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|  | |  | | | Microsoft 2.4GHz Wireless BlueTrack Technology Laser Explorer Mouse with 30-Foot Range and Easy Battery Recharging Base (5AA-00001). | | | | | SKU:
88062 | | In Stock | | Availability:
Usually ships in 1-2 business days | | | | | | The Microsoft Explorer Mouse, with revolutionary Microsoft BlueTrack Technology, works more places than ever before, including on granite countertops, living room or airport carpets¿even on a wood table or rough, unfinished park bench. | | | |
List Price:
| $79.99 | |
Our Price:
| $27.09 | |
You Save:
| $52.90 (66%)
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| | Product Details | | Product Length: | 8.75 inches | | Product Width: | 3.0 inches | | Product Height: | 8.5 inches | | Product Weight: | 1.0 pounds | | Package Length: | 8.6 inches | | Package Width: | 7.4 inches | | Package Height: | 3.0 inches | | Package Weight: | 1.1 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: | based on 238 reviews |
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| | Features | Easy Charging - The battery status indicator tells you when a quick recharge is needed. The compact, stable recharging base is easy to use.Reliable Wireless on the Go - Microsoft 2.4 GHz wireless and the snap-in mini-transceiver deliver a reliable connection with up to a 30-foot range.Sophisticated Design and Comfort - The glowing blue light effects and comfortable curved surfaces set your mouse apart.Go Anywhere - Microsoft Blue Track Technology combines the power of optical with the precision of laser for remarkable tracking on more surfaces.Easy Charging - The battery status indicator tells you when a quick recharge is needed The compact, stable recharging base is easy to useGo Anywhere - Microsoft Blue Track Technology combines the power of optical with the precision of laser for remarkable tracking on more surfacesReliable Wireless on the Go - Microsoft 24 GHz wireless and the snap-in mini-transceiver deliver a reliable connection with up to a 30-foot rangeSophisticated Design and Comfort - The glowing blue light effects and comfortable curved surfaces set your mouse apart
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 238 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
102 of 112 found the following review helpful:
It is a good mouse, but not a marvel of engineering. Jan 10, 2009
By Siarhei S. Vaurynovich What I liked: =============
The first thing that I loved was that the mouse works fine under Linux (and Windows, of course), even the two side buttons: under Linux they are "Back" and "Forward" in a web-browser by default.
The mouse is rechargeable and requires one AA Ni-MH battery (which means it can be easily replaced when the battery dies eventually) and comes with a low charge indicator (slowly flashes red when the mouse needs recharging and slowly flashes green when the mouse is being charged) and an easy charging station. After some minimal charging is done, the green flashing stops and the indicator just stays on green. Unfortunately there is no indication as to when the mouse is fully charged - the indicator does not change to blue or some other color, instead it just stays on green).
The two customizable buttons can be assigned (under Windows) many different functions out of a list.
The mouse indeed works well on most surfaces. However, I found out that it does not work at all on a concrete wall painted with a white paint. It also barely works on its original package (which could mean that it performs poorly on transparent surfaces). I guess there are always exceptions.
The mouse looks beautiful! Although, keep in mind that you won't see the blue light from under the mouse and the BlueTrack sign all the time - it only turns on for a few seconds when the mouse is turned on (i.e. after one takes the receiver out of the mouse) and after the mouse returns from a sleep mode (the mouse goes into the sleep mode to save battery if it is not used for a while).
What I liked and did NOT like at the same time: ===============================================
One thing which I love is the smooth no-sound (no clicks) scroll wheel in a web-browser. It is as convenient to use as a wheel with clicks. It is great, for example, during meetings since the constant wheel clicking would not annoy anyone or in any situation when one wants to be quiet. The scrolling also takes very little effort. However, in all the other applications (not in a web-browser - for example in PowerPoint or in Excel) the scroll wheel is too sensitive, i.e. even a slight touch of the wheel causes a difficult to control scrolling of a page(s). One can get used to it but will still remain uncomfortable.
What I did NOT like: ====================
The first (very annoying) feature, from my point of view, is that the scroll wheel has to be clicked in a specific direction away from the user, when used as a middle button., i.e. if one just presses it down or towards oneself it would not consider it as a (middle) click. So it takes some thinking (or maybe a habit) to put a finger on the nearest end of the wheel and press it away. I love using the middle click to open a link in a new tab in FireFox. And also middle clicks are used really a lot under Linux (paste) so I consider it as major drawback of the mouse. I also cannot understand why the mouse was designed that way, since unlike scrolling, it takes some effort to click the wheel, so one would not click it accidentally anyway.
The second thing that I did not quite like was that the mouse is very big (its physical size: it is wide and thick - feels like a ball in ones hand). It is probably one of the biggest mice I ever seen or used. I have small hands and find it more convenient to use a narrower and thinner mouse. It does not make using the mouse troublesome - just feels somewhat uncomfortable. There is a "Mini" version of the mouse but that one is not rechargeable.
The mouse gets discharged pretty quickly (i.e. in less than a week - just a few days) when it is off. That is if I fully charge it and then snap the USB receiver into the mouse to turn it off with an intension to take the mouse with me on the road in a few days - it does not work, since in a few days when I turn the mouse on again, the charge indicator blinks red (which is an indicator that the mouse needs to be charged). It looks as if some circuit does not get disabled and still drains the battery power even in the mouse's off-state.
