When you sit down and you’re ready to work, the last thing you probably want to discover is that your wireless mouse has kicked the bucket.  And by kicked the bucket we mean the rechargeable batteries inside are dead and need juicing up. But who has time for that when you need to get to your next TPS report, or for some of you RedTube.

Genius’ DX-ECO Mouse ditches the hefty, NOT landfill friendly battery in favor of a gold capicitor. What does that mean to you?  In just 3-minutes time this mouse can be charged to full and last for what the company says is a complete work day – we’re not sure what that means in terms of hours, but we’re assuming 8.    That said, it can be recharged up to 100,000 times, which means that this mouse will be well outdated before its capacitor fizzles out.

And just because it doesn’t sport a traditional rechargeable battery, or at the very least a slot for one, that doesn’t mean Genius has forgone any of the standard features you’ve come to expect from your wireless mouse.  It can work at up to a distance of 15 meters, includes a tiny micro receiver,  4-way scrolling, adjustable dpi (800/1600 dpi), next/previous page hot keys and a blue optical mouse that is said to work on dusted glass and marble.

I’ve been gaming nearly my entire life, though the PC has almost always taken a backseat to consoles. Still, with the advent of Steam and a lot of great games being released almost weekly, I could no longer ignore the computer I decked out with parts for gaming as an excuse to spend more for a high-end rig yet never gamed with. Now that I’m up to my neck in fantastic PC games to rival the best my consoles have to offer, I needed something a little extra to give me more control and really solidify a solid gaming experience.

Enter the Razer DeathAdder Gaming Mouse and Razer Vespula Dual-Sided Gaming Mouse Mat. Separate, each of them would have been a massive step up from the generic mouse I was using and the (don’t laugh) cutting board I had on my desk as a makeshift mouse pad. In tandem, the two work fantastically. After installing the drivers and getting access to a full profile of customizable settings including sensitivity, scrolling speed, DPI, and polling rate, I was good to go in probably ten minutes or less.

The DeathAdder features a lot of clever features that become apparent once the drivers are up and running, including the ability to program macros to any of the mouse’s five buttons, change between five profiles using a button located under the mouse, or even map a button to change the mouse’s sensitivity without backing out to the device’s settings – A fantastic idea for anyone running to a vantage point with a sidearm, setting up camp, and beginning a long-lived sniping mission. The mouse feels great in my hand, and Razer even makes a flipped model for lefties, moves smoothly across all surfaces, and is extremely responsive.

As for the Vespula mat, there isn’t a whole lot to say, but all of it is positive. Using a very traditional mouse pad material, the Vespula doesn’t slide around the desk at all. On top of the soft, floppy material, a hard plastic plate rests comfortably, wrapping around the built in wrist rest, giving a wide effective surface to move the mouse around. The plastic plate doesn’t bend or shift while using it, offering stability and an ideal space to move around on. With two sides, the plate can be flipped to the user’s liking. One side offers a slick surface ideal for quick, violent movements that need to be made in a split second, while the other offers a slightly larger amount of resistance for more controlled movements.

The difference, believe it or not, is noticeable almost immediately. Whether it’s flipping between the sides of the Vespula mat, changing mouse sensitivity on the fly, or the step up from standard mouse and odd kitchen equipment to professional-grade gaming peripherals, once you’re mid-game with the Razer in your hand, the transition is seamless. Everything you want to be doing with your mouse happens without snags, without having to pick up the mouse and continue moving in the same direction. Even on my dual-monitor display, I have all the space I need to navigate my full desktop smoothly. The change might be something you think of as being a massive upgrade, but the feeling of solid control is unmistakably there.

Editor’s Rating

4.5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Bottom Line: The Razer DeathAdder offers a simple yet effective entryway into getting your computer rigged for optimum gaming. The product itself has no real shortcomings whatsoever, the only potential turnoff is that if you are the kind of person with more macros than actual commands, the DeathAdder only features five mouse buttons like a standard gaming mouse. It does, however, have a profile changing button located on the bottom to help you switch out settings as you like through progammed settings. For the price, and for the features, the Razer DeathAdder, especially combined with the effective, large surface of the Razer Vespula are going to be ideal fits for all but the most specialized of gamers.

