Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Small Mouse, Big Idea, March 31, 2005
I purchased this mouse for our office's Dell Lattitude D610 Laptop with Bluetooth, and absolutely adore the little thing.
I know, I know, this was designed to be used with Pocket PC's, but the market for good bluetooth products for the laptop is not all that wonderful. My choice was between the Kensington PocketMouse Bluetooth and this little critter, and it seems I made a wise decision.
Both have very good acclaim and similar features (Optical, Bluetooth, accepts regular batteries, On/Off switch, comfortable rubbery casing material) but the main difference between the two seems to be the size.
I was more than a bit concerned with the size becomming the crutch of the device, as my hands aren't the smallest and I've read reviews of uncomfort. I have to say though, for the length of time I've used the mouse (1-2 hours at a time in the office over the past few weeks) my hands have yet to become fatigued due to the minuteness of the mouse.
Portability and ease of use for this wireless wonder are top notch, and the installation was a snap (as simple as pushing a button on the mouse to make it "discoverable", turning on my laptop, and then switching on the mouse).
After using this mouse for a while, you'll gawk at the size of your regular PC's device, and you'll also smile at how cool your wireless world has become.
I may be missing the largest idea behind this product (a mouse for PDA's) but It's even a stellar purchase for any laptop user.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Innovative, February 20, 2005
Summary:
There are some luxuries in life that are so obvious you wonder why you never thought of them before. This is one of those devices.
Impressions:
My first impression was that this device was really small (about 1/3rd teh size of a regular computer mouse) and that my average sized hands would not be able to get comfortable with it. Well I was wrong for my hand fits nicely around it and I am comfortable using it hours at a time. There was obviously some thought was put into the design as it feels sturdy yet still light. Another nice touch is the on/off switch at the bottom to save your AAA batteries. It is also not a power hog for I've used mine for about a month about 3-4 hours a day and I'm still using the batteries that came with it. It also came with a carrying bag that protects the mouse from banging around in my briefcase or backpack.
The second thing I noticed was how easy it was to install the software on my computer (Win XP) and getting it to work on my PDA (Ipaq 4150). I do recommend however that you read the directions, for some of the installation options are not obvious. After everything is said and done you get a on screen pointer that works like your stylus but has a scroll button.
This mouse works excellent with my IR keyboard from Belkin, and seems to be a natural fit when using a keyboard to input data. I had always found it cumbersome to a use a stylus while I was typing.
Recommendation:
I would not recommend this mouse for people who use their PDA primarily for contacts and scheduling. I would however highly recommend this mouse for people who type in word with a wireless keyboard, or go to coffee shops and surf the web while doing work. The scroll button is an excellent feature to read long PDF documents and to surf web pages.
Problems:
It has been a long time since I have been this satisfied with a product. That being said there are some quirks. The first is that having BlueTooth run on your PDA will cut down on its battery life. However, I still get mine to run for about 2.5-3 hours with the backlight on before I need to plug it into a wall. Secondly, the program to get the mouse to run does take up some space on the PDA. Finally, when you restart the PDA it takes some time to "rediscover" the mouse. Approximately 5-10 seconds.
In Conclusion:
I'd highly recommend this mouse to anyone who uses a keyboard to input information into their PDA. I have currently written about 1/3rd of my Masters Thesis on my PDA at a coffee shop at night using this mouse and a wireless keyboard.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
best mouse I ever owned, period, August 6, 2006
Originally purchased this mouse for laptop use, but it immediately became my favorite mouse ever -- even for desktop use. Now I have Stowaways for all computers used on a routine basis.
Don't let the small size fool you into thinking of the Stowaway as a poor portable substitute for a real mouse. The many positive synergies designed into this small, lightweight cordless optical mouse make it a joy for general use:
[] Optical sensor lets you mouse on any surface with a bit of texture -- e.g., your thigh, or a good friend's thigh.
[] Remote cordless operation makes many things possible -- e.g., control presentations out of your laptop from a podium 30 feet away.
[] Small size encourages mousing with only your fingertips (instead of your whole hand ± wrist, elbow or shoulder, as larger, heavier mice either invite or require). At that point, you're pointing only those muscles best suited to fine motor control and eye coordination.
[] Finer control allows shorter throws to cross the entire screen. Once you've bumped up your pointer speed and acceleration settings to take full advantage, you'll find yourself able to...
[] Mouse comfortably and accurately in =much= smaller areas -- e.g., on the handrest of a laptop keyboard deck, or even between those coalescing piles of junk on your desk. But even if you have all the room in the world...
[] Shorter mouse excursions are better because they're ergonomcially safer for your wrist and less fatiguing in general.
Among many other endearing qualities, the Stowaway also
[] Works with the standard Bluetooth HID drivers built into WinXP and Win2000 (sorry, don't know about Macs) and pairs readily any standard Bluetooth device offering standard HID services -- nothing proprietary involved.
[] Fits comfortably in a shirt or pant pocket.
[] Has a very pleasing matte texture and positive controls.
[] Runs on 2 AAAs: Rechargeable NiMH AAAs deliver plenty of range and days to weeks of runtime between charges. They're also lighter than alkalines and far more wallet- and environment-friendly. With a pair of even lighter disposable lithium AAAs along for reliable emergency backup (~15-year shelf life), you really have nothing to lose with rechargeables -- unless you happen to enjoy enriching battery companies. My 2 year-old manuals didn't list NiMH rechargeables as a power option, but don't let that stop you.
[] Provides an on-off switch, thank God: A Bluetooth mouse without an on-off switch can run through batteries of any type in under a day -- especially when its buttons can be activated inadvertently, or when its paired devices are off or out of range. (Learned that one the hard way.)
[] Provides a reconnect button: All paired Bluetooth devices lose track of one another now and then. (Alien interference, terrorist jamming, sun spots-- who knows?) Anyway, this button forces the mouse to send a reconnect signal when needed.
Enough. Try it -- you'll like it.
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