Cordless Optical mouse warning

[GilesGuthrie]

Greetings all,

Just bought a Packard Bell cordless optical mouse. I thought it would be a good thing, nice feeling mouse, base with AC power to recharge the batteries, optical mouse for no-cleaning and no-mat required.

BUT

What a POS! Let me list the ways:

1. It doesn't track properly on the desk
2. It doesn't track properly on the mouse mat
3. The batteries run out of charge at the least convenient moment
4. IT DOESN'T RECHARGE WHEN THE PC IS SWITCHED OFF!!!!!
   [/list=1]
   
   Sorry about the shouting on that last part, but geez, you know, I would have thought that that was the most basic point of it! The store will be getting the mouse back as soon as I can get back to them. OK, so I got it in the sale at 50% off (UK£35!), but still. If I'd paid the full price of UK£70, I would REALLY have been raging!
   
   Just thought some of you might like to know...

 

[vat_man]

Mmm - that would be why I got the Logitech optical mouse, but not cordless. Couldn't see the point of having batteries in something I could run quite comfortably off the computer.

Optical side works well. If I'm stuck with the laptop somewhere without a desk I just use my leg.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

I'm really pciky about the cord tension - if there's any tension at all in any movement it really annoys me, hence cordless being a good idea.

 

[Pako]

Ahh....I see what the problem is!

It's not the cordless technology.

It's not the Optical Laser technology..



It's a Packard Bell for gosh sakes.. That's your problem!

Better luck with a better brand perhaps?

 

[Magic069]

Originally posted by Pako
Ahh....I see what the problem is!



It's a Packard Bell for gosh sakes.. That's your problem!

thank you, well said. :thumbsup: I think thats the best explanation

 

[Tom M]

Go for the Logitech Dual Optical. I have it, and I'll never go back to another type of mouse (I had the Microsoft Optical, but this one is way smoother.)

 

[vat_man]

Originally posted by GilesGuthrie
I'm really pciky about the cord tension - if there's any tension at all in any movement it really annoys me, hence cordless being a good idea.

Must be the Scot in me - I could deal with that rather than having to buy batteries.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Originally posted by vat_man


Must be the Scot in me - I could deal with that rather than having to buy batteries.

Hence going for the rechargeable option!!!

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Originally posted by Pako
Ahh....I see what the problem is!

It's not the cordless technology.

It's not the Optical Laser technology..



It's a Packard Bell for gosh sakes.. That's your problem!

Better luck with a better brand perhaps?

Yes, thanks for that. I know that PB don't exactly have the best reputation as PC builders, but I did rather think that they would simply have badged the mouse rather than make it, and that therefore it would be quite good. How wrong I was!

Anyway, I aim to take it back to PC World this weekend. I've never returned a working product on the grounds that it's a POS before, I wonder how the conversation will go!

Wish me luck!

 

[Pako]

Originally posted by GilesGuthrie


Yes, thanks for that. I know that PB don't exactly have the best reputation as PC builders, but I did rather think that they would simply have badged the mouse rather than make it, and that therefore it would be quite good. How wrong I was!

Anyway, I aim to take it back to PC World this weekend. I've never returned a working product on the grounds that it's a POS before, I wonder how the conversation will go!

Wish me luck!

LOL, yeah - good luck man! Hey, your the customer and they need ot treat you right! IT's a POS and you shouldn't be subject to have to deal with someone elses mistake....

Yes - Good luck!

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Hi all,
Thanks for the support. Just to let you know that I took the mouse back to PC World, and once I'd explained the litany of gripes, the woman was quite happy to give me a cash refund, so that's all sorted now. It probably helped that I was the third person to return this product this morning!

I think they'll cease stocking it quite soon!

 

[LoudMusic]

Both Microsoft and Logitech now have cordless optical mice. Logitech has a keyboard/mouse package that totally rocks. I bought it a while back. The nice part is both the keyboard and mouse use AA batteries, unlike some of their other packages that use AAA in the mouse and AA in the keyboard.

http://www.logitech.com/cf/products/productoverview.cfm/104

Then I bought Energizer's recharger and 6 AA batteries. Just throw them in the charger every couple weeks and you don't have to worry about it.

http://www.energizer.com/products/rechargeables.asp

The only problem I see with rechargable batteries, using AA as an example, they're 1.5v for standard batteries but the rechargables are only 1.2v. That means in the keyboard that takes 4 of them, I'm missing a whole 1.2v of power. It makes the range for the cordlessness drop from 25 feet to about 5 feet. So that's not really that big of a deal in my situation (:

~LoudMusic

 

[LoudMusic]

I guess I could give the rest of the information .... Microsoft's cordless optical:

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouse/wie_info.asp

But I don't actually use my cordless stuff at home. My current favorite feeling mouse/keyboard are the MS Natural Keyboard Pro and the MS Intellimouse Optical.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/keyboard/nkp_info.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouse/io_info.asp

I would think that a cordless rechargable mouse would be Apple's big thing. Just build a cradle into the keyboard for recharging. The keyboard could even have some kind of battery system so that it can still recharge the mouse while the computer is turned off. They're all about "look ma, no wires!".

~LoudMusic

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Originally posted by LoudMusic
I guess I could give the rest of the information .... Microsoft's cordless optical:

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouse/wie_info.asp

But I don't actually use my cordless stuff at home. My current favorite feeling mouse/keyboard are the MS Natural Keyboard Pro and the MS Intellimouse Optical.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/keyboard/nkp_info.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouse/io_info.asp

I would think that a cordless rechargable mouse would be Apple's big thing. Just build a cradle into the keyboard for recharging. The keyboard could even have some kind of battery system so that it can still recharge the mouse while the computer is turned off. They're all about "look ma, no wires!".

~LoudMusic

Thanks for the info. I'll go back and do some more research. I've seen the Logitech keyboard.mouse combo, but it was a bit out of my price range as far as value for money's concerned.

I would have thought that since Apple have such control over their architecture, they should be able to take a low-power feed off the PSU when the computer is switched off.

 

[LoudMusic]

Originally posted by GilesGuthrie


Thanks for the info. I'll go back and do some more research. I've seen the Logitech keyboard.mouse combo, but it was a bit out of my price range as far as value for money's concerned.

I would have thought that since Apple have such control over their architecture, they should be able to take a low-power feed off the PSU when the computer is switched off.

That's a good point. If the keyboard was firewire or something, they could continue to pull power from the computer even when it's off.

~LoudMusic

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Originally posted by LoudMusic


That's a good point. If the keyboard was firewire or something, they could continue to pull power from the computer even when it's off.

~LoudMusic

True, yes. USB carries power, and there are a lot of USB keyboards out there...