Pros:

• Smooth movement ensures no hiccups whether you’re charging headfirst into a battle or carefully sniping your opponents
• The dual surfaces of the Vespula mat provide slightly different textures, offering a preference on how the mouse moves and how your hand feels on the surface
• Completely adjustable sensitivity, even on-the-fly, means that you can adapt to any situation without having to tab out of your window to make changes

Cons:

• Not many mappable buttons can be a downside for gamers used to intensely customizable mice
• A decent amount of desk space needs to be dedicated to fit the Vespula down
• Some of the settings like polling rate require a reboot to take effect, not a massive downside, but something to consider when fine-tuning the mouse before gaming rather than during

The Razer DeathAdder Gaming Mouse is available from Amazon for $45.23. The Razer Vespula Dual-Sided Gaming Mouse Mat is available from Amazon for $27.93.

Upgrade your mouse with today’s Deal of the Day that comes to us from Amazon with the Logitech Wireless Anywhere Mouse MX for PC and Mac. You’ll save $26 (43%) off the originally listed price of $69.99 and score the mouse for only $33.99 (it also ships for Free with Super Saver Shipping).

The Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX provides complete freedom so that you can work anywhere without needing a mouse pad and works on virtually any surface! The compact wireless mouse will help make working on the go easier and faster. With the first track-on-glass technology to a tiny USB receiver that never needs to leave your notebook, you’ll never want to use another mouse ever again!

The reason it works on any surface is Logitech’s new Darkfield Laser Tracking that tracks mouse movements by producing a detailed micro-roadmap of the work surface. This allows for easy movement on surfaces like clear glass, lacquered wood, marble and even carpet.

Thanks to its Unifying receiver that’s so small you just plug it in and forget about it since it stays in your notebook and connects up to six compatible devices in different places. This means you can add accessories like a Unifying wireless keyboard without the hassle of multiple receivers. And you’ll love its compact, ergonomic design that comfortably fits into your hand and can easily travel anywhere with you (it can fit into a small side pocket and comes with a protective carry pouch).

ROCCAT ain’t messing around when it comes to gaming.  The company is set to introduce the Isku Gaming Keyboard and Kone+ Gaming Mouse at CES 2012.

So what makes them special? They can communicate wirelessly to one and other, allowing gamers to hit a key on the keyboard and change the settings of the mouse instantly mid gameplay.  But that’s not all these gaming peripherals have to offer.

The Isku keyboard is built for the true gamer. It has a a whopping 36 macro keys – 8 dedicated – 3 of which are located just below the space bar for ultra quick access during heated gameplay. Furthermore, they can all be double programmed in up to 5 profiles, providing up to 180 macros on a single keyboard.  And to make sure you know what profile you’ve selected, they’ve outfitted the keyboard with a set of LED lights along with extreme Ice Blue back lighting in 6 adjustable brightness levels.

ROCCAT’s Kone[+] mouse is one of the wired ilk, as it should be, and includes a 6000dpi Pro-Aim laser sensor that achieves a 10.5 megapixel resolution and 1000Hz polling rate – that means it won’t lag or lose connection even during the most furious of frag sessions.  The outside of the mouse is outfitted with a Soft-Touch Surface, though keep in mind it’s built for right handers only.  And like the Isku, this mouse can be programmed with up to 22 functions that can be changed at the press of a button and are affirmed by voice feedback.

Expect ROCCAT’s latest mouse and keyboard to launch sometime early next year.

Whether you just prefer to do your web browsing from the bed or if you want some inputs to get used to no matter where you are, the Verbatim Mini Wireless Slim Keyboard and Mouse is a nice, compact solution that is incredibly easy to set up, comfortable to use, and effective for just about any purpose shy of gaming. With a roughly laptop-sized keyboard and a small mouse that also houses the wireless receiver when not in use, this set comes with pretty much everything you could need from a wireless keyboard and mouse.

