Nortek OFFICE 200 WL - mouse > Reviews > Cheap and shows it

Author's product rating:   

Responsiveness	Average
Robustness & durability	Poor
Look & feel	Poor
Ease of use	Very awkward
Value For Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Inexpensive
Disadvantages:	Cheap and plastic, needs reconnecting every time

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

The Nortec 200 mouse looks quite smart and has several buttons you may find useful, but probably won't get round to using. It is on the market at anything from £5.99 to £20+. At £5.99 it is good value if you can live with the disadvantages If you believe in you 'get what you pay for' then at £20 you will be very disappointed, because you can get a very nice Logitec USB cordless laser mouse and keyboard (cordless desktop) for less £20, with none of the disadvantages. I know, I got one in the same order - the mouse is solid, smooth and works like a dream. The batteries will last for a year or two, so forget charging and 3 buttons and a scroll wheel suits me fine..

The Nortec mouse comes with a cradle which charges it's batteries from the USB source. There are dire warnings not to plug it in when the computer is running, because it may damage the computer power supply, which rather misses the point of USB. Presumably it is not compliant with the USB specification and may draw too much current, so be warned, your computer is at risk form this mouse if you plug it in without thinking.

In use, it feels like a cheap plastic toy, which is what it is. It doesn't slide nicely like a Logitec or Microsoft mouse, but is OK on a forgiving mousemat. The reason is simply that they didn't bother to fit decent plastic slip pads on it with smooth edges.

USB charging is a bit useless, because if your computer goes into standby, on many compuetrs depending on the sleep state the USB supply is swicthed off. The cable is a bit of a nuisance on a laptop and you have to keep it bundled up to stop falling over it.

The worst feature is the connection button. To establish connection you have to press a button on the cradle and then one under the mouse. It is in a very small hole you can't get your finger into, and by the time you sort it out, the laser has fired into your eye and the cradle has given up waiting. Once you have sorted this out, your up and running - until the computer goes onto standby. Then it forget it all and you have to do it all again. I have had several other wireless mice and they all connect automatically after the first time.

The website and instructions make no reference to this issue, which presumably indicates they don't have a solution rather than they don't know about it. I've had it a couple of weeks, and it is going in the bin. Thumbs down - this is rubbish. You should be able to get a decent quality product for £10-£15 - you don't need to go to £50, and if you can't afford that, get one with a cable.