Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Product! Highly Recommended!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: When I first purchased the regular IntelliMouse Explorer I was impressed how comfortable it fit in my hand and how accurate the laser was. When I saw Microsoft released one that was wireless I had to purchase it since I liked the one with the wire so much. The mouse is really amazing how accuate it is. It can be used from as far as 6 ft away from the receiver and it doesn't need to be directly in front of it. I even tried using it on my chest and still worked!

---(. . .) I also had this problem with the RF noise right after I started using it. It made this loud squeely noise whenever I moved it. It went away about 2 days later. Then about 2 weeks later it said my batteries were running low so I changed them. It made the noise again but went away in 5 minutes.

When I first experienced the noise problem I considered sending the mouse back. Then I figured its so much easier being able to have my arm in any position without having the wire so I decided to keep it. I'm so glad I made that decision because now the noise is gone!

This is IMHO one of Microsoft's products yet! I just wished the batteries lasted longer.

Rating:
Summary: Promising Technology, but...
Review: I love the look/precision feel of the Wireless Intellimouse Explorer, but am returning mine today, even though I'm not totally happy with this decision.

As with many others, I've experienced a very annoying quirk, caused by the power saving features that Microsoft built into the product: when resting your hand on the mouse, with no activity for 10 seconds or so, the next time you attempt to move the pointer there will be a brief lag before the mouse begins to respond. I'm finding this somewhat frustrating when working with a wave file editing program.

Worse still, a problem has surfaced for which I cannot find the answer--and this is the main reason it's being returned. Sporadically, when using Windows XP, the mouse buttons will stop responding completely for 15-20 seconds. Movement of the cursor is still possible, but attempting to left-click upon objects produces no action.

Microsoft's knowledge base acknowledges the issue, but blames it on leftover installation files/registry entries from a prior mouse installation--they do provide a lengthy procedure for correcting the condition. Unfortunately, that can't be the root of the problem in this case. Several days ago, when nothing else would work, I reloaded Windows XP from scratch. It readily recognized/installed basic software drivers for the Wireless Intellimouse, so it was up and running immediately. Sadly, the condition still remains, and is so sporadic that I haven't a clue as to the cause.

This a sad return for me--I like the product overall. Freedom from a cord is welcome, and the mouse has a hefty, precision feel that I find pleasing.

Microsoft, I'm not writing this technology off completely, and will be waiting anxiously for a second generation product. If and when it arrives, I'll quickly line up to purchase one. For now, I'll go back to my corded Intellimouse Explorer.

Rating:
Summary: JUNK
Review: DO NOT PURCHASE THIS MOUSE!!! Besides requiring new batteries in less then a month it stopped working in just over a month. Just out of the return Amazon's period!!!

Rating:
Summary: Microsoft has another home run with this top-notch mouse
Review: First of all, I purchased the Microsoft Intelimouse Explorer over a year ago, and immedietly fell in love with the mouse. So, when I read that Microsoft had relased a wireless version of this mouse, I had to have it.

This is a right handed person's mouse. No doubt there. However, assuming you're right handed, this mouse fits the hand perfectly. Unlike other mouses, its designed to fit the grooves and nitches of a hand perfectly. It takes a bit of getting used to, but its well worth it. Once you try it, its difficult to go back. Installation, etc. is all quick and easy, with this being a USB mouse.

As to the noise others have mentioned: yes, it exsists when you first get it. Its terribly annoying, and I got quite fed up with it. It just kept whining, and when you move it fast it gets louder. However, the numerous other reviewers who stated that the noise goes away are CORRECT. There's nothing you can do for a day or so, but the noise goes away completley. You can barely hear it if you stick the mouse up to your ear. You're selling yourself short if you don't give this mouse two or three days for the noise to go away.

Couple other things: The mouse does lag a bit. Its kinda slow to begin with, but the mouse control panel allows you to adjust it, and with a bit of tweaking its back to normal. Mousepads don't work well for it, since its an optical laser mouse, just stick it on the table or whatever you have your computer on. Plus, If found that the range is a bit farther than Microsoft states, another plus in my opinion.

Hands down this is a great mouse. Give it time, and you'll never imagine computing without it.

Rating:
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU LEAVE YOUR COMPUTER ON ALL THE TIME!
Review: It seemed like a fairly nice idea. Wireless. No tethers. Optical precision. Sounds cool. And I figured that even though it was wireless, the batteries would last about as long as other wireless peripherals (like a wireless keyboard) that I have.

Of course in retrospect I should have realized that even if stowed in a dark desk drawer, the mouse would be constantly chattering to its base station.

In short, battery usage is MUCH too high for users who have their PCs on 24-hours a day. On brand new high quality alkalines, I get 4-6 days before the batteries are drained. With rechargeables, I get about 10 hours.

Suspecting at first that I might simply have a defective unit, I got a replacement unit. Same problem. Identical statistics.

As for precision... the mouse is decent, if a bit sluggish. It goes into sleep mode occasionally (though apparently not reliably enough to conserve the batteries!) and thus you get occasional jerks in motion when it doesn't respond for a few seconds while waking up.

The ergonomics feel quite comfortable to my hand. Scroll wheel motion is smooth. I like the extra 2 side buttons, especially for browsing.

All in all, I suspect that the wired version of this mouse is quite good. Most of the problems I've encountered can be attributed, directly or indirectly, to the wireless functionality (i.e. jerky motion, sluggishness, inconvenience of frequent battery replacement).