The keyboard itself is fairly standard, complete with function keys and even selectable number pad keys and volume controls. The keyboard runs off of 2 AAA batteries and just stays on, waiting for inputs. The keys are push in comfortably, and it’s very easy to adapt to for anybody who spends any amount of time using a laptop. The letter keys are spaced more like a traditional desktop computer, which is great for typing, though the other keys tend to be more bunched up and in different places, which means looking around a bit if you’re trying to insert or delete.

In order to save on battery life, the mouse features an on/off switch on the bottom. More responsive than other optical mice I’ve tried, the Verbatim Mini Wireless Mouse is a comfortable yet small size, works great on almost every surface I tried (including my white desk), and the scroll wheel is smooth but responsive. The fact that the mouse can be used anywhere is a serious perk to consider when you imagine that you might be taking these out to use on a conference room table or a couch arm or anywhere you can think of, really. Knowing that the mouse is going to be responsive on a wide array of surfaces increases the potential uses for a wireless combo like this.

As nice as the Verbatim Mini Wireless Slim Keyboard and Mouse are, however, there is still room for improvement. The lack of a power button on the keyboard means that battery life is always draining, albeit slowly, though if you’re carrying the keyboard with you, every time a key is pressed it’s pecking away at the battery. The tiny wireless USB receiver, while convenient in its size, is pretty easy to lose track of if you don’t want to keep removing and replacing the mouse’s battery case to store it. While I’m sure they would make the battery life drop a little faster, some lights on the keyboard to let you know if Num Lock or Caps Lock are activated would go a long way. I also would like to see some kind of USB compatibility so that if your batteries run out and you don’t have a spare set on you, you could still use the keyboard at least.

With a solid wireless distance and decent battery life, the Verbatim Mini Wireless Slim Keyboard and Mouse make for a very good temporary solution for presentations or the odd situation where you don’t want to stretch cables. However, because of the reliance strictly on AAA batteries that do wear down after about 15-20 hours, I don’t recommend getting these for use in making your home a bit more mobile or wireless. The products themselves work to specifications and the fact that all it typically takes to get going is plugging them in and putting batteries in goes a long way in my opinion of any wireless device. Finding a regular use for them that makes sense in terms of not constantly buying batteries, on the other hand, is a little harder to do.

Editor’s Rating

3.5 out of 5 stars

Very Good

Bottom Line: The Verbatim Mini Wireless Slim Keyboard and Mouse isn’t perfect, but has enough going for it that it should be considered for anybody looking to add some wireless functionality to any computer around. The compatibility across multiple operating systems means that no matter where you are or what you’re doing, getting started is often just as easy as plugging in the wireless USB receiver to the system and going. For a product designed for portability and ease of use, something as pivotal as that simply can not be overlooked. Anyone looking for a replacement for their current keyboard and mouse aren’t going to like shelling out battery money frequently, however.

Pros:

• Full number pad via a function key is a rarity for portable keyboards
• Works with a variety of operating systems simply by plug and play
• Mouse works great on virtually every surface and has a full, clickable scroll wheel

Cons:

• 2 AAA batteries for the keyboard, another 2 for the mouse, if you use these devices with any degree of long-term frequency, you’ll need to keep a lot of batteries stocked
• Lack of LEDs for Num Lock, Caps Lock, or Scroll Lock means relying on the installable toolbar that comes with the keyboard on a CD to know if you have any enabled
• With no shutoff switch for the keyboard, batteries need to be removed to make sure life isn’t being drained while it stows in your bag or briefcase

The Verbatim Mini Wireless Slim Keyboard and Mouse is available from Amazon for $29.24.

Where there is smoke…there is probably a weed smoker and perhaps even a dealer.  You’ll probably also find a laptop or some sort of computer laying around their crib playing Sienfeld reruns.  And it’s not like this mouse will prevent the PoPo from deeming them a drug wielding and dealing suspect, it will perhaps add a certain level of bewildered amustment when the cops perform their drug raid.

The USB Optical Mouse with Pocket Digital Scale is not just your regular optical mouse.  In fact, it doubles as a digital scale that can measure objects weighing 0.1g to 500g.  Just pop off the cover, insert two AAA batteries and what was once a one trick pony will become a multifaceted device.  It even has a backlit LCD display.

Brando – who else – sells it for just $22.

NZXT took the wraps off their Avatar S gaming mouse yesterday.  It probably isn’t the brawniest in its class, but seeing as it costs just $39.99 and achieves a sensitivity of 1600 dpi it ain’t a bad deal.  But that’s not all.  If need be it can be turned down to 800 and 400dpi, the 5 buttons are fully programmable, the LED lighting can be manipulated and the X-Y sensitivity can be adjusted.  All these features can be saved to 16kb of built-in storage to this ambidextrous mouse with Teflon feet.

Full PR after the ‘leap’

Precise and versatile mouse features optimal personalization, slim ambidextrous design, and onboard memory for saving customized settings for gaming on-the-go

El Monte, CA – May 24, 2011 – NZXT, a company built on realizing the dreams of gamers worldwide, is proud to announce Avatar S, the latest addition to their award-winning line of gaming mice. Avatar S empowers PC Gamers and enthusiasts with simple, precise gaming control, and an array of intuitive, innovative features. Similar to the original Avatar, Avatar S is sleek and stealthy in design boasting an ambidextrous, low profile, light form factor crafted with Teflon feet ideal for making quick powerful movements on any surface.

Avatar S enables complete personalization with a DPI switch that adjusts 1600/800/400DPI in-game without the hassle of downloading different drivers. Gamers can also custom configure in-game macros, 5 media keys, X-Y sensitivity, and LED lighting and then save the personalized settings onto the onboard 16Kb memory making it an ideal solution for on-the-go gaming.

“We designed Avatar S as an intuitive solution that gives gamers maximum personalization with minimum hassle” said Johnny Hou, Founder and Chief Designer at NZXT. “Your profile settings can be easily configured and then saved onto the onboard memory in case you game on multiple rigs. When gearing up at a LAN party, the last thing gamers should have to worry about is whether or not their mouse is configured correctly. Avatar S eliminates that headache.”

We looked at the Smartfish Whirl Laser Mouse last year and were quite fond of it’s ergonomic design and how great we felt after using it. But what about making that same design on a smaller scale? Say, for portable use with a laptop? So the company sent over their new Whirl Mini, and here’s our first look.

Hit the jump to see the video.

Like the larger Whirl, the Mini is a wireless mouse which connects with a simple USB dongle and markets itself as an ergonomic mouse. The big differentiator between this and the full-size version is that it’s for travel, which should be great for users who live on the road and work out of a laptop, even 30% of the time. Why? Well, keeping your hand on the trackpad can be a pain and a half, and using a wireless mouse is almost always a better idea even when on the road.

While I’ll go over exactly how the Smartfish Whirl Mini performs in our full review, using it off-hand had some immediate issues. It doesn’t always feel stable, and the small size only magnifies that problem. The dongle has a special spot inside the mouse, between the two AAA batteries in an enclosure, but that enclosure isn’t always a snap to open up. I had to break it in, so to speak, to get in and out of it without looking like Zoolander and Hansel getting files. But I’ll have full impressions of the mouse, as stated earlier this paragraph, in the full review.

4 out of 5 stars

When I reviewed the RAT 7, I was impressed. It’s a great mouse, but I always knew that Mad Catz was holding back. The company did so, of course, to make the RAT 9. But the RAT 7 was so good! What else could be done to make an already excellent gaming mouse even better?

As I soon found out, quite a bit.

The RAT 9 is as top-of-the-line and customizable as gaming mice get. On top of the already great specs the RAT 7 has (adjustable size, an excellent 5600 Dpi sensor and great build design), the RAT 9 has three major additions: even more customization options, wireless capability, and a brilliant battery design so the mouse never needs to be tethered to your computer to recharge. For only $50 more than the RAT 7, these three inclusions should make the RAT 9 both the most expensive gaming mouse I’ve ever tested, and the most feature-packed and most sensitive too.

Customization options for the RAT 9 include not just adjusting the size, shape and weight of the mouse, but also the actual materials your hand rests on. Maker Mad Catz includes a tin box with a case of 5 gram weights and two extra palm rests and right wings for the pinkie finger. This selection is great to have, and after using them all, I’m so glad the option is available. Within minutes of use I swapped the default panels for the dimpled palm rest for better grip, and the largest right panel so my pinkie could sit comfortably on the mouse. The worst thing is to have your pinkie either clinging to the mouse or dragging off on your mousepad.

