BT Mouse

[Outsiderdude26]

I'm pretty new to macs... I bought my first PowerBook last year wit an ipod and by Sept. I will be buying my second mac, a Dual 2.3 Powermac.

I was wondering if anyone can give me any advice on a good, not to expensve BT mouse to replace the apple mouse.

Thanks for you help

[flail]

http://www.storebox.it/storebit/images/apple%20mouse%20wireless.JPG

Simple. Sexy. :D
Under $60 at Apple.com. (with free shipping)

hey I got one ;)

[Luca]

Does it have to be Bluetooth? There are tons of people who ask about Bluetooth mice, not realizing that they have a lot of disadvantages (high price, poor selection, lackluster tracking ability, skimpy drivers) and very few advantages (such as the ability to use the mouse on any Bluetooth-enabled computer without the need for a USB receiver). A few people didn't even realize that most wireless mice don't use Bluetooth at all.

Anyway, assuming you still want a Bluetooth mouse, I think I'd recommend MacAlly. You get two buttons and a scroll wheel, which REALLY comes in handy. One button mice are just not as useful. Plus, MacAlly products have excellent Mac support, and they're good products. Just go to macally.com and look at what they have.

If you don't want a Bluetooth mouse, your options open up a lot more. Logitech and Kensington both make excellent wired and wireless (non-Bluetooth) mice. Generally I think of Logitech as having the best wireless mice, while Kensington gets a nod for their excellent and inexpensive Pilot Mouse.

[MCQ]

Anyway, assuming you still want a Bluetooth mouse, I think I'd recommend MacAlly. You get two buttons and a scroll wheel, which REALLY comes in handy. One button mice are just not as useful. Plus, MacAlly products have excellent Mac support, and they're good products. Just go to macally.com and look at what they have.


I'll second the recommendation. It's the one that I have, and it's pretty good overall. The biggest problem with it is that there's no on-off switch, so if you toss it in a bag and the buttons get clicked, it'll keep turning on/off. It can run through batteries pretty quick if that happens during transport.

I usually just flip the batteries around before transporting to avoid that problem now.

[Outsiderdude26]

How does the batteries usually last in the apple mouse? does it come with rechargeable battery like other BT mice? And off topic, but is the wireless keyboard from apple a good deal and how long do batteries last?

thanxs for the advice

[Yontsey]

personally, i decided not to get the BT Apple mouse because i dont like the fact that it only has the one button. i come from peecees and im use to the (at min) 2 button mouse so i can right click things so when i bought my first PB i bought a microsoft wireless 4 (or 5?) button scroll mouse and i definatly love it. sure you have to connect it to the usb port but you can put the base behind the computer, well i have the PB so i can hide it easily behind that, or what i may do and you could do to is get a usb/firewire hub type thing and just run it from there and clean it up. all in all, i love the microsoft scroll mouse, i think it was like $50.

[flail]

How does the batteries usually last in the apple mouse? does it come with rechargeable battery like other BT mice? And off topic, but is the wireless keyboard from apple a good deal and how long do batteries last?

thanxs for the advice

Yeah, that's a point of contention. Apple's official stance is 3 months for the mouse and 6 months for the keyboard. Those of you (myself included) who own the Apple BT mouse, know that this is total bullshit. I dunno about the keyboard, but the mouse lasts for about month. 1 1/2 on a good run. Worse, it only takes regular AA (not the NI-MH or NI-CD that are rechargeable). Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that but I'm pretty sure.

I don't understand the point of wireless keyboard. As far as I can see, the only point is aesthetic, to keep everything clean. I bought the BT mouse because the cord gets in the way sometimes when you're moving it around and such. But the keyboard just sits there. Kind of stupid but thats just my opinion.

[DMBand0026]

I use rechargeable AAs with no problems at all. I have 4 of them so when I see the low battery warning I toss the two dead ones in the charger and swap them out when the mouse goes completely dead. It's a great system and I've only had to buy 4 AAs.

[Luca]

If you don't care that much about Bluetooth, you should seriously consider the Logitech MX1000. It's one of the best mice ever made. Let me give you a run-down of its features (since I have one and I love bragging about it :) ):

- Laser tracking (more precise than optical)
- 8 buttons and a tilt wheel, all of which can be programmed for various tasks (I use mine for forward/back and Exposé)
- Battery charge indicator on the mouse itself
- Has a built-in Lithium Ion battery that should last several years before requiring replacement
- Receiver station doubles as a cradle to recharge the battery
- On/off switch on the bottom
- Wireless technology is so fast you never, ever run into lag problems

It's an amazing mouse. It costs about the same as most Bluetooth mice. The only real downside (other than the price) is that unlike a Bluetooth mouse, it uses a large wireless receiver with two wires coming out of it. Still, the inconvenience caused by that is largely offset by the convenience of never having to replace the batteries.

