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Top Rated Product

Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Model number: 5AA-00001 | SKU: 8954189

Take this portable mouse with you on your next business trip for go-anywhere portability.

Average Customer Rating:

4.2 out of 5

8 of 11 (73%) customers would recommend this product to a friend.

Customer Reviews for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Review 1 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Customer Rating

5.0 5

Most comfortable mouse I've ever used 12/31/2008
By niwin from Berkeley, CA

Value for Price

4.0 5

Compatibility

5.0 5

Design

5.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

What's great about it: Extremely comfortable, rechargeable battery, tiny USB dongle, excellent tracking
What's not so great: High price, so-so battery life

"This is by far the most comfortable mouse I've ever used. And I've been through a lot of mice, trackballs, even joystick mice. The tracking is excellent and works as advertised on all sorts of unconventional surfaces. It looks slick and stylish with the blue lights.

It comes with a recharging station. The battery lasts about 3 weeks between charges with light usage. The USB dongle is small. The signal strength can be a problem - if you have obstructions between the dongle and the mouse, you may get jerky action. Since its a tiny dongle instead of a receiver at the end of a cord you will not be able to reposition it for optimal signal strength unless you buy a USB extension cord.

The price is a tad high, but I think for the great new tracking technology and the comfort it is worth it.

Some people don't like the lack of indents, but I've grown to like it. It feels a lot smoother than the other Microsoft indent-less mice."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 2 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Customer Rating

5.0 5

One Great but Costly Mouse 12/27/2008
By NoviceMatt from Houston, Tx

Value for Price

4.0 5

Compatibility

5.0 5

Design

5.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

What's great about it: Responsive, Well Designed and Built, Fits in Hand
What's not so great: Device was already scratched at the bottom

"I am a student that works on Macs and uses those Mighty "Mice"- great devices. Although they have spoiled me with their accuracy, 4way scrolls, and hidden right click, and Expose buttons. At home, I use a PC. Yes, I am caught wishing for some decent middle ground. Before I bought this mouse, I used a standard Microsoft "Wheel Mouse Optical". And I would constantly catch myself thinking and using that Microsoft mouse as if it was a Mighty Mouse. Had to upgrade.

Since I work with Adobe suites on both PC and Mac, I needed something with excellent tracking. Needed a muted scroll wheel when scrolling through music files, and I needed something future proof- or at least to an extent. And I needed something suitable for gaming. I also needed something that looked great while doing all these things. Portability, yeah its great, but Im not one to take my own expensive things to different places. And if this a mouse is wireless it better be rechargeable!

I settled on the Explorer Mouse. Now I dont have gorilla hands nor do I have the hands of a plastic doll, but I found the mouse to fit perfectly- whether you grip with like a grapefruit or have your wrist on the table surface. The wheel mouse is not muted- its silent; sadly, its not a sphere like the Mighty Mice- the Explorer Mouse is strictly X and Y axis. I have read reviews that say that to depress the scroll wheel is to press it away from the user. I found that to be incorrect. As long as you press downward on the wheel mouse- at any location- the mouse registers it. The left and right click buttons, however, are loud- a contrast to my original mouse. Personally, I like the feedback; its like a confirmation that I clicked a button. Both left and right click buttons make different sounds- the right is a muted click.
The side buttons are a different issue. If you grip the mouse like a fruit, those buttons are nearly inaccessible without loosening the your grip or repositioning your hand and lifting the mouse slightly. If you place your wrist on the table surface- those buttons are easier to access without difficulty.

The USB radio receiver is small and hides nicely in a rear USB port. It does stick out like a small ThumbDrive. The Mouse does have a rubberized cavity for you to place it in when you pack the mouse to go somewhere. But I would not trust it- always keep those things secured in a good bag's pocket. When the receiver is placed in the cavity, it does not rest flush.

The tracking is very good if not too good. There are times when the cursor just flies off the screen when just giving the mouse a little nudge. For PC, you can slow responsiveness down with the supplied Microsoft Mouse application or in "Mouse" in the Control Panel. The scroll wheel does offer a bit of a challenge when playing the latest blockbuster RPG or FPS games- it does offer you to tone your skills but becomes more of a handicap rather than skill sharpener. For arcade games, life simulators, and civilization builder games- this should pose no problems. REMEMBER TO TONE DOWN THE SETTINGS IN "MOUSE" in the PC CONTROL PANEL.

Being new, my mouse has yet to be recharged. The supplied cradle/pad is a bit tricky. Since there is no latching mechanism, it is very easy to dislodge the mouse from the recharge nodes. That, if I had to lodge a complaint, would be it.

