Reviews for Microsoft 5000 Laser Mouse

Personality over beauty kind of mouse

Strengths: Bluetooth nice compromise between battery saving and actual usage (doesn't sleep aggressively); button material repels dirt; default works nice with Mac OS x; OFF button

Weakness: ugly; software essential for button mapping; scroll wheel from 1996.

Choosing a bluetooth mouse for a MAC is harder than it seems. On one hand, you have a great design like Apple's mighty mouse except the parts are junk (the scroll wheel gets gunk within 1 month). On the other side of the gamut, you get a logitech V2xx/V4xx series where the bluetooth battery savings power is so aggressive, you get intermittent lag when it sleep and reconnects. Sighing at both choices, when I saw a bluetooth mouse from Microsoft, I gave it a blind shot. To sum it up, Microsoft has a great foundation -- on the inside.

The microsoft bluetooth setting approaches what the might mouse does well - that is doesn't get disconnected intermittently to live up to some marketing claim on the box of xx hours of battery life. I rather give up 1 month of battery life (use rechargeables) than a mouse that lags. If it bothers me using office productivity software this much, gamers stay away. But this microsoft does the bluetooth well - I haven't changed the batteries for a month and that's great because it stays connected when I want it to. Besides, since I'm not so lazy, when I go to sleep at night, I simply flick the switch off. How novel but how critical that the engineers did this right. The material on the mouse is not very haptic friendly. The materials feels like some coating that tries to repel daily grime but it feels so synthetic that you will never adore the surface like a metal or glass.

The things it doesn't do well is presentation. It is one ugly mouse. When the microsoft advert takes the focus of the mouse 100% of the time while probably using 10% of the available surface area, you know someone in the art department took a day off. The off-white and grey scheme clashes too - and there are no other variations of colors. How about a simple pure white to make it visually bigger because it is short and stocky - just ugly. Someone needs to remind them that a monochromatic scheme works wonder but that memo got recycled. Now the biggest USAGE gripe is the scroll wheel. Remember all those "OEM" mices that internet retailers sell with obscure names. Imagine one of those scroll wheels on your mouse and make it notchy and loud and overtly plastic. So in effect, make it ten times worse. So there you have 1996 technology in a 2008 product. ANTI-FUNCTIONAL.

When you are a desperate typist like me and touchpad just doesn't allow that fine pin point control, you have to deal with remedial remedies like a notebook mouse. I certainly can't stand to look at it but because it works well wirelessly or should I say bluetoothy and I can endure the scroll wheel from antiquity, it works for me. Not an essential buy for casual users because it simply lacks so much. For those who don't need a bluetooth mouse, there are 2.4ghz radio technology mice that run circles around this one. Choose that mature tech if you need wireless and leave the guinea pigs for people like us who have no choice.

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Nice little mouse

Strengths: Ergonomics, back button, tactile mouse wheel, quality of construction, laser optics

Weakness: Incompatible with Dell 355 bluetooth module drivers (WIDCOMM)

I bought this mouse for a Dell Vostro 1500. Out of the package, it is a good quality mouse with good ergonomics. The first problem was the WIDCOMM bluetooth stack on my Vostro 1500 laptop running Windows XP. I have switched back to original Microsoft bluetooth stack and the mouse connected successfully. I removed one star because of this incompatibility of the mouse with WIDCOMM bluetooth driver. By the way, switching back to Microsoft bluetooth stack was not so easy. Regarding the use of mouse, tracking of the mouse cursor is smooth on the screen due to laser optics, mouse buttons have a well-balanced tactile feeling, the wheel also has tactile response (which I prefer) instead of smooth vertical scrolling of the other MS mice. Back button is an additional feature that is handy for me. There is no horizontal scrolling feature on the mouse wheel but I do not really care about this feature.

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Great... Unless You Want to Reassign Buttons

Strengths: Basically works as advertised; smooth operation and high-quality "look and feel"; compact for superior portability.

