Microsoft Explorer Mini Mouse

[Lucjan]

In the world of mice found on the one hand, the large majority of noname models come with the PC assemblers and / or sold for a mouthful of bread and across both wholesale mastodons that are Microsoft and Logitech that largely dominate the market as soon as you start looking for a quality product. Microsoft has launched on September 10 last a whole new technology called BLUETRACK which is so far the mouse integrated Explorer and Explorer Mouse Mini Mouse. According to Microsoft, BLUETRACK will revolutionize the world of mice and make us forget the optical sensors and lasers, with its blue LED that works in theory many more surfaces. So we decided to give us one of these mice and check ourselves. The model that we have had is the Microsoft Explorer Mini Mouse, a mouse dedicated to laptops, and it's good because with a laptop you are on the go and you do not always walk with his mouse pad on itself .

Two days after a small Microsoft Hardware evening dedicated to the press, dear factor working decidedly more since the arrival of the lab in 77, delivered a small box in which was therefore a small mouse with blue eyes. Once opened thus discovers on the mouse, its receptor, a leaflet and a CD-ROM on which the Microsoft IntelliPoint 6.3 that will help you configure the various buttons of the Explorer Mini Mouse. At first glance the mouse clearly inspires confidence and exudes good quality workmanship. Plastics are of quality and it is noteworthy that the black coating has a very nice velouté. Viewpoint measurements, the Explorer Mini Mouse is not very great extent since 69.7x97mm. It is far less than some conventional mouse, but a little more than some models reserved for laptops. Result, this Mini Mouse is not so mini size but clearly the advantage of promoting ownership. Despite my great Paluch five mouse buttons were easily accessible but left-handers are certainly a little more difficult because the design of the mouse is not meant to be ambidextrous.

The Mini Mouse Microsoft Explorer includes five buttons: The right click, click left, two more buttons on the left flank and to finish the Click Wheel. There is nothing significant to report on the two main buttons, for against you probably noticed the shape any length of the two buttons on the left. If we can start to fear their low thickness, in practice they pose no concern, and their length is also an advantage since these buttons should remain accessible even if you have large or small hands. The wheel on its side is also successful. The vertical scrolling is flexible and you will even make horizontal scrolling.

On the last two photos above you can see, in addition to the mouse's USB receiver that communicates with it through waves at 2.4GHz. The receiver position 15.9x46.7 mm and therefore the size of a USB key but, although not large in absolute terms when compared to receptors in recent Logitech mouse or even that of Microsoft Arc Mouse, it seems downright enormous. He still the advantage of being able to stay under the mouse to make things easier during travel. Just below the compartment and the receiver, found the location of the single AA battery that powers the mouse. According to Microsoft, it provides a range of six months, something we obviously have not been able to verify. However, Microsoft has had the good idea to place a small switch just in housing receiver, which effectively cut food. It's convenient and provide an opportunity to save a little pile, once the mouse is not in use.

[Lucjan]

Now a technology BLUETRACK of before moving to the section on the behavior of the mouse of the day. BLUETRACK is characterized by the presence in the Explorer Mini Mouse a sensor-based blue LEDs that Microsoft announced as being better than optical sensors and lasers combined. Yes, just that. Thus, the blue beam mice BLUETRACK is four times larger than that of a laser mouse and therefore allows for a more mixed picture of the surface on which it glides. This after Microsoft would gain in precision, but also and especially to increase the amount of surface on which the mouse can work. Moreover, according to Microsoft, only glass and mirrors could pose problems for BLUETRACK mouse, that we will check on the next page of this article.

Installation and behavior

Install a mouse is a breeze. With the Mini Explorer insert an AA battery that the passage is not provided in the pack, you connect the USB receiver, expected few seconds, and then, the mouse is recognized and there are already way on it. If you want to go against a step further and set the functions of various buttons, you should install the Microsoft IntelliPoint that will give you all the options that you can discover on the capture below. Of course, it is also possible in other tabs to change the shape of the cursor, speed, etc., as with any other mouse.

Point shot in hand, we saw just now that all the buttons were easily accessible which makes the Mini Mouse easy to use. Another good point, the mouse has two large Teflon pads that give it a very good sensation of sliding. But what about its ability to operate on many surfaces such as Microsoft says? The first thing we see when using Explorer Mouse is obviously this big blue light at its base. If when the mouse was unveiled we did not really know what it was used, know it is there only for aesthetic as a Microsoft Habu for example. Of course I'm not talking about the light sensor, but the vast arc of light that activates when the mouse out of his sleep and turns off a few seconds. That said, the sensor it does not lie Microsoft.

During the evening presentation of Microsoft Hardware innovations of the season, we had briefly tested the mouse on marble or wood it without bronchus. Once ours, we tried other media as a glass table (not transparent), tiling, carpeting, jeans, a sheet of styroglass, paper, imitation leather, plastic, cardboard , A mirror, a bay window and a refrigerator (yes!). Result? The mouse has worked on the majority of carriers and only the windows and mirrors have undermined. Microsoft does not lied therefore, its technology BLUETRACK is really compatible with a wider range of areas since our other mice (laser and optical) have had much more poorly on glossy surfaces.

Conclusion

Tidy, pretty, robust and effective, these are the first words that come to mind when I think of this Explorer Mini Mouse. Even if it does not function as an exotic SideWinder Mouse for example, the Mini Mouse has drawn fairly well during the test period. His grip is good, it is accurate, sliding property, and the sensor allows it BLUETRACK effectively accommodate diverse land. He was alleged against by the size of its USB receiver that would have benefited from being a little smaller given the primary purpose of this mouse and can be as responsive to, even if it is good, not at the level of mouse more high-end mice or for players for example. If you are a fraggeur crazy, you select no doubt another mouse model. But is this really a criticism as it is not a novelty, for games very fast, it is better to focus on mouse over, and Microsoft Explorer Mini Mouse is a mouse to mouse players but for nomads. From one side it meets all expectations and from the size of the connector and its price of 59.90 € it has real arguments to convince.