Graham Hancock

Review: Microsoft Arc Mouse

Since I’ve removed myself from the world of Windows I’ve gained a new perspective. While I may not enjoy Microsoft’s flagship operating system, there are a few things that Microsoft does extremely well and that’s gaming consoles and optical mice. The focus of this review is Microsoft’s new Arc Mouse for users on the go. A full size optical mouse that folds in half to 60% of its size for portability. Short review: I am pleased. Make the jump for the long review.

Usability

The first thing that impressed me about this mouse was how natural it felt in my hand when I used it. The curve that they designed for the arc shape of the mouse is spot on ergonomically. It’s also just the right size. Any smaller and it would probably be too small for me to consider using it as my primary mouse.

However, this size mouse may not be for everyone. I was frustrated at first when my ring finger would fall off the side of the mouse. After a while, I realized that it was not a problem and the only reason I noticed the difference was because my old mouse had a support for my ring finger. I will say that if you have a large hand or particularly large fingers you may find this mouse frustrating.

One misconception people have with the Arc Mouse is that it is still useable after its folded. It’s not. Folding the mouse turns it off to save battery while you’re traveling with it. Folding it back out to its full size turns it back on.

USB Wireless vs. Bluetooth

The Arc Mouse has a tiny USB dongle that is almost smaller than the USB bracket itself. I know a few guys who won’t buy a mouse unless it uses Bluetooth. I can relate: using Bluetooth eliminates the problem of losing a tiny USB dongle.

The USB dongle is tiny but Microsoft has employed a handy force of nature to help keep users from losing the device: Magnetism. The USB dongle magnetically sticks to the bottom of the Arc Mouse and locks in place once you fold the mouse in half. Keeping up with the dongle is as easy as keeping up with the mouse itself.

As for Bluetooth, my current opinion is based on my past experiences. While I wish Bluetooth would infiltrate every technology to connect all of our devices together, one thing Bluetooth has never convincingly delivered to me is a great experience with optical mice. I’ve used Apple’s Bluetooth Mighty Mouse and a few Bluetooth Logitech mice in the past and one thing that plagues the lot of them is a tiny latency between moving and clicking the mouse and what registers on screen with the system you are using. Then there’s a nail in that coffin: battery life. I could never get a Bluetooth mouse to last longer than a month with brand-new batteries.

However, with USB I’m still using the factory provided batteries on two wireless mice that I bought six months ago. I’ve also never experienced latency with wireless USB mice, and the Arc Mouse performs just as well as you would expect.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a mouse that feels natural, and is ultra-portable you should try out the Arc Mouse. Microsoft’s engineers have really found an interesting way for consumers to have a full size mouse but make it portable enough to carry with you. The current retail price of $59.99 may be a little much for folks who are happy with their current mouse, but if you’ve been stuck with an old optical mouse for the last few years it may be time to invest and upgrade to a newer mouse with better technology inside. I’m impressed with the Arc mouse thus far and I plan on using it as my primary mouse for both my desktop and laptop for the foreseeable future.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

Conforms to your hand.
Feels very natural.
Folds in half for portability.
Great battery life.

Cons:

May be too small for some.
Tiny USB dongle may be cumbersome for some.