The Mouse

The Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse is symmetrical and is therefore compatible with both left- and right-handed users. This is unlike the more popular IntelliMouse Explorer series, which only caters to right-handed users.

It comes in two different colours - Slate and Winter Blue. The one being reviewed here is the Winter Blue version, as it suits my laptop better.

The front view	The rear view

The mouse is somewhat smaller in size. Also, to some users, the height of the mouse may be a bit unconventional. However, for users who are familiar with Microsoft's ergonomic designs, the Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse feels right at home under your palm. It's indeed very comfortable to use.

Of course, this is a rather subjective opinion and some users might not like the feel of the mouse at all. This is something that I can relate to. It takes some time to get used to a Microsoft-designed mouse. However, once you are used to it and appreciate why they are designed that way, you'll never go back to a regular mouse.

Microsoft's Wireless Technology

A quick browse at Microsoft's Hardware site revealed a bit of information regarding the Microsoft's wireless technology. It seems that all Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse uses the same 27 MHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific, Medical) radio frequency band.

Therefore, these devices can transmit data wirelessly for up to 6 feet. Also, every mouse and keyboard come with two channels to reduce risk of inteference with other devices using the same band.

While I can't really say if using a low frequency band is good or bad, my experience so far with the mouse has been exceptional. There has been no signal loss when the mouse is within range of the receiver. While other brands claim that the use of the 2.4 GHz frequency band is better, it's important to note that WiFi uses the same band and therefore, increases the risk of inteference. In fact, even the microwave emits on the 2.4GHz frequency band.

Microsoft's Optical Technology

Microsoft did not release any information about the optical technology used by the Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse, or even any of their other mice for that matter. But based on my own quick tests, I feel that it's using a new optical sensor as it was able to track even my fastest hand movement. The tracking is exceptionally accurate and it was also able to do it on a large variety of surfaces, such as my jeans, the table top, etc.

The Optical Sensor

The location of the optical sensor had been pushed to the lower left side. This was done to accomodate the battery within the mouse. There should not be any performance impact whatsoever.