Weakness: Lack of driver support limits customizability; not the most comfortable mouse I've used.

This mouse works as advertised on a ThinkPad notebook running Windows XP. Bluetooth pairing was painless, and I'm pleased with the smooth functioning of the mouse, not to mention the elimination of the transceiver unit--one more black box I'd have to schlep around.

Size and shape are matters of personal preference, and I would agree with those who suggest trading off some comfort is an acceptable compromise for portability. Overall, this mouse has a quality feel and seems to be well made; it has a nice heft to it, and the buttons and wheel provide solid, reassuring tactile feedback.

My biggest beef with this mouse is the lack of a dedicated or inclusive driver. It does not come with a driver disk, and it is not listed among the supported models in the latest Microsoft IntelliPoint software. Please don't misunderstand: this mouse works fine out of the box under Win XP (and, presumably, Vista). You'll only want a new driver if you're not happy with the default button assignments.

I called Microsoft technical support about this omission, and they confirmed that anyone who wants to reassign button functions is SOL... for now. The tech rep would not confirm whether a future version of IntelliPoint would support this mouse, but I remain hopeful.

As of this writing (8 November 2007), therefore, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this mouse. As soon as the software side of things catch up, I'll be singing a different tune.

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very good mouse for notebook

Strengths: bluetooth, easy pairing, laser, responsive, quiet soft-click

Weakness: loud scroll wheel, connection drops sometimes, no forward button

This mouse has a quality feel and seems to be well made. The bluetooth pairing with notebook is seamless. The battery indicator and power switch are nice features. The power assumption seems very low: the original pair of batteries still have juice after nearly three month. I also have a Logitech VX Nano, which has a better scroll wheel feel and lower profile. But I like 5000's soft click much, much more. It will be perfect if this mouse has a forward button and a better, quieter scroll wheel. The connection drops sometime, but reconnects in seconds. It deserves 5 except for the not-so-smooth scroll wheel.

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Could be better

Strengths: Bluetooth connectivity - no dongle required. Connects easily to Macbook.

Weakness: Irregular tracking. Wheel is loud. Wheel jams when you try to scroll quickly. Heavy (requires 2 batteries).

I had high hopes for this mouse, but found that it still has a lot of room for improvement.

The mouse connected easily with my MacBook through Bluetooth, which is great, since there are no USB dongles needed.

Unfortunately, the mouse has a number of shortcomings. The wheel is not very comfortable - it clicks loudly in one direction. When I try to scroll down rapidly, it jams against the edge of the wheelwell. It requires 2 AAA batteries and is pretty heavy.

The tracking is not that great - it seems to be irregular, although this may reflect a limitation of the Bluetooth rather than the mouse itself.

There are notebook mice made by Logitech with tiny dongles which barely protrude out of the USB port. I'll probably look at those as an alternative to using Bluetooth.

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Preferred over the BT500 mouse

Strengths: Quiet, battery life, back button, battery indicator is a nice feature

Weakness: scroll wheel a little stiff

I previously owned a Bluetake BT500 mouse (same as the RadTech BT500), until the scroll wheel stopped working. After shopping around online, I settled on the MS Notebook Mouse 5000, and so far I am quite pleased.

Size: I travel a lot and like to travel light, so size matters for me. The 5000 is slightly bigger than the BT500 was, but still much smaller than a normal mouse. I find that the 5000's shape is more comfortable to use than the BT500 was.

Battery life: A big concern for me. Both mice use 2 AAA batteries, and I use rechargeables. My rechargeables are old, so they don't hold a charge like they used to. Lately, I've only gotten ~2-3 days out of the BT500, which was quite annoying. The 5000 seems to be more efficient. 1 week and counting without a recharge.

