Wireless Optical Mice for Macs

[Nawlins]

I'm looking for a dependable cordless - preferably 2 button - optical mouse for my 12" Powerbook running OS X. I've read about the Cordless MouseMan Optical by Logitech (priced at about $40 after a mail-in rebate on Amazon.com), but I'm not sure if it's compatible with Macs - all the people who reviewed it on Amazon.com appear to be Windows users.

Any ideas?

 

[Powerbook G5]

According to their website, it is fully compatible with the Mac as well as the PC.

 

[iJon]

if i were you i got spend the extra money and get microsofts bluetooth desktop. you get a sweet keyboard and mouse and you dont have to have any wires.

iJon

 

[alset]

Logitech mice are super compatible with OS X. Buy it. You'll love it. I just switched from my old mouse to a Logitech a week ago, and I couldn't be happier.

Dan

 

[ntg]

as mentioned on another thread recently, I use the Microsoft Wireless Optical mouse Special Edition (it's charcoal/black!)

We now have about 15 of them, no interference issues so far and good battery life (mine is 5 months old, and still on the shipping Energizer batteries!).

ntg

 

[Powerbook G5]

Logitech is a pretty good brand, I'd usually stick with them first. I haven't used a Microsoft optical mouse, but I used the Logitech since my sister has one and it's both sexy and amazingly full featured. It's the MX 700 I believe...it's got more buttons and abilities than I thought a mouse could ever fit.

 

[Mudbug]

I strongly recommend (and thoroughly love my) Kensington Studio Pro Wireless mouse - it uses a base-station for recharging, so none of that irritating dead battery nonsense, and it's got a sensor pad instead of a scroll wheel, which eliminates one more moving part. Battery life is between 10-12 hours with moderate use (more use = less life) so it lasts a full day of work without sitting back in the station.

Oh yeah, and it looks supersweet. That hurts nothing.

 

[Powerbook G5]

That sounds cool...how long does it take to recharge in the base station?

 

[Mudbug]

You don't charge it - it stays plugged in all the time, like a palm base station or an iPod dock just waiting for the mouse to rest in place.

<edit>oh, the mouse, not the base station - I think it's about an hour for a full charge, but I'm not sure... I let it recharge each night when I go home, and since I use a tablet for input too, I don't leave it out enough to let the battery die... </edit>

edited because I didn't read good.

 

[Powerbook G5]

That's cool, and I especially like the touch interface as opposed to the normal scroll wheel. I never really saw the point of an external mouse because of the lack of portability with my PowerBook, but with Expose coming out, the versatility of these new mice, and the wireless ability with BT, it seems to be a winning combination. Is the performance any good? I have a friend with a Microsoft BT mouse and the thing seems to be jerky...not sure if it's a device conflict or what (It's running on an XP machine so should be fully compatible)

 

[Mudbug]

not bluetooth - RF...
uses radio frequencies (like a remote car door opener, or wireless gamecube controller ) instead, so very little latency. I can't tell a difference between the speed of my kensington and the speed of my apple pro mouse, but both are faster than the mouse that came with my Wacom Tablet (it's jerky, and needs the mousepad to work, since it's magnetic or some sort of thing). I think the Wacom 4D mice are better, but don't have experience with it.

 

[Magus]

Apple Bluetooth mouse?

Hey guys -- I'm looking for a good wireless optical for my 12" PB too. Anyone remember that rumor about Apple releasing a Bluetooth mouse sometime soon? I don't think any new info has come out, but I would believe that would be a great option for a wireless mouse on the Mac.

Austin

 

[Powerbook G5]

Yeah, an Apple BT mouse would be awesome. The only problem I'd have with an RF mouse is the possible interference with Airport, so perhaps BT would be a better solution?

