Digital Streets

I am always on the lookout for a good mouse to use with my laptop.  Looking for something small, comfortable and effective.  I recently came across the Kensington Ci75m.  The stylish Ci75m has a low profile design, making it an easy fit in my laptop bag.   The ergonomic design allows it to easily fit in your hand.

It is quite comfortable to use and functions quite well, however the power management functions of this mouse is what I found to be the real attraction.  At first, the Ci75m seems like just another wireless mouse.  The USB receiver is stored on the underside of the mouse.  Removing it will activate the mouse.  Plug in the receiver and you are ready to go.  If you happen to leave your laptop, the mouse will go into an automatic sleep state to preserve battery power.  To activate the mouse, simply click one of the mouse buttons and go back to your computing.  When the battery power is at a level less than 10%, a warning light will show on the mouse wheel.

In other mice, when the batteries are dead, so is your mouse.  The Ci75m has a trick up its sleeve though.  Remove the top half of the mouse (it is attached to the base by several small magnets).   Under the hood you will find a small cable wrapped around the inside of the mouse.  Unwrap the cable, plug the cable into the mouse’s receiver and now you have a wired solution.  You can continue to use your laptop until the next time you can get some batteries.  This is great for those times when you can’t just stop and buy more batteries (like when you are on an airplane).

Specifications:

• PC and Mac compatible
• 27 MHz wireless
• Performance Optical sensor (1000 dpi)
• Low battery indicator on scroll wheel
• Powered by 2 AAA batteries or USB

I have to give this mouse a thumbs up.  Great look, feel and performance and the back-up power functionality totally rocks!