Customer Reviews

Gyration Wireless Air Mouse GYM2100NA

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First, I would like to say that I love my original [discontinued] Gyration Ultra. It was first generation and performed incredibly for a good six or seven years. Unfortunately, due to planned obsolescence, I could not service the worn out batteries in the molded battery pack and decided to try one of Gyration's latest incarnations - the Gyration "Air Mouse" with MotionSense (it's the product with the catatonic female yuppy jumping in the air). Unfortunately, the company decided not to improve on an incredible product, and really screwed up every good thing about the original.

First, durability - it feels extremely cheap and that you could crush it or snap the pieces apart by squeezing it. To it's credit, I do believe it could withstand a drop from a chair and I did give it a squeeze test, but the battery cover feels as though it will fail.

Second, ergonomics - unfortunately, this is the most poorly conceived design I've ever experienced. Imagine holding a regular cheap mouse and trying to use the scroll wheel and clicking buttons that your grip is always at least partially depressing (the buttons cover 85% of the top side). This is made only worse by the fact that it has no weight to it, and that you have to hold an awkwardly placed cursor-activation trigger making the "egg" seem slippery. Unlike the original pistol-gripped Gyration Ultra, this low-end model is so awkward to hold that it hurts my wrist and strains the pollicis muscles (meaty thumb part) after a minute of surfing. Moreover, hand size has nothing to due with these design flaws.

Third, control - this awkwardness makes it hard to wave the cursor outward (from your body) since the odd handling limits your range of motion, and clicking/not clicking buttons is a serious pain in the arse. Two more issues: sometimes the thing can't wake up and worst of all - since it's so awkward - if you let go of the motion trigger because you've centered on an onscreen button the weightless awkward piece of crap "jumps" because of this tiny motion and you miss the mark. Alternatively, (because it's so hard to hold) keeping the trigger depressed while repositioning your thumb to right/left click something makes it start to slip out of your hand. It almost feels like squeezing a lathered bar of soap that wants to jump out of your hand.

Anyway, I'm going to exchange it and pay the difference for the next model up and write a review for that as well. And hopefully I don't end up buying a Logitec mouse or breaking into my old Gyration Ultra's molded case to replace the worn out batteries.

PS - in case Gyration ever reads this, here's what they should do: re-release the Gyration Ultra with a wider keyboard that doesn't fall between your knees, design serviceable batteries, and get rid of the charging cradle. Also, you can make it so that setting it on a flat surface depresses a plate or push-button switch that activates the laser mouse feature instead of having a sensor sucking batter power the entire time it's operating. And why not plug the mouse in instead of having a cradle? Or make it functional as a laser mouse as it charges in the cradle. Does it really need to be unusable as it charges?

I really like this mouse for a travel mouse. I like the fact that the unit is powered by AAA batteries and stores its USB dongle in the mouse when not in use. I like the zipper storage bag too.

I had a prior gyration air mouse that for use in the air I liked it better. But this mouse is 1) Self contained, 2) lighter, 3) works great on any surface (desktops, walls, paper, shiny tables -- everywhere and in the air), 4) is lighter than the previous air mouse, 5) Doesn't require the huge/heavy recharger that the prior one did.

The only failing is that in the air, this one doesn't work quite as nice as the older one did. Good, but not as nice. Still, this is the one I now carry with me all the time.

Jon

This is my forth Gyration product, so I am a definite fan of the concept, if only they would finally get it right. The first was the Ultra GT. It was great, but it used a proprietary rechargeable battery that quit taking a charge and have not been able to find a replacement. (Message to self, "NEVER buy a rechargeable mouse again." A stupid design decision IMO.) The others were the Media Center Remote, which is great and I still use daily, and a Gyrotransport which had potential except for an idiotic battery compartment design. That brings me to this one, which I was hoping would be a suitable replacement for the Ultra GT, but no way.

Pros:
Standard disposable batteries.
Nice carrying pouch.
Convenient storage slot in the mouse for the receiver when not in use.
Gyration's customer service.

Fatal flaws:
Ergonomics - Unlike all the other Gyration products I've used, this one is very awkward to use.
Battery Cover - Like the Gyrotransport, this one also has an idiotic battery compartment design. The battery compartment cover broke while putting in my first set of batteries.

Gyration's customer support has been perfect, if only their design team was as good. They have replaced the broken battery compartment doors for both the Gyrotransport and this mouse with no hassle. Unfortunately, I will probably need a large supply of these battery compartment covers, since they are at risk every time I have to replace batteries. It's a fight getting them open and they are very very fragile.

