The mouse, base station and USB charger cable
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Most serious gamers these days have an optical mouse of some sort. And, more recently, cordless optical mice have been released. But, at AU$160 (from Aus PC Market), the Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer is way out of the reach of most people on a budget. So today, we look at one of the cheaper solutions for wireless optical gaming: The A4 Tech Wireless Optical 3DMouse.
This mouse is not only much cheaper than the Microsoft version ($100 from Aus PC Market), but it also has some great features that help it stick out of the crowd.
Some may have already noticed the mention of a charger cable. Yes, this mouse includes a USB cable to charge the batteries in your mouse! The mouse includes 2xAAA rechargable NiMH batteries that A4 Tech claim will charge in 2 and a half hours, and last up to 10 days. Not only that - people without a USB port are in no way left in the dark. Even though the USB cable is the only charger included, recent model Nokia phone chargers can be used! And that also means when the USB cable is not being used to charge the mouse, you can plug your Nokia phone into the charger cable! I find this feature is a brilliant idea.
The mouse also features a LED in the side that blinks while the batteries are charging, and also blinks quickly when the batteries are low, so you can tell when the charger needs plugging in.
While on the topic of batteries - although it consumes 65mA when active, it will power itself down to save battery power if it isn't used for more than 2 minutes. As this powers down the LED used to track changes in the movement, a mouse click is required to wake the mouse back up again.
The base station is quite reliable, and can still pick up a signal from the other side of my bedroom (around 4 or 5 metres away) when the distance claimed in the manual is 1 metre. Seems A4 Tech were being very conservative when writing the manual. They also claim the receiver should be placed 20cm away from your computer or monitor, but I found this wasn't a problem at all. Unfourtunately, the only gripe I had with the base station was the fact that it only featured a PS/2 connection - though this shouldn't be a problem for most users, it would have been nice to see a USB connection here. The base station also features a green LED that lights up when the mouse is moved.
The mouse is not only stylish, but very comfortable to use as well. Oddly enough, it has a similar feel to my Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical.
A4 Tech seems to have been a little sneaky in their choice of design here. The design resembles the higher models of IntelliMouse Explorer/Optical more than my Wheel Mouse Optical, but I didn't have any of the Explorer/Optical mice on hand to compare. But I'm not complaining here - the Wireless Optical 3DMouse fits nicely in the hand and glides smoothly across my mousepad (which is a leftover piece from when floorboards were installed in our house - it works brilliantly on optical mice). The mouse fits both left and right handed users. It will also track on most surfaces like the Microsoft and Logitech optical mice. The cordless feature is a big plus for gamers - no more tangled cords to trip you up during that crucial match of [insert-favourite-LAN-game-here] :)
