When I started using my Lenovo Ideapad Y480 notebook (which was purchased on Black Friday of 2012), I quickly realized that I was in need of a laptop mouse. I didn’t want something that was too big to be portable, nor too small to be hard to use. I soon came upon the Microsoft Mobile Mouse 4000, and decided to give it a try. Here I am with my review.
The Mouse itself has an obvious plastic design, yet with the help of the side grips, it is very comfortable to use. Not too big, and not too small, I’m going with a Goldilocks reference here.
It features a left and right clicker along with a middle “smooth scroll” wheel that includes left and right nudges, which can be programmed to do different things by using Microsoft’s mouse software.
The Smooth Scroll wheel was initially something I kind of didn’t care much about, but once I started using it I realized the little “click click” I had always felt when using the wheel on other mice, was gone. Instead I was, well, smoothly scrolling. Very nice feature, although some might not like it.
Also, on the top is a battery indicator light that lets you know when you need to replace the battery. It will turn itself on for a few seconds every time you turn on the mouse, but it is more helpful than annoying.
On the left side, there is a “Back” button that, by default, you can use to “Go Back” while browsing the web or other things. Sometimes I found myself hitting this unintentionally, but I probably just haven’t gotten used to it being there.
On the back, there is a logo of some sort, and on the right side there is another grip.
On the bottom, you will find a very nice dongle holder for your USB connector, an on/off switch, a button to pop out the dongle, a hole for the blue laser to sensor through, and a single AA battery compartment.
The dongle holder is really a nice addition and really shows that Microsoft thought about people potentially losing their dongle during travel.
Above is a comparison between an SD card’s width and the length of the dongle.
As for battery life, Microsoft promotes a “10 month battery life” before you have to find another AA battery, so no complaints there.
Overall the Microsoft Mobile Mouse 4000 is a great mouse if you are looking for any sort of mouse for travel, work, home, or just about anything else, and I would highly recommend it.
You can buy the Microsoft Mobile Mouse 4000 at Amazon and Microsoft for 15.99 and $29.95, respectively.