 

[TEG]

Dude, BT runs at the same frequency as Airport, RF is usually between 57 and 900 Mhz. I think that Rf would be better, I use a Gyration KB and Mouse (With Scroll Wheel\Optical) at work for presentations. Its awesome, and works with Mac PCs, Wintel PCs, Linux PCs, and Unix Workstations (Solaris/AIX/HP\UX).

TEG

 

[Powerbook G5]

You learn something new everyday!

 

[Datazoid]

Another option ( I have no personal experience with it ) is the MacAlly rfMouse. They also have a mini version of this mouse for traveling. Again, I have no idea how well this mouse works, just throwing another option into the hat...

 

[Powerbook G5]

Has anyone used the Logitech MX 700 with a Mac? It looks so cool and I'd love to hear of real world experience with that beast. I hear it drains energy fast, though.

 

[Nawlins]

I have not had chance to use the MX 700 yet, but it looks like the real deal. I like that it has a 5 year warranty - shows they stand behind their product, which is increasingly rare in the technology world.

With cordless mice, does something have to be plugged into the computer so it recognizes the mouse after installation? Or do you plug something in when you install and it's completely cordless after that? I'm interested to learn how these things actually work, because a few of the cordless models appear to operate differently.

 

[applebum]

Originally posted by TEG
Dude, BT runs at the same frequency as Airport, RF is usually between 57 and 900 Mhz. I think that Rf would be better, I use a Gyration KB and Mouse (With Scroll Wheel\Optical) at work for presentations. Its awesome, and works with Mac PCs, Wintel PCs, Linux PCs, and Unix Workstations (Solaris/AIX/HP\UX).

TEG

That's the mouse you can use in the air with just hand motions right? I use that also. Way cool. It also has a dock so that you can recharge it. It is pretty easy to learn to use it in the air, but you can also use it like a standard mouse on a surface. If you get a chance, take a look at it.

 

[Powerbook G5]

What kind does Steve use during his keynote presentations?

 

[jrv3034]

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
Has anyone used the Logitech MX 700 with a Mac? It looks so cool and I'd love to hear of real world experience with that beast. I hear it drains energy fast, though.

Well, I have the Logitech MX 500 (the wired version of the 700) and I couldn't be happier. It's big, but my hands are too, so it fits very comfortably. And buttons galore!

I should add that I don't have a Mac yet, but I will in October or so... can't wait!

The Kensington cordless Studio mouse (described above) looks really sweet too.

 

[joshuajestelle]

i highly recommend getting a bluetooth mouse if your powerbook has a built-in bluetooth adapter.

if you travel around at all with your laptop, and you like using a real mouse instead of teh touchpad, having a bluetooth mouse is terrific.

you don't have to carry any sort of adapater for the wireless to talk to, you don't have any wire to get tangled, its great.

i have the microsoft bluetooth mouse and i have been quite happy with it. the battery life isn't terrific, but i do use rechargable batteries which are rarely as long lasting as regular batteries, and it is a bit annoying that there's no way to really turn off the mouse save for removing the batteries, so when it's bouncing around in my backpack its wasting teh batteries a bit.

anyway, rock on. enjoy your powerbook.

josh

 

[Powerbook G5]

The only problem is that these mice cost nearly as much as a RAM upgrade...it makes it a bit hard to justify when upgrading to 1 gig of RAM just sounds so tempting...

 

[joshuajestelle]

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
The only problem is that these mice cost nearly as much as a RAM upgrade...it makes it a bit hard to justify when upgrading to 1 gig of RAM just sounds so tempting...

i dunno about that. they are a little pricey though.

i think i got my for around $75.

josh

 

[rainman::|:|]

my next mouse--

http://www.gyration.com/ultragt.htm

Gyroscopic would be so nice, leaning back in my chair with my arms on the armwrests, just moving my hand... if i can get a food tube, i'll be set never to move again And it has an optical sensor for on-desk use, when you have to do precision work. Supports Mac, but the right-click button will evidently not function...

i saw one of these at work, after about 3 seconds of using it i fell in love...

pnw