The worst thing about the wireless mouse has got to be that damn dongle—this tiny little nub hogs up one of the few USB ports on my PC. What happens if you lose that nubbin or accidentally leave it in another laptop, though? I’ll tell you the answer: You’re hosed. So when Greta first told me about the Wi-Fi Mobile Mouse we had in development, my exact words to her were: “Get me one. Now!” And so she has. I’ve been playing with one of these $50 mice for a couple days and wanted to share my little test drive with you. And tell you how you can punk your friends with this new mouse – like I did.
The first thing you should know before shelling out the cash is that this mouse is made to work with Windows 7 computers that have integrated WiFi capabilities (like, say, a laptop that’s come out in the past couple years). So if you have an older OS, wait. But feel free to keep reading.
It works fine, no complaints. Beyond the left-right and mouse wheel controls (the smooth-scrolling wheel also tilts left and right so that you can shift within windows), you get two side-mounted navigation buttons. By default, they allow navigating backwards and forwards in a Web browser, but you can customize those buttons to do other tasks. My fave: “Undo.”
Mouse ergonomics is always tricky to go on because, quite frankly, my hand is different from yours. (That’s a good thing). I have giant goon hands with sausage stumps where fingers should be. All that said, this tiny travel-ready mouse actually felt pretty good in my mitts. Part of the reason could be the rubberized grip on the lower half of the mouse. And good news for southpaws: It is designed so that it feels the same whether you’re grabbing it with your left or right hand.
OK, so the Wi-Fi Mobile Mouse looks and feels good, easily connects to laptops and I should also mention that works up to 30 feet away. That got me thinking: “I haven’t really messed with my friends in a while.”
At lunch with a buddy, I installed the drivers on his laptop while he was away for a few minutes waiting for his next coffee. He came back and I was already set up – with the mouse hidden in my lap. (Prank ProTip: Make sure that you hide the mouse suite software from the tray tools). I asked him to show me something on his new computer. I then proceeded to hijack control of his screen. I made him squirm for a few minutes, wondering if there was something wrong with the track pad on his new laptop…even suggested that he go to the company Website and redownload drivers. Honestly, this was a lot funnier in person – if you’re a nerd like me. I tried to get someone in the coffee shop to film it, but it didn’t quite work out. (Ashton Kutcher makes it looks so easy).
Oh, and I should also mention that this mouse is said to last around nine months on two AA batteries. I didn’t have the heart to prank my buddy for that long.
As I said up top, the Wi-Fi Mobile Mouse will sell for $50, launching in June. Do you have any specific questions about the mouse? Thoughts? Ideas for other pranks I should pull? Let’s hear ‘em in the comments!
