Mouse Arena

There are quite a few obscure manufacturers that like to play around with mouse designs, forgetting everything about ergonomics and comfort. Weird-shaped mice take the form of funny animals, tools and cars, and just anything you could imagine. While playing with such mice could be fun, the actual usage might not prove to be that entertaining. Anyhow, I think that one should have one good mouse and the rest could go into his/her collectibles stash.

One of the latest less ergonomic, but funny mice comes in the form of a slightly flattened golf ball complete with a specially designed mouse pad that resembles a golf course. The mouse pad features a flag, a putter and a tiny ball, so now you have to slalom your way on the pad.

Goofing around with such mouse and pad won’t serve in any way if you intend to play FPS and other games requiring precision and lightning-fast response times, though the mouse is optical. This set looks like it would be more appropriate as an ornamental gadget lying around the office desk of a golf veteran. In addition to its special shape, the mouse can also light up in several colors, making for a stroboscope and keeping you awake in those lazy summer office days.

No info on price and availability. The guys over at Gizmag might know something about these aspects.

I guess professional gamers know which mouse is best suited for competitive use. The usual suspects come from Logitech and Razer, which are, no doubt about it, renowned manufacturers. But there are some obscure brand names like Ideazon, not really known world wide, which provide good, if not some of the best gaming mice around. However, most of the times gamers will continue to stick to their favorite brands, even though obscure competition might have better mice in stock. That’s the case of Wolf King. I just heard of this manufacturer, but it looks like they have a pretty solid gaming mouse that has been weakly promoted.

The Wolf King Trooper Laser Gaming features a 2200DPI Ultra High Resolution Laser Engine that allows you to perform all sorts of lightning-fast maneuvers. This mouse provides all the now standard features that a respectable gaming mouse should include. Thus, you get driverless on the fly sensitivity adjustment selectable between 2200, 1600, and 800DPI. This allows you to easily switch from browsing and basic PC functionality to those sniping and precision settings required by FPS and strategy games.

Specifically built for FPS players, Trooper enables you to select your rate of fire at the touch of a button. Single, double, triple, and even four round burst per mouse click, again, with no special driver required.

Here are some more features:

• High speed USB2.0 connectivity
• Sleek ergonomic design for comfort and good looks
• Track wheel LED color indicates fire status
• LED DPI speed indicator

Reviews over the net claim that this mouse can’t really compare to Razer Lachesis and the Logitech gang, but I reckon it’s still pretty decent one you see it costs only $26.99.

Ready for some more notebook rodent extravaganza? First of all, let me say that I’m no fan of little things. I don’t like smallish cellphones, I totally dis the minute iShuffle, and can’t understand why people need tiny mice for their laptops when they can use the best wireless laser mice with any kind of computer. Speaking of tiny laptop mice, Logitech has recently released a new model, and its name says it all from me.

The V450 Nano cordless laser mouse is meant for notebook users, but it could be used as a desktop mouse too, they say. Now, why would I use something that small with my desktop PC? Does it come with some out of the ordinary features, at least? Let’s see…Logitech’s exclusive Plug-and-Forget Nano-receiver, featuring a USB receiver that is so small, you’ll forget about it in no time once it is plugged in, letting the mouse always be ready for use. Mmmno, nothing special here. Next!

The battery inside the V450 Nano is claimed to last for an entire year before a replacement is required, but that figure clearly depends on just how long you intend to use the mouse for each day. Hmmm, that might be a good feature, but since a do some gaming, I wonder if this can really last longer than my current cordless solution, whose batteries last for about 5 months no matter what I do with it.

Since it’s wireless, the tiny thing integrates a 2.4GHz wireless transmitter that comes with the standard 10m range. The V450 Nano is scheduled to hit the US market later this month, while Europe receives it later, in July. Another hateable thing about smallish technology is the price. Would you pay $49.99 for this mouse?

Many left-handed people get a bit frustrated when they see the latest mice are designed only for right-handers. There are a few mouse designs that prove to be suitable for both kinds, but it’s clear that mouse makers don’t pay much attention to lefties. Logitech, on the other hand, thinks left-handed people shouldn’t be treated as outcasts and readies a pretty good laser mouse specifically designed for lefties.

The MX 610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless integrates an advanced laser engine, providing extreme accuracy and flawless tracking on most surfaces. It also sports the Tilt Wheel Plus Zoom feature which allows for simple side-to-side scrolling and effortless zoom in and out of photos and spreadsheets.

Just as the standard MX 610, this mouse integrates the Bluetooth wireless connection with 2.4 GHz transmitter. The Email and IM notification LEDs let you know about new messages and mails from friends. The mouse is capable of turning itself off when no movement is detected so battery life is extended. In addition the mouse turns off when you power down your PC. You also get fingertip shortcut buttons for Volume, Mute, and Web page browsing.

The ergonomic soft-touch Sides allow an effortless grasp and with the special contoured shape, lefties can enjoy a natural grip that reduces fatigue.
Amazon has this one for $58.91.

I don’t understand why mouse manufacturers keep releasing trackball digital rodents. A tried one a few years ago and it was pretty awkward, not to mention that it totally messes up the FPS and RTS games. Anyhow, trackballs also made the jump for the optical engines and it seems some people still favor this tracking system as opposed to the classic mouse design. The latest model from Logitech is trying to prove that trackballs can deal with common tasks as well as with games.

Logitech Cordless TrackMan Wheel is designed specifically for the right-handed people to deliver a decent all-day comfort. As far as control is concerned, this model features the latest optical technology adapted to the trackball design. This way, the Trackman Wheel is able to track smoothly and precisely all you slightest thumb movements.

This is the second trackball model to feature a Scroll wheel and also comes standard with a drag lock button so you can navigate online content more easily. In addition, you get customizable buttons, which let you personalize controls with button assignment via the included MouseWare software.
I’m sure you got the cordless part, as the mouse comes with its own receiver. In addition, the mouse features a battery indicator light that tells you when your battery is low. This way you’ll know in advance when to prepare some new ones.

If you are a trackball fan, you can get this one for about $49.95.