Customer Reviews

Iogear GME228BW6 Nano Bluetooth Laser Mouse

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

 

 

I was looking into a wireless mouse for my computer. I wanted something bluetooth (so I wouldn't need a 2.4Ghz usb adapter antenna), and I liked the new 'laser' technology allowing up to 1600dpi. I hadn't read any reviews on this particular mouse, because apparently it was just released. I found a deal at NewEgg.com for it for $45. 3 days later it was at my door.

The packaging is very good, and it comes with instruction manuals in multiple languages, a velvet sack to carry the mouse in, two rechargeable AAA NiMh batteries, a USB charging cable, and the mouse. The mouse is bigger than the mini-mouse from targus, about the same size as a standard mouse, and is touted to have 'nanotechnology', which is really just a gimmick. I've seen cheap bic-style pens with company logos (like Preventa TM) given away with this stuff on them. Some people will feel that it has a place, maybe coating elevator buttons and subway turnstyles, but I don't think my mouse needs it. Especially since the coating may contribute to toxic chemicals being used which hurt the planet and weaken our immune system to fairly harmless bugs. Just wash your hands people.

I inserted the batteries, but the mouse didn't turn on, I tried the small on-off switch on the bottom (which is a little difficult to operate since it is so small) but I guess the batteries were not pre-charged. IOGEAR suggests charging the batteries for a full 10 hours prior to use, probably to prevent memory which is common with these types of batteries.

I connected the USB charging cable, and attempted to use the mouse... no dice. Apparently, the USB cable does not allow the mouse to work as a standard USB mouse, but only as a charging cable - the mouse must still be connected via bluetooth to function.

My Dell laptop did not support the HID profile. I had tried messing around with SP2 drivers and WIDCOMM BT stacks, before I finally discovered BlueSoleil. Bluesoleil is a standalone bluetooth interface package that DOES include the HID profile. I turned the mouse over, flicked the small switch to 'on' and held down the pairing button for 5 seconds. My computer detected the mouse and in less than 20 seconds my new mouse was connected to the computer.

Although it uses 'laser' technology, there is no apparent light emitted from the optical sensor under the mouse. You can't really tell if it's on or not unless you check the switch or try using it. I suppose this was to reduce power consumption, although my old wireless 2.4Ghz M$ mouse would last several months on a pair of batteries. While charging, the scroll wheel lights up yellow/green. After once the battery is done charging the light turns off. I would have preferred a blue light for status, but I can deal with this. There is also a supplementary red light that flashes when the mouse is in pairing mode, or when you hold down the middle and right buttons to change the resolution from 1600dpi to 800dpi. The red light comes on when the batteries are low.

While charging you can use the mouse as you normally would, without 'interrupted service' (See below). One quirck I notice is that the mouse makes occasional 'purring' and clicking noises. I've never experienced this before, and can't explain it. I hope it goes away once the batteries charge fully. It might bother some people though if it doesn't. I'll have to see if this continues while the mouse decharges during use.

During normal use (on batteries) the mouse enters two forms of power saving mode, discussed in the manual as well. Normal operation uses 26-36mA to operate bluetooth and the laser LED. After 10 seconds of inactivity, one of these powers down, and it uses only 5.5mA. After 5 minutes of inactivity it enters 'sleep mode', and uses only 2mA. I've read complaints from others about the iogear mini-bluetooth mouse and the Targus mouse having this 'quirk' as well, some people find it makes the mouse unusable to constantly be trying to wake it up. I guess the designers needed it to last a little longer than 24 hours before dying, so they implemented this 'feature'. However, I wish there was some sort of software that allowed you to set the time limits before entering 'power save' and 'sleep' mode.

The mouse fits my hand equally well in the right or the left. However, you will have to find some means of swapping the buttons if you wish to use it truly left-handed. I like the scroll wheel, which has normal 'detents' as you roll it around. It has a soft rubbery texture. For a mouse this big though, I wish it had at least two more buttons. I'm really used to having a five button mouse, which makes for easy web surfing as I assign one button as 'back' and the other as 'forward'. Still, 3 buttons is better than 2, which is better (IMO) than 1 (offered on macbook pro for those windows users).

I'll see if I can add to this review later to state whether the purring noises stop, and how long the batteries last.


