Customer Reviews

BT500 Bluetooth Mouse

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This mouse had everything I thought I wanted in a bluetooth mouse when I bought it back in April of 2004. I was using the Kensington Pocketmouse SE (72118) http://www.kensington.com/html/1867.html ..and while I really liked the mouse, I wanted to try Bluetooth. (Purchased the Kensington in October 2003.)

The Bluetake performed excellently, but after almost a year of use, watching other Bluetooth mouse reviews, and checking new products coming out, I think I'm ready for a new Bluetooth mouse. Here's why I wasn't completely thrilled with the BT500:

1. Battery life. It takes two AAAs, which last about a week. I used the mouse for about 8 hours a day, only at work. I have two sets of recharbles so I wasn't buying batteries all the time, but it sure got to be annoying. You'll also see in other reviews that the plastic cover that pops off to replace the batteries feels a little flimsy. I store the mouse in a little pouch; but about every third time I go to retrieve the mouse from my laptop bag, the cover has come off. Someone less careful could very easily crush or mangle that cover accidentally.

2. No drivers. My Kensington mouse with the Mouseworks drivers spoiled me rotten. I'd programmed that little mouse for "chording" -- clicking the left and right buttons simultaneously to perform a keystroke (like the command to close a window, for example) and the scrollwheel click changed the scrolling direction. That was cool. With the Bluetake mouse? What you see is what you get -- you can program the scroll wheel button to an exposé function, but that's it.

3. Size. It might actually be too small. I liked how the Kensington mouse was wider in the middle so I could grip it well at the sides and guide it around. The Bluetake mouse curves inward at that exact same spot, so I had to hold it a totally different way. My hand would feel cramped after a few hours.

4. Something better looks to have finally made it to the market. Kensington has combined the best of both worlds in the Pilotmouse Mini Bluetooth (72414). http://www.kensington.com/html/6367.html I don't have this mouse yet, but I want it bad. It's about the same size as the Bluetake mouse and the other Kensington, but it has straight sides instead of curves, so it looks to be more ergonomic than the Bluetake. It takes AA batteries, so I'm expecting this mouse to last about as long as the Apple Bluetooth mouse batteries do -- about a month. It's got a power switch, which a lot of Bluetooth mice don't have, and best of all, I'll be able to use the MouseWorks software again.

In summary, get the Bluetake mouse if you have small hands and want something simple with no customization. If you're picky, keep an eye on that new Kensington Pilotmouse Mini Bluetooth. I think it's going to be a hot seller for Powerbook users.

I've used 3 or 4 different Bluetooth mice, but this one beats them all. Fits in the palm of your hand, quick one button pairing, connects every time! The best feature is the On/Off button, at the very least doubles the battery life. Great for Bluetooth enabled laptops. If your laptop is not bluetooth enabled, Bluetake also sells the usb adapter for this device.

Great design and functionality!

This mouse is nice but the battery life suck big time. I had one for Christmas and in the space of a month got through three sets of batteries! Does not have a nice battery low or monitor feature that the Mac keyboard has (batteries last 6 months, with out switching off!!) I tried switching off the mouse between use but did not make much difference.

THey should have built it with a USB doc and Li-ion battery pack, like an iPod!

I'm really happy with this mouse. I travel all the time and use this mouse constantly. I just throw it in my bag-no special care needed. My bag gets shoved in airplanes and under seats and although occasionally the cover and batteries come out, the mouse still is as good as new in function. It's been over a year now, and I still like it.

The size is perfect for travelling. It really is tiny! It took some getting used to but now that I am used to it regular mice seem ungainly. It's comfortable despite the size.

Pairing is great, I didn't use the USB adapter. After the initial pairing, I just turn on my PC and it automatically connects almost instantly.

Buttons and movement are very precise.

The only downside is that the battery life isn't great. Two weeks at best. I have rechargables and they work fine. I tried the e3 Lithiums and they lasted about a month, but are expensive.

If you can live with this battery life, this mouse is really terrific for any traveller!

I have had this mouse for over a year now and I love it. I was worried about it being too small, but I have really enjoyed using it. I also use it with a G4 powerbook and have had no problems at all. It connected the first time and I have not had to press the "connect" button since. I agree that the battery life is short, but I have 15 min rechargables and leave a set in the charger. I only use mine a couple hours a day and the batteries usually last a couple weeks. If I was buying batteries, I would be annoyed. I understand what others have said about the battery cover as well, but I think that is a little bit of an over reaction. It never comes off on me unless I am trying to get it off. The performance of the mouse is great, the size is perfect and I don't have to deal with a dongle or charging station.

I bought the BT500 Plus (silver) based on the rave reviews (MacWorld editors choice) and for the first time in a long time I was very disappointed. I saw a few poor reviews from other websites but thought "they just don't know how to set it up correctly". Well, I followed the instructions to the letter, and am a 20 year Macintosh computer expert. Using my aluminum Powerbook G4 with built in bluetooth, I was able to get the device to be recognized. Throughout the day, the connection kept dropping out and the optical tracking worked terribly unless I put the mouse on a "perfect" (clean white sheet of paper). Getting the mouse to be re-recognized was a chore and I estimate I wasted an hour fooling with the thing throughout the day. Needless to say I returned it today.