If you are like me, you likely have a case of computer mice sitting around your house from old machines which you do not need any more. However, also like me, unless they are the old roll-ball mice, you do not want to get rid of them because you may need them someday. This was the case when ProtoArc told me they wanted me to review one of their mice. I thought to myself, “What am I going to do with another mouse?” Well, the answer to my question is that I am going to change the way I think about computer mice because of how amazing the vertical mouse is.
Market
Everyone needs an I/O system for their machine – you need some way to talk to the computer. Most people use one of three methodologies: touchpads, trackballs, or mice. If you rely on the former two, you are likely a person with an Iphone to be cool (just kidding, but really move on to Android with the rest of the world). Mice come down to what you are comfortable with, so their market is people who are willing to use mice. Additionally, people who have wrist trouble will find that the design does not have you twisting your elbow to move the mouse; it seems weird to say, but you will notice your hand is more comfortable at a 45 degree angle. So this reaches out to a large market segment. 7 of 10.
Ease of Set Up
This is a great plug and play product, at least on a PC. When you receive the mouse, it has a light charge, so you may want to plug it in with the included USB-C cord. Once it is charged, you plug in the dongle and you are off to work. The only real set up is the different functional buttons – there are three (four if you include the clickable track wheel). This lets you set it up for gaming. The back thumb button works as a back button on browsers, so the initial set up works pretty well. 9 of 10.
Ease of Use
Now, this took about a day of getting used to. The main button positioning is natural, but because of 40 odd years of using a two-button mouse flat, you may need to adjust a little. I also found that my click speed in the new position was a little faster, which resulted in some double clicks, so I had to slow down my mouse (I have since restored it to regular settings). I have been using it for two weeks on the first charge, and it is still going strong, so there is amazing battery life. Overall, the buttons and the wheel seem natural, so it is almost instinctive to use it, once you get used to your hand being in a natural position. 9 of 10.
Utility
It is a work mouse, not a high level gaming mouse. This means there are the aforementioned four programmable buttons. What you need it for determines its usefulness. I tested this one through a variety of different normal business tasks. I found that it works well with my ShuttlePro shuttle for video editing, and for word processing, spreadsheets and databases it also works well. Even with some light gaming, it functioned well with my Corsair keyboard. Overall, it is a workhorse, but a good workhorse. 8.5 of 10.
Cool Factor/Overall
It has the lights, it has the buttons, it has the odd shape. All the things you are looking for in a cool mouse. As hard as it is for a mouse to be cool, this little guy does it. 8.5 of 10. This gives the unit an overall score of 42, which is a monster score. I am honestly thinking of picking up two more units, one for my travel computer and one for my girlfriend. This may replace my 2006 Logitec Pro mouse as my best mouse of all time (it died in 2017, and I was using a Microsoft three-button mouse for most daily use). This mouse has all of what you are looking for in a mouse: easy to use, smooth scroll, and enough programmable buttons that it’s not confusing but still fun to play with. This should definitely be on your buy list.
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