[beardedmacuser]

I don't understand the point of wireless keyboard. As far as I can see, the only point is aesthetic, to keep everything clean. I bought the BT mouse because the cord gets in the way sometimes when you're moving it around and such. But the keyboard just sits there. Kind of stupid but thats just my opinion.

For those of us with limited desk space at work, like me, it can be really useful to shift my Bluetooth keyboard out of the way to give me space to read and write (with those old skool ink-filled pen thingies). The Apple Bluetooth keyboard is great, except it's white and gets dirty really quickly. Black would be better (although a bit dull).

And from personal experience, I've been using my Apple wireless mouse for over a year now at work, and only ever changed the batteries once. Same with the keyboard. Although I switch them both off when I leave and tuck them away in a drawer (away from dust and theiving eyes).

A colleague at work uses a Microsoft Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and while the keyboard is pretty sweet, the mouse sucks big time. It's really big and heavy and awkward.

[flail]

That's odd. I guess I must use mine a lot because I've had mine for 6 months and changed the batteries at least 5 times.

Good point about the keyboard.

Hey DMBand0026, that's great news. Are your rechargeables Ni-MH or something else?

[Wyatt]

I'll second Luca's recommendation. I find that Logitech's mice are some of the best available. In fact, just about any of their wireless models (with the exception of the really cheap one) would probably be great.

[DMBand0026]

Hey DMBand0026, that's great news. Are your rechargeables Ni-MH or something else?

They are Rayovac Ni-MH rechargables. I got the charger free after rebate, or the batteries free with the charger...I don't really remember now. But they've been working for a whole year now with no problems. It helps to have two extras so that when you get the low battery warning from your computer you can just toss the other two in the charger and they'll be ready in a few hours. When those are ready just take the two dead ones out of the mouse and set them aside (leave them uncharged) until you get the low battery warning from the other two. It's great, and it saves a ton of money on batteries.

Keep an eye out for deals on chargers and batteries, you can usually get a rebate on one or the other from a hardware store or from the manufacture.

[mattyohe]

To the people complaining about the battery dying... You knew you could shut the mouse/keyboard off... Right?

[greenhybrid]

I bought the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer Bluetooth. It's an alright choice, I guess, but in retrospect it proobably was a mistake. I always like just resting my hand and moving the mouse around with my fingers. This mouse is pretty large (but still not as large as my hand) and is more optimized for those who put their whole hand on it and move their arm around.

[Swing]

I use the Apple BT mouse pictured way up near the top of this discussion, and with rechargeable batteries too. I have no complaints at all about battery life and, surprisingly, little else to complain about.

Before the Apple BT I used the Logitech MX1000. The MX1000 is great. I should say that again, the MX1000 is great.

But I am in a cable-elimination mode and so I wanted a BT mouse. The only function of the MX1000 I really miss is the scrollwheel. Surprisingly, I adapted well to the absence of page-forward, page-backward, and right-click buttons. And the scrollwheel is not so important for me that, in order to use the MX1000, I will accept the necessity of a USB port AND an external power supply.

If I eventually decide I need the other buttons and scrollwheel then I'll probably go with the MacAlly or the Logitech bluetooth.

[flail]

To the people complaining about the battery dying... You knew you could shut the mouse/keyboard off... Right?

Shyeah.

[johnny5w]

I'll second the recommendation. It's the one that I have, and it's pretty good overall. The biggest problem with it is that there's no on-off switch, so if you toss it in a bag and the buttons get clicked, it'll keep turning on/off. It can run through batteries pretty quick if that happens during transport.

I usually just flip the batteries around before transporting to avoid that problem now.

I've got a Macally BT mouse and it's got an on/off switch on the bottom.

[turtle]

I have a Logitech Cordless Duo (non-BT) that I use for my Mac and a Microsoft BT whatever set in my living room. I must say the Logitech beats out the BT any day. I like the distance I can get in my living room from my receiver, but other than that it just doesn't function the same. However since I take my keyboard and mouse to the couch it works great over the distance. The Logitech gives me better options than a Mac mouse. While I don't have the distance I have 8 function buttons and optical. The base recharges the batteries so I never have to worry about running out of juice. An I don't know how anyone can work without a scroll-wheel. Having a right mouse button has really been a big help for me too since I'm a PC switcher who isn't used to having to hold down a key and clicking to get my menu. (Fact is I still don't know how to do it on my Mac.)

