MiniPRO Mouse
(OS X Compatible)
Company: Contour Design Ltd.
Price: $34.95
http://www.contourdesign.com/minipro.htm
With the ever increasing rise in popularity of on-the-go computing, lead in no small part by both the Apple iBook and more expensive PowerBooks, more and more people are finding a need for a small, compact mouse to use. While the standard Apple optical mouse in my no means a really large mouse (compared to many others out there) laptop users, for the most part, need something smaller.
Enter the MiniPRO Mouse from Contour Design.
Following the popular trend in recent mouse technology, the MiniPRO Mouse is an optical mouse, just like the clear Apple mouse. But the MiniPRO is about half as small as the standard Apple mouse. Compact and small, it has a very cute appearance, something Mac users always find important.
On the plus side, the mouse works well. Looking more like an oblong white Chicken egg, the MiniPRO Mouse easily glides over any smooth surface. It connects via USB, and the cable is plenty long enough to reach your keyboard or USB hub, providing neither is far away. (Cord length is 32″.) It comes in both white and titanium color. It also ships with its own plastic “Pack n’ Go” case.
On the minus, the mouse feels cheap. It is a single button mouse, probably due to its compact size. The only button does not fit into the mouse itself, but rather sticks up. This has caused me to pull up on the buttons front a few times by mistakes, producing a springing “Twang” sound. The case it ships in is very own case, but is wholly unattractive. The case is also large, larger than a standard Apple mouse, so what is the point of having a small mouse if the case is so large? Do Mice really take that bad of a beating on the road? (My standard Apple Optical mouse does not and easily fits in the case with my own PowerBook.) The MiniPro’s outer plastic reminds me of the shinny Microsoft Mice of the early 1990’s, that sparkled when light hit it. I cannot say much about the Titanium MiniPRO, as I did not review that model.
All in all, the MiniPRO Mouse feels cheap, but works well. The case is more for marketing the mouse than anything else. The mouse itself works fine, but the exposed sharp edge of the mouse button worries me.
There are plenty of smaller input devices out there today, and the MiniPRO Mouse is average or below at best.
MacMice Rating: 2 out of 5
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