World’s First Folding Mouse?

Wednesday, August 26^th, 2009, Netcast 903

The Microsoft Wireless Arc Mouse could be the world’s first folding mouse. It’s certainly the first one I’ve ever seen. It’s cleverly designed and ergonomic. Unfolded it’s just about a full size mouse. When you travel this is way more convenient to use than a laptop or netbook touch pad!  When it’s time to pack, the Arc folds to fit into the included travel bag. Folding it shrinks the overall size by about 40%. But wait, there’s more! When you fold the Arc Mouse, you automatically shut it off. That way you’ll save battery power. (Microsoft says battery power should last about six months. It uses two AAA batteries.) Also the small USB dongle that makes the Arc wireless, stores under the closed portion of the mouse. It’s secured in place with a special magnetized niche. The USB micro trans-receiver dongle is small, but not as small as the ones Logitech uses. I had to remove the dongle before my Acer netbook would fit in its carry bag. The buttons on the Arc mouse are pretty standard — left and right click button with a scroll wheel between them. There’s an additional button on the left side that can be used as a “back button” in Web browsers. But there’s a problem with the placement of this button. You really have to change the potion of your hand to use it. It can’t be pushed with the hand in the normal ‘mousing’ position. The Arc utilizes laser technology so it works well on almost any surface, except the usual things that stop practically any mouse – like glass. I didn’t download the Microsoft’s IntelliPoint software, but if you do, you'll have additional features. My netbook identified and installed the Arc drivers in less than a minute with no software. You can ignore the $59.95 price. If you do a web search you can find it for about $31 to $35. It’s available in many colors.

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw903