Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer for Bluetooth

by Microsoft

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.9 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002E5P1I
• Item model number: M60-00006
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 2, 2004

Product Description

The Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer for Bluetooth combines the ultimate in wireless technology with sleek style and ergonomic design. And because Bluetooth sets the standard bar for the emerging wireless world, your mouse will work easily with other Bluetooth - compatible devices

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cadillac of Mice, November 6, 2004

By 

fsado1 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer for Bluetooth (Personal Computers)

Purchased this mouse over two weeks ago, and have had no problems with it at all. After reading reviews on Amazon about how this mouse is quirky and consumes batteries quickly, I was worried I would be returning it soon but don't think I will be doing that after all.

I am confused about the models... most of the reviews on Amazon are for the M60-00001, which I guess is an older version of this mouse? At any rate, this one installed in under a minute on my Dell Latitude D800 with Windows XP and SP2, works great, and after two weeks of more then eight hours of use each day is still going strong on its first set of batteries. If they died now I would be content.

I had Dell TrueMobile Bluetooth hardware already in the computer so I did not want to use the included USB-Bluetooth transceiver (whats the point of using a USB transceiver with Bluetooth, anyway). So I decided to try it without the USB transceiver and without installing the included software, and it works great without either. Apparently, if the software was installed the "tilt wheel" function would work (the scroll wheel can be pushed horizontally) but I don't think that is worth the trouble that according to other reviews seems to go along with the software.

My advice: If you have Windows XP w/ SP2 and Bluetooth hardware already on your computer, do not install the software and do not use the included transceiver. Do this and you will have no trouble and be very happy with this Cadillac of mice.

*** Update February 2006:

Over a year of heavy use on this mouse, it is still working terrific! Only problem (extremely minor, maybe not the fault of the mouse) is it rarely (once a week or so?) loses connection. I just turn my wireless off and back on on my laptop, and it reconnects and is good to go...

Have learned it is worth using lithium batteries with this mouse. Alkaline seem to last two to three weeks of heavy use (8-12 hours a day), while lithium last for eight to ten weeks.

Worth every dollar; if it died completely today I would be happy and buy the same model again.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works (almost) perfectly on OS X, May 11, 2005

By 

Christopher Harrison "Brian" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer for Bluetooth (Personal Computers)

I bought this mouse about two months ago and I'm loving it. It works straight out of the box with OS X. If you have a internal Bluetooth module then you won't need the included transceiver.

The left button is the standard click, the right button functions as ctrl+click, and the side buttons can be configured to work with Expose and Dashboard. The vertical scroll wheel works perfectly and when clicked-in in Safari opens links in a new Tab.

The horizontal scroll of the Tilt Wheel works only in OS 10.4.

Battery life is superb. I own an Apple Bluetooth Wireless Mouse and rechargeable batteries, and that thing would eat them like crazy. I could usually get about six days before they needed to be recharged. The Bluetooth Intellimouse gets about a month out of my rechargeables -- I've only had to charge the mouse once since I bought it two months ago.

The only complaint I have with it is that after about six to seven minutes of inactivity the Mac closes the connection, most likely to preserve battery life, but sometimes it's annoying. Luckily, it takes only one click and two seconds to reestablish a connection.

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars XP SP2 only, no on/off switch, October 12, 2004

By 

Robert Lau (Los Angeles, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer for Bluetooth (Personal Computers)

First problem. Neither Amazon's nor Microsoft's web page mention OS compatibility. Unfortunately, the box says "XP with Service Pack 2" only. I can think of no technical reason a mouse would require SP2.

[ Correction. Amazon's site does say XP SP2 only, but you have to click on Technical Details which I did not do. So that was my mistake. -rlau ]

My Powerbook (10.3.3) recognizes it as a "Microsoft Mouse" but passkey exchange to pair the devices hangs indefinitely. The solution is to open Bluetooth preferences while the exchange is spinning, select the mouse and Browse. The Bluetooth utility will complain that the device does not support browsing, but voila, the passkey exchange "completes", actually silently fails. You will have basic mouse functionality - movement, left/right buttons and vertical scroll, but nothing else. It appears Intellipoint 5.2 is required for full support, but only 5.1 is available for OS X. My existing Intellimouse Explorer (wired) is not recognized by 5.1, so I had to reinstall 5.0. Also, back under Bluetooth preferences, you will see that the devices are not paired.

Second problem. No on/off switch. It wakes up (LED lights) with any movement, even if the PB is not on. This could mean hours of wasted battery life while the mouse is sitting in my case while travelling. Maybe power-saving can be configured via software, but I cannot verify this since I only have OS X and W2K boxes.

Otherwise, it feels great in my hand. Maybe Microsoft will release Intellipoint 5.2 for OS X someday...