MS Explorer Mini

Laptop mice have become very popular of late, they are small, light weight and provide a better option compared to the standard touch pad. There is however a problem, laptop mice suffer from the same problems as standard mice and then some.

While normal mice just have to contend with a table top and an average mouse pad, laptop mice also have to contend with multiple types of surfaces including airport bucket seats, coffee shop tables and many other weird and wonderful surfaces. To date there are very few mice that work well on multiple surfaces and the Microsoft Explorer Mini Mouse with BlueTrack is one of them. In fact BlueTrack is so effective that it works on every surface that we tried except glass. We tried it on a duvet, a towel, a plank of wood, a high performance gaming mat, a wall, and the IT tech's favorite-denim on a leg.

BlueTrack is Microsoft's new proprietary tracking technology and is being touted as the new ‘go-anywhere’. The idea behind BlueTrack is that instead of using a focused laser a diffused light source is used, this equates to the light being on average four times larger than that of the standard laser, and if more of the surface is lit then more light bounces back to the receiver. The wavelength of the blue light is supposedly better since it provides higher resolution and better contrast. This ‘incoherent blue light’ is actually a rather clever idea, - in practice it has the ability to be sensitive to the movement of the mouse and yet be indifferent to dust either on the surface or the optic sensor itself, this is great for a mouse that will get used in numerous locations.

The Mini is comfortable, being a laptop mouse it doesn't have the size to support your hand but it does its best which we thought was good enough. The buttons barely make a sound when clicked, the wheel is super smooth and yet not overly sensitive and it is also equipped with horizontal scrolling. Microsoft have really gone wild, this is one quality little mouse and have given the mouse an eerie blue glow which comes and goes as it chooses, this does make a rather boring peripheral a little bit more exciting.

The Mini comes with a wireless receiver that snaps onto the underside of the mouse, and once clipped on the mouse shuts down to help save battery power. The mouse uses the standard 2.4GHz RF transmitter, although one has to wonder why Microsoft did not use BlueTooth instead, at the very least to carry the Blue theme.

While not BlueTooth, the mouse does have an exceptional range, making it ideal for presentations or pausing a movie from across the room. To top off the entire package Microsoft have once again put together a product of the highest build standards, from solid feel to a pouch with a magnetic lip which seals neatly.