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The 3M Ergonomic Optical mouse stands
upright and is kind of like a joystick. The mouse was
designed to fit into your hand for maximum comfort and is
available in small/medium and large sizes. We received the
large model for testing.
With the 3M Mouse, it took about two
weeks before the design of the mouse didn't bother me
anymore. It only takes a week before you should find
that you are able to masterfully control it without pressing
any buttons accidentally. What I would recommend is to
use a fairly decent mousing surface or mouse pad, because
the mouse sometimes may have problems when it is being used
on a mediocre mousing surface.
With the 3M, your hand will stay in a
natural position, your wrist will not move and your arms
will dictate all movement. Many people don't realize that
it isn't comfortable to continue moving your wrist while
keeping your arm in a stationary position. This ‘mouse’ just
needs to be plugged in and should function normally. To use
the programmable third button, or mouse utility program,
users must download the drivers from 3M's web site.
There are two primary buttons. There is
also a very thin button where your thumb rests. The first
two buttons are like the buttons on a standard mouse. The
third button is a button that allows users to browse back
when the button is pressed. This takes time to get used to
because you may accidentally click on it by mistake. The
button by your thumb is a button that will click you forward
after it has been pressed.
The Renaissance (this was an old name
for the 3M Ergo mouse, which has now been scratched
apparently) movement accuracy was decent, but users honestly
shouldn't get their hopes up too high. It was somewhat
difficult to try and play any games with this mouse,
especially something that involves quick (but not
necessarily accurate) movement.
The biggest problem with this mouse is
that it will require some retraining. This should not be
too surprising because most of you probably aren't used to
using a mouse that is essentially a joystick. I have spoken
with several users that mentioned that they ultimately could
not adapt to the odd mousing style of this particular
mouse.
The 3M Ergonomic mouse has been designed for only right
handed computer users.
The final mouse we are going to review
today is the Evoluent VerticalMouse 2. Upon arrival, I
immediately noticed just from its looks this was going to be
a sturdy mouse that should be easy to adapt to. This mouse
will eliminate arm twisting by keeping your arm in the
handshake position. Evoluent also offers a left handed
version of the VerticalMouse 2, which will certainly appeal
to users that are tired of a mouse biased towards right
handed users.
Another nice feature about this mouse is
that there is very little retraining required, because it is
just like a regular mouse except it is turned sideways. Not
only is this helpful because people will immediately be
comfortable with the mouse, it really does help reduce
pain.
According to manufacturer’s specs, the
VerticalMouse 2 sports a 1000 dpi optical sensor. Although
the mouse wasn't designed for heavy gaming, it was possible
for me to learn to use the mouse to play games like Diablo
II and Starcraft. We wouldn't recommend trying to use the
mouse to play games like Half-Life 2 and Quake 3.
The main action buttons and scroll wheel
are on the right side of the mouse, and the mouse has five
buttons that can be programmable. Along with the two
standard buttons and scroll wheel, there is a third button
below the right button, and a long, thin button where the
thumb commonly rests.
After a much extended period of mousing
with the VerticalMouse 2, I can't say that I was able to
find a major complaint about this mouse. Some people may
not prefer to always be in the handshake position, but that
will vary depending on user’s tastes.
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