Customer Reviews

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer with Tilt-Wheel

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

The first thing I noticed when making the switch from the Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 to the 4.0 (yes, this mouse is the 4.0, not the 3.0 like Amazon suggests) was the scroll wheel. It is incredibly smooth, and feels great to move up and down. It is the best feeling wheel I've ever used, and it's extremely nice on long documents, as there are acceleration options for the wheel itself. However, in a lot of games, gamers will set the scroll wheel to change weapons. The fact that this wheel is so smooth to scroll, makes it very difficult to just change to the next weapon. You always end up skipping 4 or 5 weapons, so you just have to scroll back. Takes a lot of getting used to, if your previous mouse had tactile clicks to let you know when you've scrolled one unit.

In all honesty, the only thing that even made me switch was the new tilt-wheel feature. I later learned that this new feature isn't really so great... it feels real clunky, and is hard to press in either direction. And the scrolling that happens onscreen is real jerky, and slow (even when set to the highest speed). It's also not performing a universal application side-scroll, as it only works in a few programs that could potentially utilize it.

I am primarily a gamer, so the mouse I use has to be very precise, responsive, and comfortable. To me it seems like my hand gets cramped much faster than it did with the 3.0 under extensive use and long gaming sessions. However, it is extremely accurate, and very precise in first-person shooters and Photoshop, the two areas where extreme precision are important in my computer usage. It has a nice weight, and feels very solid. The thumb buttons are were huge design mistake though. They were moved from a neutral thumb-rest position, to the top of this ridge that is above where your thumb rests. The result is a very awkward reach, and it's much more difficult to execute in high-pressure situations like online gaming. Also, the middle button (the scroll-wheel) is very hard to press down properly. If the wheel rolls at all, then it cancels the button-press, and you have to redo it. Also, it seems to lag a bit after you press it down, leaving you waiting for results. Very annoying if you are used to pressing the middle button in an FPS, where your timing is more crucial than on the desktop.

Overall, the Intellimouse 4.0 is a very nice mouse for casual/everyday users. However, if you are a gamer, or graphic artist, or anyone that will be doing any extensive mousing around, will probably want to test the mouse out before you buy it. The hand cramps are my number one complaint after 3 or 4 weeks of usage.

Back on 9/5/05, I wrote a glowing Five-Star review of this mouse after six months of use. Mea culpa. After barely a year's worth of M-F 8-5 usage, it is now headed to the landfill. The switch under the left mouse button started failing a few weeks ago and finally quit altogether this past week. It took awhile to figure out how to disassemble the mouse without breaking anything, but I was able to confirm that, yes, it was indeed the left switch that was the culprit.

As seen with other reviews here and elsewhere, this is an all-too-common complaint. That being the case, I felt obliged to delete my original Five-Star review and replace it with this One-Star review.

Bottom line: this is a one-year-and-done mouse. If you like its ergonomics, the IntelliPoint software's interfacing with Microsoft Office, and you don't mind replacing it annually, buy it. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

also had a problem with left clicker thanks to the reviewer here i called microsoft and they shipped a replacement Comfort Optical Mouse 3000 with no charge or having to return the mouse.
thats customer service!

Microsoft's hardware support number (800-360-7561)
dial 0 when the menu starts

This mouse was absolutely wonderful until the left button stopped working. I now have to smash it before it will 'click' on anything. I thought it was a driver problem. Then I reconfigured it so the right button actually performed the left-click. Sure enough, the right button worked just fine. It seems that Microsoft did not test this mouse for sufficient durability. After 10 months I now have to get another mouse.

I miss my 3.0
Where the side buttons used to be easily clickable without moving your hand, the newer 4.0 makes it difficult to click and control the mouse at the same time. This is not a mouse for gamers.
Another major problem is the wheel button. This is a major function button for me in many games. Now it responds 1 out of 3 times (if that!). I click and click... and nothing happens.

Like another reviewer, the mouse worked fine for about a month, then the L-click button stopped working. Now I have to click on items about seven times before they are recognized. I would have given this five stars if my expectation was to have the mouse work for 30 days, but seeing that my expectation was for it to work for years, it gets only one star.

The Intellimouse Explorer 4.0 has several major design flaws that make it a burden to work with, and may lead to significant repetitive use injuries if used for an extended period. The flaws are explained below.

1. The so-called "tilt wheel" has four major flaws:

1.1. Clicking the wheel requires an incredible amount of finger pressure. The smooth and light wheel click of earlier Microsoft mice is gone. This is a deal breaker for use with any program that requires frequent use of wheel clicks -- the case with most graphics programs.