The customizable plastic slabs are great and convenient, certainly a benefit for many users. However, it should be noted that I’ve tested tens of mice that are not adjustable or customizable, and many are well shaped and contoured for all hand sizes and certain hand and grip types. Razer, another gaming mouse manufacturer, actually has a list of grip types and which of their mice works best for each. Having options for a mouse is convenient, but also makes the mouse more accessible to more people. That is to say if 100 people bought the RAT 9 versus another mouse, more people would be comfortable with the RAT 9.

The RAT 9′s underbelly has the power switch right by the sensor

Next is wireless capability. Some gamers intentionally stay away from wireless mice because they have lag time, no matter what manufacturers state or how good the hardware is. While there certainly is some lag, such a fatalistic view is close-minded. I’ve used multiple wireless mice, including the Razer Mamba, Microsoft SideWinder X8 and Logitech G700, and all work just as well for gaming as competing wired mice. Just like these mice, the RAT 9 is so fast that there is no perceptible difference in tracking compared to the closest wired mouse to it, the RAT 7.

However, the wireless technology does have its limitations, something the previously mentioned wireless mice didn’t struggle with. The RAT 9 connects wirelessly to a base unit, which blinks for every mouse movement and button press. That blinking gets annoying, even though the red light is dim. For gaming, I didn’t notice the blinking over my 24” display, but in standard computing it is quite noticeable. More importantly, the RAT 9 has trouble waking up from its sleep mode. Like when you sit cross-legged for too long and your leg falls asleep, it takes up to ten seconds for the RAT 9 sensor to “wake up” and start functioning properly again.

The final, third reason why the RAT 9 is brilliantly designed, and partly why the cost is so high, is the replaceable battery system. The RAT 9 ships with not one, but two batteries which are easily interchangeable. That base is not only a wireless receiver, it also is a recharge station for the second battery. The battery in the RAT 9 sits right in front of the mouse, and uses a hot-swap system effectively. Unfortunately, switching batteries loses its luster when every time you do so it takes up to ten seconds to get the mouse going again.

Battery life is also questionable. With moderate computer use, it can last 2-3 days, and with heavy gaming it can last anywhere from 5-7 hours, and more often than not longer. Yet because of this, it feels like I’m switching batteries constantly, and do so at least once every other day, and daily with a lot of gaming. In theory, it should be better than being forced to tether the mouse for power, but in practice it’s just a different nuisance.

These three additions to the RAT 9 should make it a better mouse than the RAT 9, but in my testing I found one serious difference in the base hardware: the RAT 9 didn’t track as well over certain surfaces, specifically studded materials. On my wooden desk, the sensor tracked flawlessly…as did it over clothes and other flat surfaces. But many mousepads today are made with tiny dimples and etched designs to help with tracking, including some Mad Catz pads I have. They fared no better than other surfaces. That’s not to say the RAT 9 won’t track over a dimpled surface, but for slow, precise movements, it tends to hang. If you play games from the wrist instead of from the elbow (meaning you like to make small, quick movements at higher DPI settings instead of larger, sweeping movements at a lower DPI), this could be a dealbreaker.

The vastness of the RAT 9’s offering is stunning. It really is a gaming mouse made to accommodate everyone. In my opinion, it succeeds in doing so, but some of the faults really set the RAT 9 back. Hanging on studded surfaces for slow movements is a serious issue. Constantly changing the battery is an inconvenience users may remember years down the road more than the actual mouse itself. But for now, you can game precisely and enjoyably, and of course comfortably.

The Mad Catz RAT 9 is available at Amazon (via a retailer) for about $150.

Here’s the dilemma: you’re at home watching TV on your HTPC when  you go to use your mouse and discover that the coffee table is littered with 10 day old pizza boxes.  Enter the Logitech Couch Mouse M515.