All in All, I would say that this mouse is great. Yes, it is costly but the technology within is new. Is it a must have? Yes and No- it depends on how you interpret the reviews and if you have needs that this mouse addresses. Again, I work with Adobe programs- I need something with better tracking. If you need a new mouse for office applications, this mouse may be overkill. If you work out of your car and need a mouse that works anywhere- yes, this is for you.

As for the scratches I have reported, theyre small and more than likely caused by manufacturing problems. In the long run, whether you use the mouse on the side of tree, your hardwood deck, or on the cement floor in the College Commons, you are going to get scratches.

Hope this review helped."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 3 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Customer Rating

1.0 5

The worst mouse I have ever used 12/06/2008
By JinCT from CT

Value for Price

2.0 5

Compatibility

3.0 5

Design

1.0 5

Ease of Use

1.0 5

What's great about it: Easy open package, bluetrack seems to work
What's not so great: Horrific lag! Weight and smooth scrolling hurt gaming

"I find it unusable. The cursor drags slower than I am moving it, then it jumps to catch up. I feel like I'm swinging the cursor at the end of a rope, trying to hit my mark. Then it will work properly for a few minutes, until it reverts back to the bizarre laggy behavior. I thought the battery might have come with a low charge but even after 24 hours continuous charge it's doing it right now!!!

Others have pointed out the smooth scroll is not useful for any sort of menu selection or gaming and I agree. Without detents the wheel flips through menu items uncontrollably.

Another challenge for gaming is that it weighs too much. The size is large which is ok for me but it's too heavy to allow me to have quick movements like I can with a more typical mouse. For example, I sometimes pick up the mouse for certain movements but I have a hard time with that maneuver with this model.

On the upside the reason I bought it was because my new desk is too reflective for my venerable MS Intellimouse, so it would get "crazy mouse" - the mouse would misread the surface and throw the cursor to the edge of the screen. This mouse doesn't do that, as advertised. Too bad I have to return it for the other issues."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 4 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Customer Rating

3.0 5

Some nice features, but overall, cannot recommend 12/03/2008
By JeffFromOhio from Cincinnati, OH

Value for Price

3.0 5

Compatibility

5.0 5

Design

3.0 5

Ease of Use

3.0 5

What's great about it: Cordless, rechargeable, good compatibility with non-MS O/S (Linux)
What's not so great: Too big/heavy, hard to click mouse wheel without clicking other buttons

"This might be a good mouse for some users, possibly. The first, main drawback I found to this mouse is that it is just big and (for a mouse) heavy. I found it difficult to move it easily and quickly to just where I wanted it. I'm a bit of a gamer, and I just found it too difficult to manipulate this mouse because of the weight and size, and I have somewhat large hands. For someone with small hands, this mouse would be pretty awkward.

The second problem I found is the mouse wheel. One, it has this 'smooth' rolling, instead of the traditional 'click' scrolling. For people just browsing the web and using office applications, that might be OK, might even be a plus. However, I use programs (games, and sometimes some other programs too) which expect the user to be able to scroll the mouse wheel exactly one unit at a time to do things like selecting items in a menu. This 'smooth' scrolling feature meant that even a small spin of the mouse wheel resulted in 2-4 scroll events being sent to the program, so I could never select the right item quickly.

Finally, some programs use the mouse wheel as a 3rd button if you click it inwards in the mouse (as opposed to rolling it). I found it very difficult with this mouse to click in the mouse wheel without accidentally also clicking one of the two 'main' mouse buttons.

Obviously, different users will have different needs and preferences, so some might like the smooth mouse wheel, but just be aware of it, and also be aware that this is a very large mouse.

I think if MS came out with a model which was basically the same, but a bit smaller/lighter, and with an easier to use wheel design, this would be a fantastic product.

One suggestion on how they might be able to reduce the mouse size: use a smaller battery. Since this is a rechargeable unit, I think they could get away with a triple-A size, or smaller, battery, instead of the double-A size currently employed."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 5 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Top 1000 Contributor

Customer Rating

5.0 5

I think a computer is a good thing to have. 11/11/2008
By JaBestQuility

Value for Price

4.0 5

Compatibility

4.0 5

Design

5.0 5

Ease of Use

3.0 5

What's great about it: It is a new highteck mouse.
What's not so great: I think that the mouse is sorta high priced.