1.2. Wheel clicks are completely unpredictable -- they sometimes register as a click in the program that's being controlled and sometimes they don't.

1.3. Side to side movement of the wheel is extremely awkward -- Microsoft had to make the wheel click incredibly stiff to prevent the side to side movement from registering as wheel clicks. Mixing three functions into one wheel was a HUGE design error.

1.4. Wheel no longer has the smooth ratchet action that it had in previous Intellimice -- it now has a very stiff rubbery feel without any of the previous smoothness or ratcheting.

2. The Forward and Back buttons are very difficult to operate.

2.1. The Forward and Back buttons have been moved one centimeter higher than they were in the Intellimouse 3.0.

2.2. This requires increased rotation of the thumb to reach the Forward and Back buttons.

2.3. The Forward button now requires that the entire hand be moved around the left side of the mouse in order to press the Forward button without pressing the Back button at the same time.

2.4. Microsoft added a ridge under the Forward and Back buttons, which prevents the thumb from easily pressing either button.

2.5. Clicking the Forward or Back buttons requires a very deliberate rotation of the thumb and/or hand so that the edge of the thumb can reach beyond the obstructing ridge to press the buttons (see 2.4)

3. In conclusion, the Microsoft Intellimouse 4.0 is a DEVOLUTION in mouse design. Previous Intellimice were a pleasure to use. With this new model Microsoft will lose a huge portion of their market. Microsoft should find a top-notch ergonomics team and completely redesign this mouse, as soon as possible.

CAUTION: Using this mouse for an extended period may cause significant and permanent repetitive use injuries.

The mouse feels great in my hand, but after 8 months of normal business use, the left-click has pretty much died. If I pound on the button hard enough, it might click 2 out of 5 times. For the amount of money spent on this mouse, I'd have to say that it's not really worth it.

I now have remapped the smaller thumb button to click, until my new mouse arrives.

I loved my 1st Intellimouse Explorer since it first came out, about 5-6 years ago? But the left click started "double clicking" last week, and I had to buy a new one. I was worried by the reviews I read here, but the 4.0 is a great mouse.

I do analytical work (MS office, quicken, browser research hours a day). I use the mouse constantly and want smooth, effortless, selecting & clicking. The shape is fine-nice high arch. The buttons are fantastic. These are the BEST clicking buttons I've experienced to date (compared with Dell, IBM & several MS optical mice). Nice and easy to push- very little effort, but very positive action- accurate clicks every time. I have never had an accidental click.

The Intellipoint 5.2 software at Microsoft website seems to have dealt with most or all complaints listed in reviews here. (as of 9/22/04) You can assign custom keystrokes or file locations to all 5 buttons and make button assignments program specific. (But wheel assignments are not program specific- one setting for all programs for wheel. And the tilt-wheel doesn't work in all software, like my Olympus Cammedia software)

Cons:
*I think the wheel button's click is too firm. I guess they did that so tilting side to side vs. clicking wouldn't be confused? But I suspect they'll reduce wheel click pressure the next version.
* I liked the lower side location for the 2 side buttons on Intellimouse Explorer 1.0, but this takes about 1 day to get used to.
* Vertical & Side scrolling set up. I had to experiment with a few combinations to start liking the new wheel. There is no "lines per click" setting for the wheel sensitivity as it has no clicks. There are 3 Slow-to-Fast scales to set: vertical, vertical accelleration, horizontal (tilt). I had to try a few combinations until it finally seemed smooth & intuitive to me. But now I like it better than my old ratchety wheel which I set at 6 lines per click, and I've only had the tilt wheel 24 hours to get used to it!

My wife recently got the funny shaped IBM mouse as she liked the odd thumb slot on the left, but when my old mouse broke, I tried the IBM and on several audible left clicks it failed to register a click! It flunked basic mouse functionality for me! She doesn't notice.

I purchased this mouse at another online store back in February to replace an old intellimouse that was acting up. Upon initial use, i was really loving it...cool design, smooth feel...but now (less than 2 months later) I am having problems left-clicking. I find that I have to left-click mulitple times in order for it to work. Since I work in graphic design...this is very counter-productive and annoying. I tried getting it replaced with Microsoft's mouse replacement plan and was denied because it was an OEM mouse, which I was unaware of until I checked the product ID number on the bottom.

I would suggest that if you are going to take a chance with this mouse, that you purchase the RETAIL version in case you need to take advantage of the replacement warranty. It appears that Microsoft refuses coverage of OEM parts and products.