As long as you have your motor skills functional, this is an awesome product.

Only drawback is that it's SO comfortable relaxing on the sofa (not tethered to my silly optical IR mouse anymore), I often wake up with this new gadget wedged in my ribs after a night of writing a paper for homework.

Like other reviewers, I mostly use it on a surface, but it's great to change it up and have the option of the air-capability.

No more sore mouse-wrist for me.

It's not the kind of thing you'd use every day, as I found out - it's for occasional use only - pretty good for controlling a movie on your media pc but no good for emailing/internet/wordprocessing/etc and absolutely rotten for games. And then it broke about 6 months after I got it. Now I need another solution, this isn't the answer to anyone's question....

Great little device. As others have mentioned, not the best ergonomically, but it worked great for my htpc. If you are using this for hours at a time, you'll develop a cramp. Very compact design though. I picked this up early on for a great price with the keyboard. Prices have doubled since then, for the mouse alone.

Loved this until 6 months later when it completely died. New batteries did not help, no signal, no response. I would not recommend this device due to it's short life. Not worth the $$ even if you get this at 1/3 the price.

Like many other reviewers I absolutely loved the original Gyration "pistol grip" rechargeable mouse. That served me well and I was crushed when the battery finally died and I had to part with it. I thought I would try this one and was brutally disappointed. It's WAY too small to fit my hand properly and I found it impossible to both push the tiny "trigger" underneath the mouse and try to push the clicker button on top. I would end up bumping the scroll wheel which kicked the cursor away from where I wanted it - completely frustrating. It feels cheap and flimsy where the original was solid and comforting in my hand. I think Gyration would be embarrassed to sell this product. I'll never buy another Gyration product. If you could give zero stars I would but one is the minimum so that's what it gets from me.

As an aside, if you want a nice "air mouse" that is actually quite functional and well made the Hillcrest Loop Pointer is a very nice product. I bought one of those after the unfortunate experience with this and am pretty satisfied. The best thing would be if Gyration would simply re-introduce the original - that is probably the best wireless air mouse we'll ever see but I digress.

I purchased this product in May of 2010 and used it on a daily basis through July. I picked it back up in October and after re-installing the software changing the batteries again, "While braking the battery door.". I still can not get the mouse to operate again. I am very disapointed in the quality and I am glad I did not pay regular price.

When the product actualy worked it was wonderful. But It didn't last long.

I can't completely disagree that the mouse is lightweight and may feel fragile. But I do think that the last couple of reviews were overly harsh...

There are two scenarios that are getting more and more common where I think this product shines. First is in the classroom. More and more schools are getting "interactive whiteboards", and it's extremely useful for teachers who want to control the mouse while they are up and walking around. Basic mouse navigation and clicking is very easy, and you'll find yourself picking up the skill in a minute or two. However, using the scroll wheel without the benefit of a flat surface to press the mouse against is just plain difficult to do - but it's not the fault of this device. You hold mice on the sides, but you need to press down to get the wheel to scroll and that's just not going to be easy in the air.

Second, is in the office during a presentation. Let's face it, laser pointers are aweful at calling attention during a presentation. The dot is small, and no matter how steady your hand is the dot shakes and you can look ridiculous (and don't forget about the safety issues). Being able to use an air-mouse to point during your presentation is way better, and this is a pretty economical mouse for the job.

I hand this to a student and they 'pilot' while I 'navigate' (previously they would have to come up to the teacher computer--so much easier to walk to them and say 'Hello, captain!'). I use TI Nspire software for whole-class instruction. I can walk around and help students and conduct the lesson. When I get better at in-air use, I'll do that as well. The various clicks have potential, but my current computer is so slow that sometimes the tool lags; new computer this Monday. There are a bunch of presenter tools--but I'm a busy teacher and have to learn them bit by bit--I"ll get there eventually. I'm trying to persuade my math dept. to each get one.
It was no problem inserting the dongle into another computer and using the mouse right away. Previously I was tethered and hidden behind my computer. No more. Students won't always do what you expect, but they will often do what you inspect. This tool allows me to use proximity to help and encourage. Also, at $150 I was reluctant. At $40 I couldn't order it fast enough. [this seemed easier than Johnny Li and Wii] It also acts like 'presenter' with a Navigator System from TI.
Not a 5 because I haven't fully tried all of its potential capabilities and I don't want to overstate. When mine breaks or gets lost I'll get another one. I even thought about having two and let students help each other or alternate or race* or one does the actions and the other talks but letting the second use a laser might be better; *it might get annoying or be impossible push-you-pull-me tug-o-war LOL, but something to think about.