----EDIT----
The purring noises never stopped, and the mouse refused to charge. I contacted customer support about it, and they concluded that my unit was defective and I ship it back. I did, and got a refund (minus the shipping costs to me and back). In the end I think I'm happier without it, either using my laptop's touchpad, or getting something else. I think the biggest drawback was the hibernate mode that made it take a half second to wake up. If it didn't have hibernate, or at least I could set the amount of time before hibernation via software, if the on/off switch was a little easier to use, if there were a 4th/5th button, if the green LED used was blue or red, and if the batteries would last as long as a standard wireless RF mouse I would LOVE this thing. As it is, I think I'm happy passing on it.

The mouse is a good size. Paired perfectly after I fully charged the batteries. Thought it would be great. However, the mouse constantly drops the connection and jerks across the screen in slow moooooo for minutes on end. The sleep mode was not too intrusive, nor was the hibernate mode. I cannot recommend this mouse at all though, as it was terribly frustrating with every computer I used it with.

This is a great Bluetooth mouse with a flaw that is easily overcome.
The mouse has a great feel (even better than my Logitech laser mouse), works on any surface, high resolution, and the click is crisp.

I bought this mouse because I knew that Iogear sells great products and the price was unbeatable.
The mouse comes with rechargeable batteries. Reviews report "dead" batteries, batteries with limited life, etc. Random shutoff etc. The problem is that the mouse battery holder expects batteries that are longer than those included with the mouse.
I suspected this and had a pair of Energizer NiMH with similar specifications. Careful measurement of each pair revealed that the Energizers were a few thousands of an inch longer.
Using the Energizers, the mouse works flawlessly. A full charge of the batteries (charged in a NiMH charger) lasts for about 3 1/2 days of use (maybe 8 hours a day). I have not tried to fully charge the batteries with the included USB cable, but it does charge the batteries while showing colored LEDs indicating the charge.

One more word of caution. My laptop did not have a Bluetooth adapter. I had purchased a Cirago BTA which came with a Toshiba Bluetooth stack. That software is not satisfactory for a Bluetooth mouse. It works but causes long delays in the movement of the cursor. I had to purchase a BlueSoliel Bluetooth stack. It works well.

The mouse has a sleep mode to save battery life. That is not a problem. The wakeup time is nearly instaneous.
I recommend this mouse to anyone willing to find satisfactory batteries and who has a good Bluetooth stack on their laptop.

This mouse has a serious flaw. It has two sleep modes - one that kicks in after 5 seconds and another that kicks in after 20 minutes. The 5 second sleep mode does create a little bit of jerk when it wakes up, but it's not bad with the Vista Bluetooth stack. (I also tried the Toshiba Bluetooth stack, and the reconnect jerkiness was much worse.) The 20 minute sleep mode seems to kill the connection for good. I was unable to wake the mouse back up after the sleep mode, even by power cycling the mouse. I tried two computers running Vista. I tried both the Microsoft Vista BT stack and the Toshiba stack running on Vista. And I tried XP running the Toshiba stack. All exhibited the same problem. Even after swapping the mouse out for a new one, I still have the problem.

It's hard to know whether this is a mouse problem or a BT stack problem, but the net result is that the mouse isn't usable. I also have the pilot mouse mini bluetooth, and it works flawlessly with the same computers, so I'm inclined to think that this mouse is to blame.

Too bad. It's light, has very high resolution, and is rechargeable. IOGear clearly has some work to do. I strongly advise against buying this mouse.

After a few months of struggling with this we finally gave up and got the blue Logitech Bluetooth mouse instead. Unlike that mouse, this one has a rechargeable battery that charges with an included USB cable. Sounds like a good feature, right? But it barely holds a charge, so you end up using your Bluetooth mouse on a USB cable as often as not.

Any Bluetooth mouse has a moment's pause when you start moving it before it works while it reestablishes a connection, but this one has a very long pause, and doesn't always manage to restore the connection without using the cable. By contrast the Logitech responds within a half second or so, on the same netbook.

The picture made it look like it was a small travel mouse but it's pretty nearly full sized, it's just as big as the Logitech (a little narrower and a little longer). If size is a factor, this isn't the right mouse.

And let's face it, it's kind of ugly. Not that looks are the most important thing in a mouse, but it's icing on the cake.

I bought this mouse in spite of the varying reviews and can honestly say I have had no problems with the mouse at all. The quality of the mouse construction is above average, and the re-chargeable batteries and ability to re-charge while connected is a plus.

I would recommend this mouse to anyone although I would have preferred more buttons rather than just the two plus scroll wheel but for the price it cannot be beat.

I can also use my phone charger which takes less time to recharge.