With an aim of reducing the risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI), Microsoft's latest take on the mouse is the Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000.
As the name suggests it's a laser mouse, which means no picking fluff out of trackballs. It's also wireless, meaning it's not restricted by any form of tether.
Its main selling point, though, is its design. Shaped to have your hand elevated and tilted to one side, Microsoft research has found that using the Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 shifts pressure from the middle of the wrist to the side of the palm, reducing pressure on the carpal tunnel, which is a contributing factor of RSI.
In practice, the new design feels much more comfortable than a traditionally shaped mouse. A lip on the side offers the thumb a resting place, which allows the rest of the hand to mould to the new shape. It's a bit like holding a tennis ball. However, this mouse is for right-handers only, so lefties will either have to make the switch, or look elsewhere for their ergonomic fix.
The forefinger and middle finger position themselves naturally over the left and right mouse buttons and the thumb is in easy reach of an additional two buttons that can be used for browsing back and forward through websites.
Providing the accompanying software is installed, pressing one of these buttons will activate a magnifying tool, allowing you to zoom into an area on-screen. This could be handy for editing a digital photo, for example. All buttons can be customised too.
The scroll wheel offers four-way document and website scrolling. Pressing it will display every window you've currently got open. You can then point and click to select which application, folder or document to work with.
Another new feature is the battery life indicator. Positioned on top of the mouse it glows red when juice is running low. Unfortunately the Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 isn't rechargeable (it uses two AA batteries), but of course a set of third party AA rechargeables can be used.
As the Laser Mouse 6000 is wireless, a receiver has to be connected to a free USB port. It's compatible with existing Microsoft wireless mouse and keyboard receivers, though.
At £60 it's certainly not cheap but after a couple of weeks use, we definitely noticed alleviation with the amount of wrist strain previously endured, which can only be a good thing. The real test is whether this continues in the long term.
Also consider
Logitech MX Revolution laser mouse
Overall: For serious mouse users, there aren't many devices
that fit as well as the Logitech MX Revolution and have as many features
Rating: 5
Price: £80
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