But the problems of wirelessness seriously detract from the usefulness of this mouse. I strongly disrecommend its use for those with always-on PCs. And even for those not in that category, I would recommend you try your best not to be lured in by the "wireless" gadgetry. Remember that you still have a "wire" plugging into the machine for the base station, so this isn't a space saver. Unless you absolutely, positively HAVE TO have the wireless feature (for instance if you're sitting 50 feet away from the computer and using the mouse on your lap), then do yourself a BIG favor and avoid wireless mice. It isn't just the Microsoft wireless mice that suffer from these problems. I've tried 'em all and none are much better.

Rating:
Summary: THIS MOUSE IS GREAT!
Review: Hey everyone, today I received my new Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer. So far, it has been amazing. You can set so many features in the software like, Click Lock, which enables you to highlight or drag without holding the button. This so far is a cute little feature that believe it or not, comes in handy, but at times gets a little annoying. Also, you can customize the 5 different buttons, and if you want, you can enable program-specific button settings, which changes the button settings for each program that you customize it for. And, for people like my sister, who are computer illiterate, works well for those people as well. She, a person who doesn't even read the instructions for absolutely anything, opened the box, pluged it into the USB port, put batteries in, and it worked. She didn't even install the software. For her, she only has the default settings for the buttons, but it, according to her works super for her needs. The mouse also feels very comfortable when held. My hand practically molded into it. The issue about a delay when idle. Yes, it does pause, but only for about a half of a second. Once awakened, the mouse operates like a corded mouse. But if you don't let it idle, the mouse is completely accurate, has no pause at all. And lastly, my friend told me not to get wireless because they are heavy and bulky. Not the case for this mouse. It is lighter than my regular, actually, old soon to be dusty mouse. To conclude, if you are a person that wants a great product, and doesn't mind spending the extra cost, this mouse is perfect for you. The mouse is something that stays with you even after you purchase another computer.

Rating:
Summary: High pitch explained.
Review: Regarding the high pitch experienced by most reviewers, it is only experienced when you first put in new batteries. After a couple days of use, the noise goes away COMPLETELY. So, hold of on returning it or writing yet another review. READ this one first. One note--it goes away even quicker when using cheaper, less powerful batteries (non-alkaline, etc). In my experience, the high-pitch went away in two days with the Energizer batteries (included), and within hours with standard carbon-zinc batteries. It IS off-putting when you first plug it in, and shame on Microsoft for not catching this in pre-release.
In regards to other comments, yes, batteries run down when powering high precision optics...go figure. If you didn't figure this out prior to purchasing it, you need help. Batteries last me three weeks of hard core use on a multiple-user home PC. If you use it all day at work, maybe 2-3 weeks would be normal. But hey, its wireless and you get to make that tradeoff. Microsoft manufactures an absolutely fabulous line of optical mice (and great keyboards for that matter), with great drivers to boot (IntelliPoint 4.0 adds roller acceleration-a free upgrade for current IntelliMouse users, FYI). So, you can decide what's best for you. The Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer is right on par with the other optical mice from Microsoft. It is ergonomic, smooth, accurate, etc. Of course, due to the wireless receiver, this is definitely suited for permanent locations, and not something you'd want to haul around for a laptop. Wait until Bluetooth-enabled mice for that.

Rating:
Summary: Many Versions
Review: I bought one of the first, and it was horrible. Tracked terribly, and batteries always died. Microsoft gave me a new one under warrenty, and it's MUCH better--tracks wonderfully, and the battery life is better, about 2-3 weeks on rechargables. I keep 6 AA guys for my keyboard set, 2 in the keyboard rarely die, and 4 for the mouse. Not much of a hassle, just swap, and recharge. Prob would drop the rating down to a 3 if I kept having to buy new AA's though...

Rating:
Summary: It's the batteries stupid
Review: Well, what can I say. For the price you pay you would expect this thing to at least function as good as a standard mouse. It doesn't. The tracking is terribly frustrating. It's sluggish and imprecise. Hard to explain. Kinda like trying to push around a bug with your fingers. It will sorta go where you want but sorta has a mind of it's own as well and will wander around. Not a good thing!

That's not the worst part though. The batteries only lasted a week! ONE WEEK! Brand new super heavy duty batteries! I am on my computer A LOT but ONE WEEK? Give me a break.

Microsoft spent a bunch on marketing and industrial design but obviously never spent anything on engineering a proper product. I guess they figured they will just build it and we will come. Well I'm gone!

And I know there is a problem with the battery life because their newer version specifically advertises "longer battery life". That's marketing for you. Take one company with WAAAAY too much money in the bank and marketing employees sitting around looking for something to do, put out a product that does not work, then put out a revised product and capitalize on the previous products shortfalls. They are so rich they can afford to dump junk out into the marketplace and just hope they get it right once in awhile! That's capitalism for you.

Rating:
Summary: Comfortable to use, but horrible movement
Review: Well, this mouse is supposed to have everything that I need, wireless, optical, comfortable shape. With a very good experience of the earlier microsoft optical mouse, I was really looking forward to this one.

But, that's as far as you can get. It IS very comfortable on the hand, and the extra buttons sure is a big plus. But the tracking of the mouse movement sucks!!! I had to move back to my old Dell mouse because I just cannot stand it. It is always 10 pixel away from where I think it should be and I have to adjust it. And when you move the mouse in a small distance (which is what I have to do when it doesn't move right at the first time), it just becomes sluggish and unpredicatable (meaning that it has a mind of its own regarding if it will move this time). Being a programmer and a big first-person-shooter gamer, this mouse is just a waste of my time and my money.

But the other wired optical mouse with extra buttons on each side is a definitely getter.