[naren]

I'm still lusting after this.

https://www.radtech.us./Products/BT510.aspx

[GWARREN]

Anyone tried the MacMice The Mouse BT? I love the look of it, and it has a scroll wheel. Hmm, tempted

[GWARREN]

Sorry, if you want a link for the above, try this site (http://www.dvforge.com/themousebt.shtml)

[Franz Josef]

Sorry, if you want a link for the above, try this site (http://www.dvforge.com/themousebt.shtml)

thanks. don't forget you can use edit. :)

[Luca]

I don't like The Mouse BT, or any products by Jack Campbell/MacMice/DVForge for that matter. He's kind of a shady guy (http://www.macintouch.com/mactable.html). Use the search function here to read more... personally I don't think The Mouse BT is a very high quality product, and certainly not worth the astronomical fee they want.

You want a good wireless mouse? Get an MX1000. Bluetooth is overrated, IMHO, especially for pointing devices. There are a few people for whom it is a godsend... people who have fancy-schmancy cell phones and headsets can benefit greatly from it. Bluetooth mice are exorbitantly expensive for what you get, they track poorly, their software support in OS X is lacking, and on top of all that, the Bluetooth "standard" is constantly changing, breaking compatibility with newer devices if you have an older Bluetooth adapter.

By the way, before anyone points out that the MX1000 is itself a very expensive mouse, I would like to remind everyone that it's also about the most advanced mouse in the world. It has a good construction quality, lots of easy to press yet unintrusive buttons, and never-before-available features like a built-in LiIon battery and a laser tracking system. Yet it costs less than many Bluetooth mice.

[GWARREN]

Hmm, interesting read. I'm not too sure about the price so maybe I'll just stick with the Apple bluetooth - it is less than £40 upgrade for the keyboard and mouse, and it means my desk is a whole lot tidier. Thanks for the info.

[Franz Josef]

I don't like The Mouse BT, or any products by Jack Campbell/MacMice/DVForge for that matter. He's kind of a shady guy (http://www.macintouch.com/mactable.html)

thanks for posting this - hadn't seen.

[stevegong]

If you don't care that much about Bluetooth, you should seriously consider the Logitech MX1000. It's one of the best mice ever made. Let me give you a run-down of its features (since I have one and I love bragging about it :) ):

- Laser tracking (more precise than optical)
- 8 buttons and a tilt wheel, all of which can be programmed for various tasks (I use mine for forward/back and Exposé)
- Battery charge indicator on the mouse itself
- Has a built-in Lithium Ion battery that should last several years before requiring replacement
- Receiver station doubles as a cradle to recharge the battery
- On/off switch on the bottom
- Wireless technology is so fast you never, ever run into lag problems

It's an amazing mouse. It costs about the same as most Bluetooth mice. The only real downside (other than the price) is that unlike a Bluetooth mouse, it uses a large wireless receiver with two wires coming out of it. Still, the inconvenience caused by that is largely offset by the convenience of never having to replace the batteries.



Hey guys, there's a deal on this mouse for $50 today on dealmac.com. I would have gotten it if it were BT. I like the MX900 but it's damn expensive

[Luca]

The MX1000 couldn't be Bluetooth because Bluetooth isn't fast enough to allow a precise mouse like the MX1000 to operate lag-free. That's the reason why I hate Bluetooth mice... they lag! Why spend $50+ on a mouse that lags? The MX1000 is so freakin' fast, I can't tell it's not corded. I don't care that it uses a large receiving station and requires TWO wires (one for USB, one for power).

Besides, the MX1000 is also way too large to be of any use to a notebook user (the only situation in which having a Bluetooth mouse is an advantage). Ever wonder why almost all Bluetooth mice are "mini" mice? If you're using the mouse at a desk, it shouldn't matter if you have a couple extra wires and a charging station because you just leave them in one place. With a notebook, though, you move around often. Unless you want to just leave your mouse at your desk and use the trackpad on the road, it's a good idea to have a Bluetooth mouse so you can take it with you and use it without having to plug anything in. That's the only situation in which Bluetooth mice have any kind of an advantage. If you have a large mouse, though, what's the point of Bluetooth? You're not going to want to lug a Bluetooth'd MX1000 with you, it's a huge mouse.

