Wow - what a HUGE disappointment this mouse is. And so is the Iogear website and tech support - or lack thereof. I received this mouse as an asked-for Christmas gift and it never worked right from the get-go. Thinking maybe I could get it fixed with a little tech support, I called all night to try and get through to Iogear's 24/7 tech support line (as it's advertised on their site) and all I got was an "all circuits are busy" message. To top that off, the "Tech Support Form" link doesn't work - it brings me to a dead page. Even a detailed e-mail (which this review is based on) didn't get a response. Just terrible.
As far as the mouse is concerned I've sent it back to Amazon and asked for my money back. After installing the mouse and trying it in different permutations for several days it only worked sporadically at best. To wit:
*First off, there was no color to the laser light that I could see. When I first turned it on I got a BRIEF flash of red light through the translucent scroll wheel, then nothing. It *did* seem to be tracking though, which was kinda weird, but I would think that wheel isn't translucent for nothing - and that it should be lit up with the color from the laser.
*Secondly XP was still showing a Microsoft mouse as being installed when I checked the hardware profile in the Control Panel. The mouse that was replaced by the GME227RW6 was a Dell wired ball mouse. Why doesn't it show the Iogear mouse?
*Thirdly, that scroll wheel didn't light up, and I wondered whether the blue LEDs along the back should be lit. They look like they should be but they aren't.
*Fourthly, where in the heck is the "low battery light" mentioned on page 18 of the user's guide? That's the only place anything is said about it, there is no illustration of where it is. As a tech writer I find that eminently annoying.
*Fifthly, I had to wail on the left and right buttons in order to get a click to work on-screen. The receiver LED blinked so I knew it was acknowledging the signal, but nothing happened! It was REALLY frustrating. And forget right-clicking, that hardly EVER worked! (And yes, the batteries were freshly charged, so I knew it wasn't that.)
*Sixthly, how does someone program the mouse scroll wheel as a middle button? It says on page 16 of the manual the scroll wheel can function "as a customized button" but once again there was no explanation on how to "customize" it. BAD!
*Seventhly, the connectivity of the receiver-to-mouse was POOR. I plugged the receiver into the back of my PC, maybe 4 feet from the mouse or so, and it had lots of trouble picking up the signal. Even with my front USB connections the mouse got "blocked" simply by placing it next to the keyboard. My MS wireless ball mouse worked from across the room - this one is LAME!!!
*Finally, no where anywhere in any of the advertising does it say this thing is a notebook/laptop mouse. I was expecting a full-sized mouse. I could have LIVED with the small size mind you, but there should have been some disclosure that this wasn't a desktop mouse. I'm not the only one that's run into that conundrum BTW - just check some of the other reviews on Amazon.
So, still want to buy this thing? Got any answers to these questions? I'm just curious why this thing is such a piece of junk. Maybe I just received a bad one but the lack of ANY tech support on Iogear's part left me cold. I'm going to my local computer brick-and-mortar where I can test-drive and "feel" the equipment. A wireless keyboard and mouse combo by anyone OTHER THAN Iogear will be the next step.
