A mouse is a very personal item, as what works for you, may not work for others. Some like their mice with loads of buttons while others prefer ergonomics and yet some want a corded mouse and others want a wireless mouse. Whatever your preference is, it’s best to try out a few mice before making a purchase; if you have that luxury at your local retail establishment.
Microsoft has put out a new line of peripherals, the Wedge mouse and Wedge keyboard. This review focuses on the Wedge mouse but we will follow up shortly with the Wedge Keyboard.
The Wedge mouse rings up the cash register at 69.95 and is a compact mouse based around a touch sensitive plane. Measuring in at 2.39 inches wide and 2.11 inches in length, the mouse is quite small.
The Wedge mouse is attractive, minimalist, and built of high quality materials; the mouse only comes in one color, black. The surface of the mouse doesn’t exhibit fingerprints but oil from your skin does show up on the device with prolonged use.
On the back of the device where the two molded pieces of plastic meet there is a gap where a light shines through when pairing the device for the first time. From that point on, the light is off, although we suspect it will light up when the battery runs low. On the bottom there is one button and one switch. The power button turns the device on and off and assists with pairing the device to your PC or tablet. The switch, when activated, releases the battery door with a quick sliding mechanism that slides one edge of the wedge open. There are also two small plastic risers on the bottom for easy sliding and to keep the button/switch from accidently being activated.
The mouse uses Microsoft’s BlueTrak technology and Bluetooth to connect to your PC/tablet. The device takes one AA battery and to preserve battery life, the mouse has “backpack” mode that turns it off automatically when not in use. We did not have a chance to test the battery life of the mouse as these types of devices typically run for months before the battery expires.
When you first pick up the mouse you will notice two things, it’s quite small and it has a bit of weight to it. It’s not a heavy mouse but it doesn’t feel hollow either; the weight is good and the peripheral is made of high quality plastics.
The mouse is certainly attractive and when you place it on a desk with the Wedge keyboard and a tablet, it fills out the picture of the mobile warrior who is here to work but has a sense of style too. The flat black look is appealing and something we quite like; it works well in practice too.
Pairing the device with our Samsung Series 7 slate running Windows 8 was a breeze and took only a matter of seconds to get the mouse up and running.
Being such a small mouse, you certainly lose a bit of ergonomics with the device. While using it for a constant 8 hours during the work day might become a bit tiresome, using the Wedge mouse as your travel companion could be the ideal scenario.
The mouse is accurate and articulate with its movements on a variety of surfaces and operates nearly identical to all of the other Microsoft mice we have used. Gesturer support, when paired with Windows 8, is natural and works as advertised. The gesture plane on the mouse is a bit small (no surprise here given its size) but it is responsive to our movements. One issue we had was that it scrolled ridiculously fast out of the box when surfing the web but a quick settings change in Windows 8 fixed this issue.
Because of it’s size, the Wedge mouse will likely be a consideration for those who need a travel mouse, not a daily driver which makes the $69.95 price tag a bit harder to swallow. When you think about bringing along the Wedge mouse with your tablet (or the upcoming Surface), it’s role becomes a bit more apparent. In our opinion, the Wedge mouse is the device you bring with your Windows 8 tablet as it is compact, full featured, and has a touch of style. What the mouse is not, is a replacement for your desktop peripheral.
In our testing, we really enjoyed the mouse with the expectation that it is a mobile warrior and not daily driver. With a slew of Windows 8 tablets coming out right around the corner, the Wedge Mouse is an excellent companion to pair with your device.