If you have a notebook with built-in Bluetooth, get a MacAlly BTmini. If you have a desktop, or a notebook that doesn't go anywhere, skip Bluetooth altogether. It's such an overhyped technology. It's useful in a few specific situations for a few people, but everyone seems to want in on it, even though it's not meant for them.

[Robo]

I agree with Luca, for the most part. I think the only situation I'd bother to get a BlueTooth keyboard and mouse on a desktop would be that I'd buy Apple's BlueTooth setup if I bought the Mac mini. I'd have to buy a keyboard and mouse anyway (and I'd have BlueTooth with the WiFi/BT upgrade), and half the fun of the Mac mini is it's extremely minimalist "empty desk" design, so the idea of a completely wireless keyboard and mouse appealed to me.

Now, it's looking like I'll probably pick up an iBook, though. My needs are now completely different - I want a BlueTooth mouse (assuming that the new iBook's trackpad won't support two-finger scrolling like the Powerbook's pad does), but as it's a laptop, I really want a scroll wheel, and Apple's minimalist mouse design actually becomes a drawback. I'm looking into the MacAlly mouse that Luca suggested, but most of the "mini" mice I've seen have been uncomfortably tiny. That brings me to my number one piece of advice with any mouse ever, BT or not: Try before you buy.

Of course, I'm really hoping Apple gives the new iBook the scrolling trackpad, so I don't even have to bother. But that's another topic for another forum...

[Swing]

The "empty desk" mentioned by Roboman is the big plus for me. Apple's BT keyboard and mouse are great when I need to clear my desk and work with loads of written materials, which is often. I have been a vociferous mouse/trackball geek over the years, and still love the MX1000, but really I do not miss a bit with Apple's BT mouse. And for some reason my 3 year old son likes to sneak away with it (and maybe that is another advantage of the BT mouse, because if it were corded maybe he would be sneaking, rather dragging, lots of other stuff away too).

[stevegong]

Besides, the MX1000 is also way too large to be of any use to a notebook user (the only situation in which having a Bluetooth mouse is an advantage). Ever wonder why almost all Bluetooth mice are "mini" mice? If you're using the mouse at a desk, it shouldn't matter if you have a couple extra wires and a charging station because you just leave them in one place. With a notebook, though, you move around often. Unless you want to just leave your mouse at your desk and use the trackpad on the road, it's a good idea to have a Bluetooth mouse so you can take it with you and use it without having to plug anything in. That's the only situation in which Bluetooth mice have any kind of an advantage. If you have a large mouse, though, what's the point of Bluetooth? You're not going to want to lug a Bluetooth'd MX1000 with you, it's a huge mouse.

If you have a notebook with built-in Bluetooth, get a MacAlly BTmini. If you have a desktop, or a notebook that doesn't go anywhere, skip Bluetooth altogether. It's such an overhyped technology. It's useful in a few specific situations for a few people, but everyone seems to want in on it, even though it's not meant for them.

Hey Luca. I like bluetooth mouse for my powerbook because that way it frees up the USB ports so I don't need to get a hub. Also, I don't like to keep stuff plugged into the usb port because for some reason it makes the fan kick in (why is this anyway?). I like my kensington wireless mouse but the only thing I would prefer is to not have to plug a station into it, which is why I like the mx900.

what about bluetooth 2? would that be fast enough to support a mouse like the mx1000?

[SlackerDX]

Anyone hear about the mouse Logitech just released? It comes w/o a dongle and I think even offers OS X support. Logitech mentions the Powerbook in the press release so I hope it fully supports OS X. The only thing is see as a slight problem is that it doesn't have any extra buttons for Expose/Dashboard but I think I can live with that as long as the battery life is acceptable.

[oli84]

edit: for stupidity

Anyways, I am waiting for an update to apple's bluetooth mouse. That way every piece of my computer system is either clear plastic or white plastic. :) It would be nice if it had a lithium ion battery and a separate charger, but as a charger only, not a hub. Kind of the same as digicams.

[SlackerDX]

Obviously, a BT Mighty Mouse would be the ideal but until that comes out, I'll be looking for an alternative.

[GrafZeppelin]

Has anyone tried the new Logitech MX610 Smart Mouse? They dont say that they support OS X yet, but has anyone tried it out with their mac?

[stevegong]

Has anyone tried the new Logitech MX610 Smart Mouse? They dont say that they support OS X yet, but has anyone tried it out with their mac?


it isn't bluetooth!