I find putting the mouse's wireless receiver in and out quite inconvenient. It takes special care to put the receiver in since it does not naturally find its proper position before one pushes it in. Even much more inconvenient is to take the receiver back out of the mouse - it gets stuck there pretty tightly and deeply and it is not easy to grab on it to pull it out (accurately without breaking it).
I also do not quite like the feature that to turn the mouse off one has to put the USB receiver into the mouse. It is subjective, of course, but I would find a simple on/off switch more convenient. The switch could be even positioned on the front or back side of the mouse so that it does not get congested with dirt over time, if this is the problem.
Also I wish the mouse would come with some carrying case. The idea of the BlueTrack technology is that the mouse works on most surfaces which makes it a good choice to take it with on the road, so, I think, a carrying case is desirable.
Overall: ========
I kept the mouse. My goal was to find a rechargeable wireless mouse which would use standard rechargeable batteries (i.e. AA or AAA) and I found it. It is a good mouse, but I would not call it a marvel of engineering - it has a few important things to get fixed. I guess the Microsoft engineers were so excited about the novel BlueTrack technology that they forgot to make sure that other not so novel features of the mouse are implemented conveniently for a user.
29 of 34 found the following review helpful:
Battery Charging Defective Oct 31, 2009
By khale I purchased two of these mice, one for my iMac and then when I liked it, one for my MacBook. I basically like the mice and after getting used to the heavier weight find it easy to use.
The reason I am writing this review is to tell about the defective rechargeable battery system on both mice and hope it helps other folks. I will try to keep the story short, but with enough detail that might help others with the same symptoms.
The mice appeared to work for a few weeks, the red light never came on, but I would recharge them every so often. Then the red light (indicating low battery) would come on very soon after taking off the station. I purchased new rechargeable batteries thinking perhaps the batteries were defective. The behavior continued with two different sets of batteries. Using a friend's battery tester, the rechargeable battery tested almost completely full, but the red light would still come on. I put a regular battery (which tested 100% charged), used it for a week and the red light came on. I put one of the new rechargeables in for about 24 hours and the green light was still flashing, indicating it was still charging.
I called Microsoft support, 800-642-7676, talked to a representative, who talked to his advisers and they declared both of them defective and are sending two replacements, which I appreciate.
Here's hoping the new ones work correctly. I know someone else with two of these and the battery charging system works just fine, so we shall see.
18 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Excellent Tracking and Comfy Fit May 12, 2009
By Sunira S. Moses This mouse is an excellent replacement to my older corded laser mouse. I was having issues tracking on my new desk because of the wood grain. I did some reading on the bluetrack technology and it's improved tracking effect so I took the plunge and I can't be happier.
The mouse tracks perfectly on multiple surface types. I even tried it on carpet just for fun and it works on there too!! It's pretty cool to sit on my bed with my laptop and use my mouse on the comforter.
Anyway, I've only been using it a few days so I have no comment on battery life. The mouse turns off on its own pretty quickly, which will hopefully conserve battery.
The shape of the mouse makes for a comfortable fit in my hand. The scroll wheel turns VERY smoothly, unlike my previous click-scroll wheel. This meant it took a little bit for my fingers to adjust to the same level of accuracy with scrolling but it's definitely not a minus. The extra two buttons alongside my thumb were a nice idea but the one closest to my palm is harder to push. I never use it but that may be an issue for someone else.
Overall, I'm really happy with this mouse. It's got this awesome blue halo it throws around itself when you're using it. It fits great in my hand. It tracks flawlessly. What else could I really want?
15 of 17 found the following review helpful:
AMAZING! Feb 15, 2009
By Leslie B. S. I just bought this mouse and it is absolutely amazing and I think everyone is being way too critical! The scrolling is wonderful, the bluetrack technology is great, the recharging is very useful.
I have a Mac and so far all of the buttons have worked exactly as they are supposed to. The forward and back buttons work perfectly in Firefox and Safari and the scroll wheel works in iTunes.
When recharging the mouse, the light turns solid green once it is fully charged. Not to mention that you don't have to fiddle with it to get it to stay on the charger because the light (either red, blinking green, or green) comes on when charging begins.
Furthermore, for the person that complained about the mouse not working on transparent surfaces, the box specifically says "BlueTrack Technology does not work on clear glass or mirrored surfaces" - so it's really not fair to expect the mouse to do something that it specifically says it can't do.
This mouse is a replacement for the Mighty Mouse which seems to break ever 6 months or so, and doesn't have nearly as many wonderful features as the Explorer. Hands down, best mouse I've ever used!
13 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Works great Apr 07, 2009
By B. Johnson Really like this mouse. The 'clickless' mousewheel is very smooth & quiet. The mouse tracks well on all kinds of surfaces. I'm on the couch now, using the armrest as a mousepad. A few minutes ago, I was using the dog's stomach (she's on the couch too) as the mouse pad.
It seems like the mouse should snap into the charger dock, but it doesn't, it just sort of sits on top of it. I initially was putting a book on top of the mouse in the charger to keep it down, but found out that was unnecessary. It charges even though it doesn't mount into the dock.
I've had millions of mice over the years it seems, this one is my favorite.
See all 238 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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