Usage: It's a mouse, and it works fine. The optical tracking is quite good - the BT500 sometimes had trouble working on glossy surfaces, but the 5000 works well on every surface I have tried. The back button is a bonus that I appreciate. The scroll wheel is a tad stiffer than I like, but works fine. The buttons are very quiet when clicked - small detail, but noticeably nice if you will be using it during meetings when you would prefer to be silent. The battery indicator is a nice addition. The mouse comes with a snug case to avoid dings. Pairing the mouse to my laptop (Win XP) was a breeze, and I didn't have to install any software -- Windows just figured it out.

All in all, a great choice. Paid $40 for it.

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Microsoft Notebook Bluetooth Laser Mouse 5000

Strengths: No USB dongles required for wireless connection to the laptop.

Weakness: A tad on the small side.

The mouse works like a champ. Easy to use, with an on / off button. It even comes with it's own case for storage. Very comfortable too. Takes two AAA batteries, which it comes with.

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Should have known Microsoft stuff is absolute crap.

Strengths: It's a good mouse

Weakness: Only works with Microsoft Bluetooth Stack

The mouse worked great when I ran the MS Bluetooth stack, but unfortunately the MS makes my Lenovo T60p bluescreen when using the Wireless switch. Installing the WIDCOMM stack solves this, but now my mouse won't work.

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Bad Idea...

Strengths: Design, size/portability

Weakness: No drivers, incompatibilities, microsoft doesnt list it as a product of theres

Wont work on my Vista Business laptop. Tried everything, for hours. Microsoft will charge me 50$ to contact them on it because as far as their support and webpage show...its not even a listed product of theres.

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great if was consistent

Strengths: light, simple and ergonomic. Great mouse

Weakness: Worked for one week and not anymore after. I put different sets of brand new batteries and still did not work. Mouse kept indicating that battery was low even after brand new batteries were loaded.

Would of loved to kept this mouse because of the no USB receiver required but I guess it was too good to be true because the mouse only lasted so long and I went to best buy and get my money back still looking for a replacement.

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Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse

Strengths: Feels good in hand, connects automatically after initial pair

Weakness: Can only pair with 1 computer at a time and must remember to turn it off with

I purchased this mouse so I wouldn't need to use a usb port of my laptop and it has worked out great so far, like that it has a battery gauge meter so no wondering when the batteries will die, no extra adapter in the bottom for the usb port, pairs easily the first time and connects to my computer every time just need to turn it on. I was hoping that it would pair with multiple computers as I have 2 laptops but it doesn't and I keep forgetting to turn it off with the power switch.

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Pretty good mouse

Strengths: Feels good, nice erognomics. Very responsive. Small form factor for portability. Easy setup.

Weakness: Wheel is a little stiff and a little louder than it should be

This mouse is great for what it does. It feels good in your hands, is small enough to carry around with any size notebook and has no dongle to lose which adds to its portability. It is very responsive for a mouse and has great range. Much better than most wireless mice. Only down side is the wheel. It is completely functional and works great, but it is a little stiffer than it should be and makes a slightly annoying clicking sound when scrolling upwards. Not so big an issue, but it is a detraction. great product overall though.

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Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000

THE GOOD: No USB receiver required, ambidextrous design, thumb button included. THE BAD: Squat shape not comfortable for long-term use; not as thin as other laptop mice. THE BOTTOM LINE: For mobile mousing without the hassle of a receiver, Microsofts Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 fits the bill as long as you dont mind its somewhat lumpy design.

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Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000

The Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 is a battery-operated, wireless laser mouse that connects to a Windows or Macintosh PC via Bluetooth. It in fact requires no transceiver, which means other USB ports can be freed for other devices. And it uses high-definition laser technology for more precise and smoother tracking. Since it does require batteries, a battery life LED indicator is...

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Best Bluetooth Mouse for Mac

Bestcovery experts have rated the Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 as a best pick for the Best Bluetooth Mouse for Mac. This product has also been rated as a best pick for the Best Notebook Mouse. Bestcovery's experts recommend the best products and services for a particular need based on extensive research and evaluations. Click below to see Bestcovery's full review of this product.

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Testseek.com has collected 13 expert reviews for Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 and the average expert rating is 81 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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