Microsoft Natural Wireless Mouse 6000 Review

Microsoft's first "Natural" entry into mice differs greatly from traditional mice, and even from other right handed mice including Microsoft's own IntelliMouse Explorer and Logitech's MX line of high end mice such as the MX Revolution. Whereas those mice were asymmetrical with a slight arch, thumb groove and buttons, the Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 takes this several steps forward by shortening the base and raising the height of the mouse enough to keep your wrist off the table entirely. Additionally, a near 45° angle keeps the angle of your wrist in a more natural position.

To illustrate this, try the following. Stand up, and let your right arm go limp. Now raise it straight in front of you, leaving your fingers relaxed and not tilting your wrist. This is more or less the position your hand will assume when grasping the Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 - a loose grasp without tension, and utterly comfortable to use assuming your seating posture is correct. Microsoft solidifies this by including a leaflet and sticker that initially covers the USB plug, instructing you to rest your hand vertically to the right of the mouse and let your hand fall into place, ensuring that your wrist remains lifted from the mouse pad.

The right-handed mouse keeps your wrist off the table entirely and recommends you to adjust to a good sitting posture.

Users will find that such a comfortable position is only attainable when having a good sitting posture, and that means no slouching or having the mouse at an inconvenient height. When sitting back for watching DVDs on my computer, I found that my wrist found it's way back onto the desk more easily than if I were sitting upright, and as such the mouse was actually more painful to use than a regular mouse due to the increased height and associated strain on the carpal tunnel. Users with adjustable chairs may find it beneficial to adjust the height of the armrest to help their elbows keep a 90-100° angle so that the wrist is properly lifted.

So how well does this ergonomic design work? Well, like anything radically different, it takes some getting used to. I found it took about 20 or so minutes of continual usage before I was accustomed to the design. You see, with the angled wrist, it's actually easier to move the mouse from place to place by using your arm and not your wrist and fingers, as I have typically done with ordinary mice. Combine this with the lack of pressure on the wrist when used properly, and I must say that this is by far the most comfortable mouse I've ever used. When used with a low-friction mouse pad, it literally feels as if your hand is free flowing across the desk. When used while slouching, well, just don't do it unless you really hate your hand. It burns.

I Click, Therefore I Am
Grasping the mouse, you'll find that the base is high enough that the ring and pinky finger may lie against the side of the mouse while the index and middle finger can sit on the recessed grooves, the thumb lying in the anti-slip rubber groove. The two thumb buttons are situated a little over a centimeter above the thumb, but still well within comfortable reach, for navigating back and forward between sites or activating extra features within the IntelliPoint drivers.

All of the buttons are finely tuned for a perfect balance of ease of clicking without the problem of accidental clicking that befell another Microsoft-badged mouse I previously reviewed. The result is a perfect tactile click with a good sound to match.

While I'm not a heavy IntelliPoint user myself, typically relying on default Windows functions for Microsoft mice I did find a few things in the latest 6.0 release of IntelliPoint that perked my interest. By default, the middle click has been re-mapped to a new feature known as Instant Viewer, the Microsoft equivalent of "Show all windows" in Apple's Exposé. As soon as Instant Viewer has been activated, a grid of thumbnails for each window (minimized or open) on all monitors is presented before the user, so that a single click may bring the selected window to the front. This feature is by no means pretty, and without any animations it takes about a second to generate the thumbnails, but hey, it's free and supported by Microsoft. (Although users of other mice can get the same functionality from numerous other programs for windows here, here, here, and here.)

The second interesting feature is "Magnify", which brings up a rectangle that can be adjusted both in size and the depth of zoom. This is a great feature for those with poor eyesight, as it not only magnifies text, but also graphics, icons, and anything else under the cursor, and does a much better job than the Windows XP magnifier (Windows Key + U) by allowing much more customization and actually keeping up in real-time.

Other interesting features that make a return from the IntelliPoint 5.5 include a precision booster that can slow down the mouse cursor by an adjustable percentage between 10% and 90% to aid fine-pixel work, great for Photoshop users selecting pixels with the lasso or gamers looking to snipe a quick headshot. This can be activated by a toggle or push-and-hold. The Gaming Toggle (on-the-fly 16-key macro recorder) is also present, as is the ability to setup different button functions for different applications.