It’s not the first mouse to work on just about any surface – their Darkfield tech already does that – but this one is geared at the couch dweller as it sports a completely sealed bottom to prevent lint (think blankets) and other debris from building up, which is further complimented by its easy glide base.  And since Logitech already has the couch potato in mind they’ve made sure that the 515 has a stellar battery life, up to 2-years to be exact, thanks to the hand detection technology that turns the mouse off when no human touch is present.  So you’ll never need to get up to change the batteries, though bathroom trips and food will still be necessary.

There is no mention of a release date, but according to the US press release it will sell for $49.99.

Logitech® Couch Mouse M515
Designed for better browsing on your couch, bed, or carpet

Announcement Date: January 21, 2011
Shipping: January 2011
Price: $49.99

Available at: www.logitech.com

Product Overview
Logitech® Couch Mouse M515 is the mouse that’s made for surfing the Internet on your couch, bed or carpet. Its sealed bottom won’t collect fabric fuzz in the sensor opening, and its easy-gliding base means your mouse tracks smoothly on blankets, cushions or carpets. With up to two years of battery life and the tiny Logitech Unifying receiver, your mouse is always ready when you are.

Key Features
Hand Detection: Your mouse is active only when you’re gripping it. So your cursor moves only when you want it to. And it stays asleep when you’re not using it.
Keep On Tracking: The bottom of the mouse is sealed, so fabric fuzz won’t collect in the sensor opening, which improves cursor control regardless of what surface you’re using your mouse on.
Effortless Hyper-Fast Scrolling: So you can coast smoothly through the longest blogs, Twitter™ updates and Facebook® feeds. Switch to click-to-click mode to step through photo albums, e-mails or friends lists.
Easy-gliding Base: The easy-gliding base lets you work and play where you feel comfortable. Your mouse tracks smoothly on blankets, cushions or carpets.
Ready When You Are: Up to two years of battery life helps you save time, money, and the planet by eliminating the need to change batteries frequently.
Plug and Forget: The tiny Logitech Unifying receiver stays in your laptop—so it’s less likely to be lost—and gives you a reliable connection with virtually no delays or dropouts. Plus, you can easily add compatible wireless devices to the same receiver.

The Microsoft Touch Mouse is not particularly special upon first glance. It has only the two main buttons – no scroll wheel, no middle mouse button, no thumb buttons. It is ambidextrous, but without anything on the sides, that hardly matters. It also only has a DPI range of 1000. But if you look closely at the top (below picture), you’ll see a series of X’s and dots that outlay the special feature of the Touch Mouse: a touch-sensitive region.

This area, which covers 60% of the mouse from the top, uses capacitive touch technology to register multitouch gestures. Best known currently on smartphones, capacitive touchscreens have typically been glass, but the technology doesn’t need a glass surface. Microsoft opted against a glass surface because, as anyone with a touchscreen phone has learned the hard way, the glass becomes abrasive with excess heat, and having a mouse becoming uncomfortable like this was out of the question.

There are about nine current functions of the touch features on this mouse, including taking the place of thumb buttons and the scroll wheel. And like some current trackpads, momentum scrolling (scrolling up or down hard, causing the page to continue scrolling after letting go) is also available, something I like very much after Logitech introduced frictionless scroll wheels. The thumb buttons are replaced with a swipe up or down with the thumb on the mouse’s side. To my knowledge, there is currently no middle mouse button, but I’ll update with a confirmation.

Other touch functions are specific to Windows 7. Two fingers controls specific windows. For example, a highlighted window can be maximized, minimized, or put to the right or left of the screen by swiping two fingers up, down, right or left, respectively. Three finger gestures control the entire desktop, so three fingers sliding up shows all open windows while three fingers sliding down cleans the desktop.

I tried out the Touch Mouse and it works flawlessly, albeit some of the Windows limitations may end up being frustrating and feeling outdated. In just seconds I was able to use all of the nine functions. It’s remarkably intuitive and simple, and the feel of the mouse is such that sliding one or more fingers up and down the capacitive surface is not bothersome in the slightest. I could easily see myself replacing my current mouse for this…of course, if I stuck with any one mouse.