"I think that it is good because it can be used far a way from the computer see the old ones were all cordy and they got tangled up laot i highly recommend this item."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Review 6 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Customer Rating

3.0 5

Comfy but Awkward 11/06/2008
By Anonymous Reviewer from Hawaii

Value for Price

3.0 5

Compatibility

3.0 5

Design

2.0 5

Ease of Use

2.0 5

What's great about it: Very comfortable feeling tracks excellent
What's not so great: Hard to control cursor Price

"I tried this mouse the other day. It had very good tracking over many surfaces. Very comfortable as well. It has just one problem. Bad positioning of the optic sensor. If you want to move it straight left or right you must move the whole mouse around. Can't just use your wrist. Like you could with a centered optic sensor."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 7 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Customer Rating

4.0 5

Very nice but not perfect. 11/05/2008
By koodoo from Cambridge, MA

Value for Price

4.0 5

Compatibility

5.0 5

Design

4.0 5

Ease of Use

4.0 5

What's great about it: Very smooth no-sound scroll wheel, rechargeable, two extra customizable buttons, works fine under Linux too.
What's not so great: Scroll wheel has to be clicked in a specific direction (away from the user), very big.

"What I liked:
=============

The first thing that I loved was that the mouse works fine under Linux (and Windows, of course). Event the two side buttons: under Linux the are "Back" and "Forward" in a web-browser by default.

Second thing which I loved was the smooth no-sound (no clicks) scroll wheel. It is as convenient to use as a wheel with clicks. It is great, for example, during meetings since the constant wheel clicking would not annoy anyone or in any situation when one wants to be quiet. The scrolling is also takes very little effort.

The mouse is rechargeable and requires one AA Ni-MH battery (which means it can be easily replaced when the battery dies eventually) and comes with a low charge indicator (slowly flashes red when the mouse needs recharging and slowly flashes green when the mouse is being charged) and an easy charging station.

The two customizable buttons can be assigned (under Windows) many different functions out of the list.

The mouse indeed works on most surfaces. However, I found out that it does not work at all on a concrete wall painted with a white paint. It also barely works on its original package (which could mean that performs poorly). I guess there are always exceptions.

What I did NOT like:
====================

The first (very annoying) from my point of view feature is that the scroll wheel has to be clicked (as a middle button) in a specific direction (away from the user), i.e. if one just presses it down or towards oneself it would not consider it as a (middle) click. So it takes some thinking (or may be a habit) to put a finger on the nearest end of the wheel and press it away. I love using the middle click to open a link in a new tab in FireFox. And also middle clicks are used really a lot under Linux (paste) so I consider it as major drawback of the mouse. I also can not understand why the mouse is designed that way, since unlike scrolling, it takes some effort to click the wheel, so one would not click it accidentally anyway.

The second thing it I did not quite like was that the mouse is very big (its physical size: it is wide and thick - feels like a ball in ones hand). It is probably one of the biggest mouses I ever seen or used. I have small hands and find it more convenient to use narrow and thinner mice. It does not make using the mouse troublesome - just feels somewhat uncomfortable. There is a "Mini" version of the mouse but that one in not rechargeable.

Also I wish the mouse would come with some carrying case."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Review 8 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Customer Rating

5.0 5

Nice Feeling mouse 11/05/2008
By DubOhio from Columbus, OH

Value for Price

4.0 5

Compatibility

5.0 5

Design

5.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

What's great about it: The mouse is great! Plugs and plays with no problems, and tracks really well. Never had a problem witht the batteries.
What's not so great: The clicking is really loud, and the mouse was scratched out of the box!

"kind of expensive for what it is. I would recommend it if your always on the go. The mobile one just dosent feel as nice in your hand as the full size model. I put the mouse back on the charger every time I am done using my computer but have never had a problem with the batteries."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 9 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Customer Rating

5.0 5

Awesome Mouse 10/27/2008
By thecybernerd from Reston, VA

Value for Price

4.0 5

Compatibility

5.0 5

Design

5.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

What's great about it: It works on almost all surfaces and it is very responsive
What's not so great: Nothing yet.........

"Microsoft has developed a very good technology that allows you to use your mouse on many different surfaces. In my house i have granite counter tops and now i am able to use my mouse with my laptop on these countertops. Before i got the Explorer mouse i would use my optical mouse which did not work well on my granite counters. The battery life on the mouse is also very good. I have had it for over two weeks now and have not had to recharge it once! This is an awesome product."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Review 10 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Top 250 Contributor

Customer Rating

5.0 5

Great mouse 10/08/2008
By moran01

Value for Price

4.0 5

Compatibility

5.0 5

Design

5.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

"I have this mouse and it is the best mouse I have ever used. It is so smooth and easy to use. Works great!!"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 11 for Microsoft Explorer Wireless Mouse

Customer Rating

5.0 5

Easy to use mouse 09/12/2008
By 1yankeesfan

What's great about it: Comfortably fitting
What's not so great: eats up batteries fast

"This mouse is my 3rd one and is one of the best I have used."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

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