MacMice The Mouse BT

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Julie

September 22, 2004

Product Requirements:
Device:
Mac OS X 10.1 or higher and Windows XP systems that support the Bluetooth v1.0 HID device profile

Not too long ago, I reviewed Bluetake's BT500 Bluetooth mouse. While it worked pretty much flawlessly with my Apple PowerBook, the short battery life left me wanting more. I actually ended up going back to a regular wired mouse not too long after the review and relegated the BT500 to my travel gear.

When I first saw the Mouse being advertised on the MacMice site, I knew I had to try one out mainly because it just looked so cool. When I saw that they were going to be coming out with a Bluetooth version, I didn't waste any time sending a review inquiry to the MacMice powers that be. A month or so later, FedEx dropped a small box off at my day job. My friends gathered around to see what new geek toy I had received. When I opened the box, I heard several ooohs and aaahs (including my own) as I held up the Mouse BT. Since no one had a computer there with built-in Bluetooth, I had to wait until I returned home to give it a try.

Included in the Packaging:

The Mouse BT
2 Toshiba AA Alkaline batteries
Instruction/Info sheet

Out of the box, this mouse feels very light. Almost too light. Installing the included AA batteries makes a big difference and raises the weight to 4oz. Installing the batteries is an easy task. A slide switch on the bottom of the mouse enables you to remove the cover to reveal the battery compartment. After you insert the batteries, the cover snaps back on relatively easily.

Besides the cover lock switch, the bottom of the mouse also has an On/Off switch, Connect button and the optical eye.

The only computer that I have with built-in Bluetooth is my 15" Aluminum PowerBook, so that is the machine that I tested the Mouse BT with. Pairing the mouse with the PowerBook was simple as simple as sliding the power switch on the bottom of the mouse to On, holding down the Conn button on the back of the mouse for 10 seconds, and then opening the Bluetooth prefs on the PowerBook to discover the new device. This whole process probably took less than 1 minute to complete, so I was mousing around in no time.

Construction of this input device is very similar to Apple's own wireless mouse in that it also has a clear acrylic outer shell. But, the similarities stop there as the BT has a scroll wheel, along with a left and right mouse button. Apple's wireless mouse only has one button, and no scroll wheel. The addition of the right button, allows for access to the contextual menus normally accessed with a Control-Click.

The design of the clear outer shell is pretty clever. The shell sort of floats on top of the actual body of the mouse. The two buttons are made from splitting the shell in such a way that the button area flexes to press an actual button under it. Both buttons have excellent tactile feedback and provide an audible click when you press them. Although pressing the buttons is no different than with any other mouse, I did find that the acrylic shell of the mouse would move or pivot when I would click a button or move around on the screen. Users of Apple's wireless mouse are probably used to this phenomenon, but it took awhile for me to become acclimated with it.

I will say that I absolutely love the scroll wheel on this mouse. Besides the fact that it glows red when you're moving the mouse, it is unlike any that I've ever used. Instead of providing a bumpy or clicking sensation as you scroll with your finger, it has a completely smooth/quiet action. The scroll wheel is also a button, which allows the ability of using it as a select button in some applications. Pressing it over a link in a browser will navigate to that link, and pressing it on a button in the dock bar will launch the application.

Size-wise, the Mouse BT is a full size mouse that is comfortable to use. The batteries make it weighty enough to get it a substantial feel and to provide good traction on a flat work surface. I did notice on my review unit, that something on the bottom of the mouse would cause a snagging sound as a would move it around on a cloth style mouse pad.

This mouse is available in White and Aluminum. Silly me, I thought the aluminum version had a real aluminum body under the clear acrylic shell. Wrong. It's all plastic. I even took it apart just to make sure...

 

Even though this mouse isn't really aluminum, it is still very cool looking and matches the aluminum PowerBooks perfectly.

I do have a few gripes... In actual use, I found that my cursor would sometimes skip around. I would find myself overshooting buttons and webpage links quite often. Adjusting the tracking settings in the mouse preferences seemed to help a little, but not totally. This behavior would occur on both flat surfaces and mouse pads.

I also found that trying to wake up the PowerBook with this mouse after the PowerBook goes into screensaver mode, takes several seconds. The Mouse BT seems quite a bit slower at this than the Bluetake mouse.

It's too early to tell about battery life for this product as I've not had it long enough to do any accurate testing. MacMice claims weeks of usage from one set of AA Alkalines. We'll see. I really wish there was a recharging cradle that I could 'park' the mouse in at night when I wasn't using it. Oh well, I guess that's for the next version...

The MacMice Mouse BT is a very sharp looking input device which feels great in hand. Although having no wires is a huge plus, they will need to remedy the cursor skipping problem and make it rechargeable before it becomes my next fave mouse.

 

Price: $69.99

Pros:
Great design
Plug and play
Smooth scroll wheel

Cons:
Cursor skips around
Not rechargeable
Slow wake up time