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Kensington POCKETMOUSE MINI WIRELESS ( 72214 )

Kensington POCKETMOUSE MINI WIRELESS ( 72214 )

List Price:
Your Price: $37.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't buy it even if it is for free
Review: I was so excited when I first saw the mouse. Because it was wireless optical and size I liked it. Its performance sucks. I used for 1 week and the range is not event 2 feet.... I first thought the piece is defective. I went to compusa and they gave me a brand new piece. Then I decided to test the new piece in their stores only. The notebook had USB slot (same as mine) on left side and the mouse works when I kept it on left side of laptop. When I kept it on right... IT DOESN'T Work... What the use then !!! I returned it immediately.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Easy to use, once you get past the difficulties
Review: The good news is that this small, cordless mouse will definitely work out a lot better than the full-size, corded mouse I had been using with my Mac PowerBook. (Whenever possible, I prefer to use my PowerBook as a kind of pseudo-desktop computer by connecting an external keyboard and mouse.) The small size of both the mouse and the receiver will make them much easier to pack up and take along with the PowerBook when it's time to go away on vacation, and the absence of a cord is already making life a lot easier in my somewhat cramped work environment. And now that I've figured out all its quirks and gotten past all its roadblocks, this mouse is very easy to control.

The bad news is all those quirks and roadblocks.

Most of them, I can help you avoid, but there's one I can only warn you about and tell you to persevere. The first thing you gotta do is insert two AAA batteries into the mouse. The batteries are supplied -- and in my case at least, they were Energizers -- but the battery cover is very difficult to get off. All I can tell you is -- keep pressing down and forward, like the instructions say, and eventually you'll get it. You just might sweat off several pounds first.

The next issue could have been avoided if the instructions had simply told me what NOT to do. (I subsequently emailed Kensington and WAS told NOT to do it.) To connect the cordless mouse, you plug a tiny receiver into the USB port in lieu of a cord. But you MUST use a port on the computer itself. You CANNOT plug the receiver into a USB hub. If you try to, the receiver's pilot light will light up, but you won't be able to establish a link with the mouse.

(I'm not sure whether it would have worked if I'd plugged the receiver into the external keyboard that was connected directly to my PowerBook. The shape of the keyboard and the receiver made this connection physically impossible. In order to continue using the external keyboard without sacrificing the hub, I had to plug the hub into the port where the keyboard had been, then plug the keyboard into the hub. Fortunately, the keyboard DID work in conjunction with the hub.)

With the receiver properly connected, establishing the link involves simply pressing a button on the receiver, then pressing the "connect" button on the mouse. When you press the receiver button, the pilot light starts to blink. When you establish the link, the pilot light glows steadily, but flickers each time you move the mouse. The linking procedure is simple enough, except that the `connect" button is recessed into the bottom of the mouse, and thus needs a pen or some similar object to press it.

After doing all this, I still thought the mouse wasn't working properly, but to be fair, this issue WAS covered in the instructions. This optical mouse is picky about the surfaces you use it on. It turns out that the worst surface to use is a black, reflective one -- which exactly describes my computer table. After putting the mouse on a sheet of white paper, everything was fine. I have to say, though, that this was NOT an issue with the optical mouse I'd been using -- which is probably why I glossed over that part of the instructions.

Well, now I'm "cooking with gas," as my third-grade teacher used to say, but there are still two quirks I occasionally have to deal with. The first one concerns the ability to turn the mouse off to conserve the batteries, which you do by pressing the scroll wheel, then pressing the connect button while holding the scroll wheel down. The same procedure turns the mouse back on. Most of the time, this works fine, except for the need to use a pen as described earlier. But occasionally, when I turn the mouse back on, the link is broken. This problem is solved by repeating the procedure used to establish the connection initially.

The second quirk would be a problem if I didn't have a cat and a three-year-old daughter. But sometimes, one or the other of them pressed some unknown combination of keys that causes the PowerBook to refuse to respond to the mouse. This problem is solved by unplugging and reconnecting the receiver.

So if you can avoid most of the problems I ran into, you should be up and running with this mouse in no time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Works as good as it looks. Nifty little gizmo.
Review: What's in the box:
Wireless mouse (3.4"L X 2.7"W X 1.3"H)
Wireless non-swivel receiver (2.7"L X 0.7"W X 0.6"H)
Small travel bag
(2) AA batteries
Owner's manual

I use the Kensington Mini Wireless PocketMouse 72214 with my Compaq notebook using WinXP, and so far it's worked exactly as advertised. The mouse is about 1.5 times the size of a large hen's egg, but works just as well as my other full-sized Microsoft wireless mouse. Although it's tiny, it isn't difficult to operate. The two finger buttons and scroll wheel are not too cramped and don't cause me any functional problems. The response of the cursor is very accurate with good tracking of the mouse movement. The wireless receiver attaches to any USB port and is strong enough to provide a good steady signal to my mouse. (For me, the separation distance is about 22 inches). I am right handed and the Compaq USB port is on the right side rear, so I may be receiving a shorter and stronger signal than other folks that have a USB port opposite their mouse hand.

My only gripe was during the initial installation of the mouse batteries. To remove the battery cover required more force than I was comfortable with applying. I was afraid I was going to crack the cover. However, the cover finally flung off the base and I was able to insert the batteries without any damage done. I guess the good news is that I shouldn't have to worry about the tight cover slipping off while in use. BTW, both batteries are included.

Another nice feature about this mouse is the automatic standby mode for when the mouse hasn't been used for a couple minutes. This feature saves the batteries from depleting too quickly and will save a few dollars on future battery expenses. Overall, I'm very happy with this product.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Works as good as it looks. Nifty little gizmo.
Review: What's in the box:
Wireless mouse (3.4"L X 2.7"W X 1.3"H)
Wireless non-swivel receiver (2.7"L X 0.7"W X 0.6"H)
Small travel bag
(2) AA batteries
Owner's manual

I use the Kensington Mini Wireless PocketMouse 72214 with my Compaq notebook using WinXP, and so far it's worked exactly as advertised. The mouse is about 1.5 times the size of a large hen's egg, but works just as well as my other full-sized Microsoft wireless mouse. Although it's tiny, it isn't difficult to operate. The two finger buttons and scroll wheel are not too cramped and don't cause me any functional problems. The response of the cursor is very accurate with good tracking of the mouse movement. The wireless receiver attaches to any USB port and is strong enough to provide a good steady signal to my mouse. (For me, the separation distance is about 22 inches). I am right handed and the Compaq USB port is on the right side rear, so I may be receiving a shorter and stronger signal than other folks that have a USB port opposite their mouse hand.

My only gripe was during the initial installation of the mouse batteries. To remove the battery cover required more force than I was comfortable with applying. I was afraid I was going to crack the cover. However, the cover finally flung off the base and I was able to insert the batteries without any damage done. I guess the good news is that I shouldn't have to worry about the tight cover slipping off while in use. BTW, both batteries are included.

Another nice feature about this mouse is the automatic standby mode for when the mouse hasn't been used for a couple minutes. This feature saves the batteries from depleting too quickly and will save a few dollars on future battery expenses. Overall, I'm very happy with this product.


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