is the usual left and right buttons that do the usual things that the left and right mouse buttons do. Also the scroll wheel can be pressed down for a 3rd button and it also has the ability for horizontal scrolling by pushing left or right. I find the Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 to track very precisely and sensitively, I really like the notchless scroll wheel what Microsoft have opted for and I now prefer it much more that the usual click to click scroll wheel.

Last thing is the Intellipoint software. I would recommend that you download this from Microsoft's website as this will be the most up to date version. The Intellipoint software installed perfectly on my
Vista machine and it also works on XP too. The Intellipoint software installs a icon on your desktop so that you can quickly and easily alter the various setting, I will list the various settings/features of
the Intellipoint software.

Buttons Tab:
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This basically allows you to alter the functions that the left & right buttons perform and also the scroll wheel. For the left and right buttons you can re-program them, as there is a long list I have taken
some pictures to show these various features of the left and right buttons and I will try to attach them to this review.

Pointers Tab:
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This is where you can change the appearance of the mouse arrow when its doing its various things, i.e. when its busy, basically its general appearance, thats if you computer has any additional icons for the mouse's arrow.

Pointer Options Tab:
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In here you can set the pointer speed, this basically controls how much the mouse needs to be moved to move the arrow across and up and down the screen. Also is the enhanced pointer precision, this basically makes the mouse arrow move around more precisely. Next is the Snap To, this basically makes the mouse's arrow move to the active box in a dialog box, for example, if you are deleting a file or folder for example, with this feature enabled the mouse arrow would place itself automatically over the yes button of the dialog box. I find this function very useful. Next is the display pointer trails, this basically
makes the mouse arrow show trails of itself when moving it around, I found this to not be to my liking. Next is the, hide pointer when typing, this will basically do just that, this can be useful if you do
not wish to have the mouse arrow covering some of your text.

Scrolling Tab:
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In here you can select the vertical scrolling speed, this basically allows you to set how sensitive the scroll wheel will perform when scrolled, there is also an option that lets you scroll farther as the
scroll wheel is turned faster. Next is the horizontal scrolling of the scroll wheel, this sets how sensitive the horizontal scrolling will be when you push the scroll wheel to the left or to the right.

Hardware Tab:
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This basically just shows what device you have connected to your computer.

Activities Tab:
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In here you can set how fast the double click speed needs to be to perform the double click function of the left mouse button. Next is the childlock, this lets you highlight or drag without holding down the
button. I have had no need to use this feature so I cannot comment on it.

The only criticism I have is that the included documentation is poor, it doesn't describe what the various buttons and functions of the lights are.

Well that seems to be it, I seem to have covered all the features/functions of the mouse and of the Intellipoint software. I really like the Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 in the 9 days of owning it, I know personally I prefer it to the Logitech MX Revolution that I had previously owned. If you are in the market for a really good re-chargeable mouse then I do not think you will get any better than the

Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000, buy it, I'm sure you will not be disappointed. 

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