The now-standard pinch-zoom function doesn’t work, as is true with most other touch gestures we’ve come to associate with cellphones and larger gesture-based devices. There’s nothing wrong with that though, because the mouse is a very different type of product. Zooming in and out is still based on holding down CTRL and scrolling, and I’m fine with that.

It’s also worth noting that because the Touch Mouse is made specifically for Windows 7 functions, it won’t work with Windows XP or Windows Vista. I guess that means I’ll have to upgrade my Vista desktop soon.

What I don’t particularly like is how the gestures only apply to highlighted windows. This is, of course, how Windows OS functions, though the growth in web-based applications and the importance and high-volume usage of web browsers has changed that. Many of us like being able to scroll through a page just by hovering the mouse over it and scrolling, without clicking on it. Ultimately, I believe the question of mouse hovering versus clicking is a matter of preference, though I prefer the former. Microsoft, the latter.

Still, the technology is fascinating, and I can’t wait to play around with it more. Even better, I can’t wait to see what the development community does with it once the mouse releases this May. Like Kinect, I have no doubt that we’ll see some incredible – and even more noteworthy, free – applications with a gesture-based mouse like the Touch Mouse. It should be great fun.

GadgetReview has teamed up with Smartfish to give away one of their Whirl Desktop Laser Mouse with Ergomotion.  The Smartfish ErgoMotionMouse features a patented motion-base that allows the mouse to move with your natural hand and wrist positions. This unique symmetrical design conforms to both right- and left-handed users.

We’re giving away one of these. To enter just LIKE our Facebook Fan Page and leave the following wall comment “Smartfish Is The Dish”.  If you’d like a double entry, follow us on Twitter and tweet “@gadgetreview @GetSmartfish #gadgetcontest”.  We’ll choose one winner at random.

Checkout our Smartfish Whirl Desktop mouse review.

This contest ends 12/23/2010

It’s open to US residents in the continental US of A only.

We’ll notify winners on our Facebook Page shortly after the contest has ended

This rebate ends 1/30/11

4 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Very solid, holds up well in punishing conditions
• Good feel, high laser sensitivity
• Rear hinge great for travel and comfort

Cons:

• May be too big for some users
• No Bluetooth; requires included dongle

Mobile mice are usually crap. They aren’t built well, they don’t feel good, and they just generally suck. That’s begun to change recently, as manufacturers seem to be figuring out that they hate their own products (which is the surest sign that change is incoming). Ironically, one of the better choices comes from a company just stepping into the mobile computing space, Mad Catz.

Considering companies have failed at making good mobile mice for years, Mad Catz’ first attempt is surprisingly good. The Eclipse Mobile Mouse has a sturdy build thanks to a metal frame and sits at either an incline or flat on a surface thanks to an adjustable back hinge. It takes just one AAA battery and uses a 2.4GHz wireless signal through a USB dongle, which can be stored inside the mouse.

The Eclipse Mobile flat, hinge down…

…and hinge up, at a slight angle

The mouse itself is nondescript. The glossy black top gets ugly with fingerprints, but you won’t be looking at that anyways. Two thumb buttons sit at good distance on the right side (no lefty thumb buttons, this is a right-handed mouse only), and the left and right click buttons have good firmness – they press a little too easily, but not so much that it’s a problem.

Instead of a scroll wheel is a trackball which scrolls in all directions, which I’ve found mostly useless for mobile computing. Sure, it makes sense because the smaller screen will likely require more side-scrolling, but even today’s smallest netbooks are widescreen and running multiple apps on the same screen is very easy. Side-scrolling is not that important, though the option is nice. The downside is no middle-mouse button, so scrolling down long pages is a pain with the Eclipse Mobile.

The Eclipse Mobile is also a 1600 DPi mouse, which is surprisingly high for a mobile mouse that isn’t made for gaming. 1600 is high for most notebooks under 13”, and DPi settings can be changed with the included software. Funnily enough, Madcatz includes a mini-CD with every mouse, even though so many laptops these days lack disc drives. Drivers can also be downloaded from the Eclipse website.

