All of the mice in Kensington’s
SlimBlade Collection have a sleek, slim design, a variety of functionality and are wireless. In this review
I will be looking at the SlimBlade Trackball
Bluetooth Mouse and Media
Mouse.
The footprint of the SlimBlade mice is very comparable to many other mice on the market. The Media Mouse is almost identical in size to Apple’s Mighty Mouse but with a lower profile. The Trackball Bluetooth Mouse is smaller than either the Apple Mighty Mouse or the Media Mouse and is smaller to grasp.
Even though the SlimBlade mice have a lower profile than many others, they are both comfortable to maneuver and intuitive to use. Both are well built, responsive, and very accurate.
Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Bluetooth Mouse
The Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Bluetooth Mouse has a very nice form-factor and size to be an excellent laptop/travel companion. It has right and left click buttons and a responsive 360º scroll ball.
Rubber wraps around the front and sides making the mouse easy and comfortable to grip.
The bottom of the SlimBlade Trackball Bluetooth Mouse has the battery compartment, bluetooth pairing button, and slider ‘on/off’ switch which protects the laser while not in use and/or during travels. Pairing the mouse with my Apple and Windows laptops was quick and extremely easy.
The back of the mouse has a battery gauge allowing you to more accurately manage battery life (i.e., recharge before you leave). The Trackball Mouse goes into sleep mode when your computer does, saving much battery life over time.
Hardware Specifications
| Laser mouse with 360º Scroll Ball |
| Bluetooth wireless |
| Up to 6 month battery life (two AA) |
| Battery gauge |
| 5-Year Warranty |
Package Contents
SlimBlade Trackball Bluetooth Mouse
Two AA batteries
User manual
The SlimBlade Trackball Bluetooth Mouse is a very nice wireless device. Its one flaw is that its one of the most expensive bluetooth mouse on the market.
Price: $99.99
Pros:
– Quality construction
– Sleek and slim form-factor
– Bluetooth
– Comfortable
– 360º Scroll Ball
– Doesn’t use a USB port
– Uses AA batteries
Cons:
– Expensive
Kensington SlimBlade Media Mouse
Kensington engineered the SlimBlade Media Mouse to function not only as a wireless mouse but as a media controller as well.
The SlimBlade Media Mouse features precision laser technology, 360 degree scrolling capability, the ability to adjust volume, play/pause your media, and 2.4GHz wireless technology. The Media Mouse uses a micro receiver for its wireless connectivity.
The 2.4 GHz wireless receiver is relatively small and conveniently stores inside the battery compartment of the mouse.
Hardware Specifications
| Laser mouse with 360º Scroll Ball |
| Media controller |
| 2.4 GHz wireless |
| Up to 6 month battery life (two AA) |
| Battery indicator |
| 5-Year Warranty |
Package Contents
SlimBlade Media Mouse
Two AA batteries
Installation CD
User manual
Like the Trackball Bluetooth Mouse, the Media Mouse has a very nice form-factor, right/left click buttons, a responsive 360º scroll ball, and a rubber grip surrounding a majority of the device. Since it is as large as the standard mouse (and having a usb dongle), I would use the Media Mouse with my desktop at work (vs as the mouse I travel with).
As stated above, the feature that makes this mouse unique is the media controller engineered into the bottom of the device. It allows you to control either iTunes or Windows Media Player simply and easily. Even though this mouse has this functionality, I doubt I will ever use it. For me, it is just as easy to switch to the application as it is to flip over the mouse.
Also like the Trackball Bluetooth Mouse, the
SlimBlade Media Mouse goes into sleep mode when
your computer does, saving much battery life over time. There is a indicator
LED at the base of the metal ring surrounding the scroll wheel which turns red
when the battery is running low.
While the Media Mouse acts as a wireless mouse and media controller, it too is a bit overpriced for a wireless mouse (with dongle).
Price: $59.99
Pros:
– Quality construction
– Sleek and slim form-factor
– Comfortable
– 360º Scroll Ball
– Wireless
– Uses AA batteries
Cons:
– Expensive
Product Information
| Price: | |
| Manufacturer: | Kensington |
| Retailer: | Kensington |
