Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 3000 - Periwinkle Blue

Middling points:
It works fine up to 1 metre from the receiver.

Definitely doesn't work above 1.20 metres (that's OK, but not brilliant).
Left and right mouse buttons have nice light feel, but the tilt-left and tilt-right buttons need a long deliberate push (probably OK, they won't get pressed accidentally)
The wheel button also requires a deliberate push and sometimes doesn't register if the wheel is slightly tilted.
Unlike earlier wheel mice, the wheel is notch-less - I preferred the tactile feedback of feeling the notches while rolling the wheel, but it is probably just a matter of taste.
The lower half of the mouse is translucent plastic and the radio receiver is completely translucent. Both glow due to the embedded LEDs and both look a bit odd to me, but it's another matter of taste.

Bad points:
There's only one - the supplied Intellipoint 5.0 mouse software will only work with Windows 2000, XP and Mac 10.1 or higher (it says this on the box, so it's not a bug). The software will not even partly install on earlier versions of Windows - it's a total no-no.

If you want to use the mouse on Windows 98SE, like me, there are some options:
1. The mouse will work quite happily with no software installed at all, except the tilt-left and tilt-right buttons don't do anything and you can't configure the mouse defaults.
2. Microsoft Intellipoint 4.12 is downloadable from http://support.microsoft.com and will install on Windows 98 - but this makes the mouse movement jerky and is far worse than no software at all.
3. Microsoft Intellipoint 3.2 isn't downloadable from Microsoft, but may be available elsewhere. I had an old copy from 2001, so I installed that, telling the software I had a Wireless Intellimouse Explorer (picking a 4-button mouse from the list). Normal mouse functions such as button assignments and speed can now be configured, though the tilt-left and tilt-right buttons still don't do anything.

The only bad point is that the IR sensor on the mouse keeps blinking after the computer is turned off and there is no "off" switch for traveling. Those looking to use the mouse with a frequently traveling laptop may want to consider the size of the signal reciever which is nearly the size of the mouse itself.

The main reason for replacing my previous wireless optical mouse was its bad battery life & right-hand only design. This MS mouse is symetrical & has the best feel of any mouse I've used. Being left-handed, I was more than willing to forgo the extra button the Right-handed Explorer version has. I tend to use my index finger for all buttons which is very easy with this mouse or occasionally use both index & middle finger. MS appear to have solved high battery comsumption, with a quoted 6 month life from 2 AA alkalines. I've used this mouse heavily for 2 months & the battery indicator is still showing about 80%. The response time seems fine so gamers should be happy. As has been mentioned by others, the range this mouse works over is very good & the use of mobile & DECT phones or Bluetooth devices near it causing no problems to any device.

The main new functions (to me) are to the scroll wheel which now sports left/right scrolling who's linear rate can be adjusted. This function works well in most MS apps like Office & Windows Explorer but is far too slow at panning in PaintShop Pro for example. Vertical scrolling now has adjustable acceleration as well as speed which can be disabled for linear scrolling. The only disadvantage I can think off is that vertical scrolling doesn't have any indent at all - probably by design rather than oversight due to the acceleration capability rendering indents less predictable. I would prefer the indent action to be re-introduced on future models with linear tracking at low speeds. Be careful not to set either vertical scrolling speed nor acceleration too high or you will find using so-called Spinbox controls overshoot.

MS always seem to keep the general amount of tweaking the same from version to version of their software so new functionality pushes out the old. If you hold a mouse at a skewed angle, there's no longer adjustment to correct it. Strangely, there's no adjustment of accelration of the mouse itself - just on or off but not really a major issue (now called Enhance pointer precision). The Snap To function remains which I use with Windows set to single click. The software includes a tab for wireless that shows both battery level & signal strength.

Button assignment could be better - eg, F keys are missing. I find clicking the wheel easy & have no issues on the physical useablity of using left/right scrolling. Due to vertical acceration, moving from top to bottom of web pages, documents & Explorer views far quicker with this mouse.

So not quite perfect but the best mouse this left-handed user has encountered. I have connected via USB but use the PS/2 port which is easier to bring WinXP out of Standby mode without tweaking motherboard settings or jumpers. The receiver is bigger than really needed, not particularly pretty & sports a green LED & is made of the same translucent plastic that the concave sides of the mouse have. Good construction, price & the plastic stands up to my acidic fingers without marking - almost a piece of sculpture :) The blue version of this mouse looked boring, so I waited for the red version - also available in grey for you roughy-toughy guys :)