What I most like about the Eclipse Mobile is the back hinge, which can keep the mouse flat on a table or at a slight angle. I keep it elevated because I find it more comfortable that way, then flatten the hinge for transport so it doesn’t take too much space. The included protective pouch keeps the Eclipse from getting banged up in a bag, and after a few weeks of being handled with no care while in my computer bag, it shows no signs of wear or damage.

My only complaint with the Eclipse is a personal one. I’ve found that with some wireless mice, my hand(s) hurts after extensive use (compared to other wireless, and most wired mice). I have the same problem with many cellphones, and no, it’s not an early sign of arthritis, because it occurs only with certain wireless devices. In any case, the Eclipse Mobile is one of them. That does not mean the same thing will happen with you should you use it.

The Mad Catz Eclipse Mobile Mouse is a good buy at $60. It’s sturdy, it’s fast, and it’s comfortable. Smaller hands may not be comfortable with the large size, but it’s a very good mouse to take on the go.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Symmetric shape makes it comfortable for both left and right-handed users
• Anti-gravity comfort pivot places less stress on your wrist
• Supports both Windows and Mac OS X
• Built-in container to hold the USB transmitter

Cons:

• Pivot raises height of mouse, making it awkward to transport

Every desktop computer requires a mouse. Although companies such as Microsoft and Logitech offer ergonomic mouse designs that curve to the fit comfortably within the contour of your hand, there’s still the problem of your wrist. Depending on the physical position of your desk in relation to your arm, your wrist may need to bend a certain way to hold and use any mouse. The unchanging shape of a mouse means that you need to hold your wrist at a fixed angle.

Since holding your wrist at such a fixed angle for extended periods of time can be uncomfortable at best or dangerous at worse (think Carpel Tunnel Syndrome), SmartFish Technologies offers their Whirl Laser Mouse. This wireless mouse looks and behaves like any other wireless mouse except for its unusual anti-gravity comfort pivot, which makes the mouse appear as if it’s floating in the air.

This anti-gravity comfort pivot represents the actual base of the mouse that slides on a flat surface and tracks the movement of the mouse. However, this pivot also lets the top portion of the mouse rotate to adjust to your hand and arm position. Move your arm and wrist and the mouse smoothly adapts to your motion, providing maximum comfort to your wrist no matter what position or angle you hold the mouse.

Unlike other ergonomic mouse designs, the Whirl Laser Mouse is symmetrically shaped, which makes it comfortable for both left and right-handed users, unlike other mouse designs primarily designed for right-handed users.

Initially, the Whirl mouse may feel awkward with the mouse raised above the surface of your desk, but it’s easy to adapt to it and the gentle rocking motion of the mouse soon becomes familiar and comfortable. Switching back to a traditional mouse will suddenly feel awkward when you realize how much an ordinary mouse places stress on your wrist due to its fixed and unchanging shape.

Like a regular mouse, the Whirl Laser Mouse includes a left and right button along with a middle scroll wheel. The mouse requires two AA batteries (included) along with a wireless transmitter that you must plug into the USB port of any Windows or Mac OS X computer.

If you won’t be using your Whirl Laser Mouse for an extended period of time, you can flip it over and use its on/off switch to conserve battery power. If you plan to take your Whirl Laser Mouse with you, you can tuck its USB transmitter into a recessed spot that will securely hold it in place.

While this built-in storage container for the USB transmitter makes it easy to move the mouse, the pivot makes this mouse unusually tall, which means it can be more cumbersome to tuck away in any laptop carrying case compared to a regular mouse.

If you want a comfortable, wireless mouse that works equally well with either Windows or Mac OS X, then you’ll be pleased with the Whirl Laser Mouse. Its unique anti-gravity comfort pivot really does work and provides a measure of comfort not found in any other ergonomic mouse. Just be aware that the bulk of the mouse makes it a bit awkward for constant travel, but it still may be the best mouse you can use for any computer.

Amazon has it for $49.99.

This rebate ends 11/30

The price is $29.99 – $19.49 coupon (USPC10N49360) + no ship = $10.50!

Don’t forget the coupon: USPC10N49360 (expires: soon)

It’s $34.99 – $22.74 coupon (USPC10N36574) + no ship = $12.25!

Don’t forget the coupon: USPC10N36574 (expires: soon)