It’s been a while since I last presented a mouse concept. The problem is mouse manufacturers don’t really want to come with revolutionary designs, as people have got used to the 40-year old one and, as it happens with many human-related things, many are afraid of the winds of change. What you’re about to see isn’t that revolutionary, as far as features are concerned. Nonetheless, I was impressed with the ergonomic design itself, sort of a cosmopolitan appearance combined with hi-tech materials.

The City Mouse (can’t really figure out why they named it like that… are we supposed to proudly show it off it every time we take a trip downtown?) is designed by d-Vision, which came up with an interesting ergonomic shape. This is supposedly much more in tune with how our hands are themselves shaped and how we intuitively move them, which should be translating into more precise movement and fewer repetitive stress injuries or carpal tunnel problems.

Apparently, in order to move the cursor and interact with the graphic user interface on your PC, you don’t drag this mouse around. Instead you tilt it on its curved bottom to move around. This is just a concept, so I can’t tell if it works or how it really works, though. Hopefully, the design will get commercialized soon, if only for the looks of it.

Although it’s not as big as Logitech, Kensington manufactures some of the best trackball mice on the market, and it’s known for ingenious mice designs, as well. Clearly, the trackball mice aren’t intended for gamers, but there are many laptop users that would find Kensington’s Expert Optical Mouse useful, especially in those places where you can’t really find enough room to operate a classic optical mouse.

Of course, Kensington is boasting a bit saying that this is the best trackball around, but that seems to be the truth if we take a closer look at the Expert Mouse. Designed for PCs and Macs, the new Expert Mouse integrates Kensington’s Diamond Eye optical technology for smooth, precise cursor movement.

Surrounding the ball, there’s a brand new implementation of Kensington’s award winning Scroll Ring technology that puts scrolling right at your fingertips, literally. Plus you get 4 customizable buttons around the ring, too. The guys over at Kensington even provide extended ergonomics, including a soft new wrist rest-right. The Expert also provides full USB support.

Here are some more highlights for the Expert Mouse:

• Largest ball of any of the mainstream, consumer devices
• Great momentum and virtually frictionless rotation
• Detachable wrist rest cradles your hand in comfort

Amazon has this one for about $66.24.

Most of the mice presented here are closely following the standard design issued back in the 1960’s. OK, the Zalman FPS gun-like mouse doesn’t count. Although mice makers have tried to tweak the original design in order to offer ergonomic devices, it looks like the RSI and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome still give people rough times in many cases. Evoluent thinks that their vertical mouse design could solve all these problems, plus it makes for a good wireless solution.

Evoluent Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Mouse 3 combines the convenience of a wireless mouse with the comfort of a uniquely designed ergonomic mouse to help prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) in computer users. Unlike any other so –called ergonomic mouse you’ve seen, the Evoluent Vertical offers full support for Mac or PC users and is fully customizable to fit your individual needs.

The Evoluent Vertical was tested, evaluated, and approved by the University of California at Berkley’s team of health services (including doctors, therapists, and administrators). The mouse proved to be comfortable and easy to adapt to for new users. The patented shape of this cleverly designed ergonomic mouse supports your hand in a fully upright position, which seems like you’re actually handshaking the mouse. This position is supposed to eliminate forearm twisting which can lead to Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI).

The design integrates a lip at the bottom of the vertical mouse, preventing your pinkie finger from rubbing as it is moved. All five buttons can be easily clicked without contorting your fingers. Additionally, you can program all of them using the free downloadable driver available at the websites listed in the instructions.

The package also includes a compact receiver that plugs into your computer’s USB port and enables the Evoluent Vertical to be operated from up to 30 feet away (the pictures actually show the wired version). The design itself seems a good idea, but Evoluent sort of exaggerates with the price. Amazon has the vertical mouse for $109.

After seeing that Gizmodo compares a Razer mouse with a SteelSeries (who?) one, I went ahead and checked out who the latter manufacturer is and found out that its laser mice are not that bad. SteelSeries’ latest model is the Ikari Laser.

SteelSeries claims that it has put 15 months of extensive research of ergonomics, technology, shape, motion, hand grip and play styles into their Ikari Laser mouse. It seems that SteelSeries has collaborated with professional players in order to come up with better shape, materials and specifications for the Ikari. Players from Team 3D, compLexity, mousesports, SK Gaming, Team NoA and other world-class gaming organizations provided valuable feedback for the Ikari model.

Ikari is practically made by gamers for gamers, featuring programmable macros for RTS and MMO games and a high precision sensor, especially suitable for FPS gamers. Ikari is also a completely driverless solution, which enables the mouse to remember settings and macros when plugged into tournament computers - without installing any drivers or software.

Here are some more specs:

- 40.000 samples per second (SPS) for unbeatable tracking
- 1 to 3.200 DPI (changeable in increments of 1)
- Built in LCD display (on the underside) to help set CPI values on-the-fly
- Chassis material and shape best suited for professional gaming

SteelSeries recommends a £60 price for the laser model.

If you really got tired of wired mice, you can obviously make the jump for Bluetooth mice. Sure, these might cost a bit more, but if you look at what Targus has to offer, you’d find some pretty affordable wireless rodents that are actually good enough for gaming, too.

The Targus Rechargeable Bluetooth Laser Notebook Mouse is designed uses the Bluetooth technology and it will best work with a notebook PC or Mac that doesn’t require a receiver. Thanks to the advanced Bluetooth technology, this mouse works up to 33 ft away. It’s got a laser engine so you know this one is quite precise, allowing you to switch from 800 to 1,600 dpi on-the-fly for heightened sensitivity during gaming especially. Targus even claims that this mouse provides up to 20x more tracking sensitivity than typical optical mice.

You don’t have to worry about dead batteries anymore as the mouse comes bundled with a USB cable that enables charging while in use. Furthermore, travelers will really enjoy the Bluetooth Laser Mouse because it’s lightweight and includes a carrying pouch for added convenience. The mouse also features a three-button design and the usual scroll wheel for easy navigation.

Amazon has the Tragus Bluetooth mouse for $44.26.