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Hello and Goodbye
You can now say "Hello" to comfort and "Goodbye" to wires, with the Microsoft Wireless Intellimouse Explorer. This slick wireless mouse has a ton of cool features. If you've looked hard in the past to find a mouse that fits your hand, this one has to be it!
Wireless Intellimouse Explorer
After just reviewing Microsoft's Wireless Optical Desktop (a wireless keyboard and mouse solution), I have noticed many things that are superior in this mouse, and a few drawbacks.
First we will take a look at the design of this mouse, and then we will check out some cool features, the installation, the wireless range, and then the price.
Shape, Style, and Design
What makes one mouse better than the other? Besides the fact that this mouse is wireless and optical, one area in which this mouse excels is its perfect fit. It fits the natural curvature of a hand very well, which makes it very enjoyable to use. With improvements come drawbacks. In order for this mouse to fit your hand so well, it loses the ability to work with both left and right handed users at the same time. A feature which was missing with Microsoft's Wireless Optical Desktop and was included with this mouse, is the two buttons on the left side. These two buttons are fully programmable, but their default use is as a forward and back button in a browser. The color scheme as used with the previous IntelliMouse Explorer is still in use on the wireless.
The Features
:: The Features
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Installation
The installation consists of installing drivers, inserting the included batteries, and plugging the RF receiver into a USB slot. In is very straight forward and if you get at all confused, you can just follow the step by step "Getting Started" guide that is included. Here is a full list of items included in the package:
:: Items Included
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Wireless Range
The wireless range on the mouse seems to be pretty relative to how many objects are in the path to between the mouse and receiver. In my experience, it can reach all the way across a small sized room, although any further distances are usually distorted by objects getting in the way.
Conclusion
Microsoft's Wireless Intellimouse Explorer is packed with reasons to buy, with it's programmable buttons, great design to fit your hand, power saving features, wireless and optical abilities, and easy installation. The Wireless Intellimouse Explorer sells for about $50. However, if you are looking for a mouse that supports left AND right handed users, don't need the extra buttons, and need a wireless keyboard, it would make more sense to get Microsoft's Wireless Optical Desktop for only about $15 more.
ARTICLE PUBLISHED: 8-2-03
