You just got a new laptop but you hate that pesky touchpad that comes standard with most of these portable PCs. You sure could use a mouse instead. But when it comes to portable devices you really have to watch for power consumption. You don’t really need a power hungry rodent, now, do you? So you skip over the USB-powered stuff and get to battery powered mice. Not such a good idea, they tend to die on you in the most critical moments, and that recharging cord doesn’t cut it, either. Great, what’s next? Holographic mice?

I think you watched too much sci-fi movies. How about a flat mouse? Laptops have flat screens, why not a flat mouse? Flat as a pancake, the MoGo Mouse BT operates wirelessly via Bluetooth and docks/recharges inside your notebook’s PC Card slot. Nifty thing!

However, take a moment and consider the disadvantages, too. The MoGo lacks both a scroll wheel and a middle button, and it doesn’t come with a Bluetooth adapter for those “primitive” models that lack integrated Bluetooth. These limitations don’t scare you at all? Then fill that PCMCIA card slot up!

Also, be sure to check Newegg.com for their latest MoGo Mouse BT deal. It’s only $29.99, plus $5.58 for shipping. Hell of a deal, considering that most vendors sell it for around $70.

Genius figured out their mouse designs need some innovation, and thus they released the OptoWheel family. New to the OptoWheel electronic rodents is Traveler 525 Laser. The Traveler series are mostly intended for laptop users on the go, while still providing decent comfort for PC usage.

Traveler 525 Laser has no traditional right and left button, adopting unique ‘float to click’ innovative system that gives you a relaxing mouse click feeling and reduces the tension on your fingers. For its family’s namesake this model also integrates the OptoWheel technology, which gives users an effortless scrolling experience. Good riddance noisy scroll wheels!

It’s a laser mouse so it’s got to be precise enough. Like up to 1600 dpi superb tracking performance and three times more surface coverage than regular optical devices. Remember this is not a gaming-grade mouse, so 1600 dpi is more than enough for browsing and more down-to-earth tasks. It’s also USB-exclusive.

Signature features include two hotkeys for Windows Vista accessibility:
- Smart IE Search for listing all Internet information
- Flip 3D for a 3D graphical viewing of all opened windows
Additionally, there’s the Hyper-speed Turbo Scroll function for lightning-fast browsing through Internet pages and documents.

You can already find one of these in the UK for about £12.42.

You’re not into PC games and you really could use some strain-free, lightweight mouse for your net browsing sessions. Search no more, we got the plushy mouse specially for you. Not exactly light as a feather, but the closest thing!

Designer Joey Roth claims that his mouse is made from natural wool felt and laminated bamboo ply. The felt’s softness and plyability makes the mouse comfortable without looking “cartoonishly” ergonomic. The button layout follows the golden rectangle.

This design actually reminds me of the first mouse concept back in the 1960’s. Apart from those user-friendly materials and the theory of 3/4 design, the mouse seems quite blocky to me. A bit of a brick design, which leaves my palm aghast just by looking at it. It’s got the right button, yey! It is wireless, too, and it integrates an optical transmitter, though we don’t really know if it’s sensitive enough.

Not sure if that blocky design would mean munch for that pesky carpal tunnel syndrome, though. Maybe Roth really studied this concept, making him favor straight lines over curved ones, for the sake of looks and not necessarily ergonomics. If you ask me, this one looks a tad better than the round puck.

Apple’s puck mouse wasn’t such a big hit after all. Wait, what? That’s right, Apple isn’t always succeeding in everything it commercializes. Sometimes it fails to deliver good products, but that doesn’t happen that often now. Apple’s mouse was… well, round and that didn’t feel too good for our Mac fans.

Recently, designer Miji Rhoe came up with something of a successor for the puck mouse. Yep, it’s round, but it has brains too. The Memory Mouse can store up to 4 or 8 GB of data via an integrated USB flash memory and comes with a touch scroll wheel.

Let’s see why this round design wouldn’t be such a good idea. First of all, learn from the past. Puck didn’t do well, so Memory
Mouse could be doomed from the start. Second, you’ll have to carry this around in order to benefit from its storage capacities. Third, it’s not wireless. Fourth, where’s my right button?! Fifth, it only comes in plain white flavor? Oh, and can we use it to play space ball when the darn puck gets stuck inside the machine? Actually there is something good about this design as you won’t be using another USB port for extra storage.The designer also emphasizes on the hygienic nature of the mouse, due to the reduced contact surface.

Not sure which laser mouse could be satisfying your gaming needs these days? You might want to look for Logitech’s G9 laser mouse. When it comes to high performance gaming-grade mice, you wouldn’t overlook Logitech’s offer, right?

I mean you totally have to try the interchangeable grips. Choose between Wide Load and Precision grips to get a fit and feel that’s best for your playing style. The Wide Load option features a satin texture and fuller shape, offering extra comfort when using the mouse for a long period of time. On the other hand, the Precision option comes with integrated DryGrip technology and a compact shape in order to ensure total control.

You’ll certainly like the 3200 dpi laser engine with full-speed USB that is capable of 1000 reports/second. The mouse even has an onboard memory, allowing users to store their preferred settings.

As far as control is concerned, you can rely on the exclusive MicroGear system that can be set to click-to-click scrolling (perfect for weapon selection in FPS games) or frictionless scrolling (best for internet browsing). G9 also incorporates the now standard on-the-fly resolution selection, giving you instant access to resolution levels between 200 and 3200 DPI. Not to mention the wight system and the all-new polytetrafluoroethylene super-slick feet that glide effortlessly across almost any surface.

The MSRP price is somewhere around $100, but that shouldn’t intimidate a hardcore gamer.