Everything USB Mice
The number of people suffering from Repetitive Stress Injury and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is on the rise and so too is the number of "ergonomic" mice available in the marketplace. Ergonomic mice are certainly nothing new; however SmartFish and their ErgoMotion Ergonomic Mouse is certainly a new twist on the old way of accomplishing things as it looks a heck of a lot like a normal mouse. As a sufferer of bilateral CTS my question is does it work and is their any downsides?

For anyone who has ever used an ergonomic mouse, the look and feel of the Smartfish ErgoMotion Mouse is going to come as a huge surprise. With most ergonomic mice, you have to hold you hand in a completely different orientation than you would with a "normal" mouse. To be precise, most ergonomic mice use a vertical grip and while easy to get used to doesn't feel "natural" at first. This results in a bit of a steep learning curve. When you compare and contrast the "beer bottle" grip of most of its competitors with the normal "mouse grip" hand orientation you use with the ErgoMotion laser mouse you can quickly see the advantages.

If you have used ANY mouse before, you can literally pick this one up and use it. Of course, only with practice will you get the full benefits of its design but simplicity and ease of use are important! The biggest advantage, besides pain reduction, this mouse offers really is the fact the learning curve is very, very short. No special training, no special software required before you can use it. Heck, you don't even have to read a tome thick manual to understand HOW to use it! Basically as long as you lock your wrist in a neutral position and use your upper arm, elbow and forearm to move the mouse; and not your wrist like you would with a typical mouse you will be laughing. If you don't lock your wrist the odd motion the mouse offers will encourage you to do so.

You see the secret to the rocking motion is that it allows you to keep your wrist in that neutral position no matter how much you move the mouse around. As the mouse slide across your mouse pad, the top half pivots on its base and moves under your hand. It quiet literally repositions itself in real time to keep you hand and wrist in the exact same position it would be if you were merely resting your hand on it and not moving around! Bloody marvelous is how I would describe this to any new comer to the ergonomic marketplace as it not only works but provides positive feedback when you are using it "right"!

I loaned this mouse to a friend of mine who is just beginning to suffer from RSI and within 5 minutes, she had not only figured out the new movement (without me telling them how to do it) but was using the ErgoMotion Mouse as if they had been using ergonomic mice for years. By the end of the day, they really did notice a huge difference in their pain level. Hell, I even had a hard time prying this bad boy away from her.

The other advantage to the Smartfish ErgoMotion Mouse looking just like your regular everyday average mouse is that no one well know about your injury unless you want them to know. In other words, it is NOT a conversation starter and you will not have to waste hours and hours of your time explaining to every Tom, Dick and Harriet what the hell it is and why you need it. No one will even give it a second glance, allowing you to get on with your job and not lose days in productivity or become the unofficial office RSI guru with everyone coming to you and buggin the snot out of you with THEIR problems! As an aside, where it looks like just a plain old mouse none of those selfsame office mates are likely to "borrow" your mouse to "try out" while you are off to lunch. You can leave this one in plain view just like any other mouse and not worry about it NOT being where you left it when you return.

This mouse really does look like your typical "budget" two button wireless mouse. When you take a close look you realize that it is not your typical mono-chassis mouse; rather it has two separate and distinct parts which are joined together in the middle on a pivot point.

The base or pedestal of this mouse is where the six small button shaped ultra low friction feet, on/off switch, laser and sensor array reside. The bottom is also where the USB wireless transceiver is stored when not in use. For most people who are not into gaming a 800 DPI sensor should be more then enough, though I do wish they had opted for a bit more higher sensitivity sensor as what someone needs and what they think they need is usually completely different. People have been brainwashed into thinking they need 6 bajillion DPI sensor in their WORK mouse and don't seem to realize that higher DPI is mainly for fast twitch gaming. With that being said 1200 to 1500 DPI is what I usually use for mundane "office related" tasks so it did take a bit of tweaking to the standard Microsoft mouse pointer speed slider to get things back to the way I like them and it still was a tad on the slow side for my personal tastes. Not a big deal, but still a minor annoyance.

The top half basically consist of a plastic curved shell to give the overall look and feel of a normal mouse. The top half obviously is where the two buttons (left and right) as well as the four way scroll wheel reside. The buttons are nice and large allowing you to use slightly different motions and muscles to click them so as to further help reduce RSI. This is fairly par for the course with most properly designed mice these but it was still nice to see Smartfish didn't forget about the little things which make a ergonomic mouse an ERGONOMIC mouse!

If there is any weakness to the overall design of this mouse it is in the productivity department. Most people are used to at the very least FOUR buttons, and giving up your two thumb buttons is going to take longer to get used to than the rocking motion. I know I still search for them with my thumb finer when doing certain tasks and I have been using this mouse for over 40 hours now!

Where this is a wireless mouse there is a built in battery compartment. In what is a very nice move, considering the fact this mouse boasts upwards of ten months to a set of batteries, Smartfish designed their ErgoMotion Laser Mouse to accept and use your typical AA batteries. To remove your batteries you simply slide the battery cover away from the mouse, pluck out the two batteries and replace them and reinsert the plastic cover. Simple, easy and while this cover is located on the bottom of the top portion, it is a bit of a tight squeeze getting the batteries in between the top and bottom sections, but it is nothing too serious.

Unlike most or even many wireless mice which use a fairly large wireless transceiver, the Smartfish ErgoMotion Mouse uses a down right itty bitty micro USB dongle. This little bad boy is only about the size of freaking postage stamp! You can literally plug this into a free laptop USB port and never have to worry about it. I know I left it attached to my laptop and then slid my laptop into my carrying case and carried it around all day without any worries. It really does sit all but flush to your port, yet still provides just enough grip area for insertion and removal. In testing it was more than powerful enough at normal ranges to not only send and receive the proper signals but do so with 100% accuracy. Sure you are not going to get a 30-foot range from something this small, but then again who in the real world needs that kind of distance for their PC? If you own a HTPC or are a presenter (aka "PowerPoint ranger") then you already have specialized equipment for those tasks! Overall, it's a nifty little transceiver which does its job while not being all that noticeable. In other words it's the perfect accompaniment to a mouse which also takes the low profile approach and isn't overly flashy but rather quietly goes about getting the job D-O-N-E!

Real World Usage

The Smartfish ErgoMotion Mouse truly is a plug and play device. It requires no special software and in fact comes with none. You simply, plug in the micro USB receiver, wait for it to be recognized and "ready for use"; turn on the mouse and enjoy. In real life it took me less than two minutes to get the hang of its unique feel and movement and within two hours I was back to my old level of expertise with not loss in productivity. Even better was at the end of the day, my hand was not aching like it does with even a Mad Catz RAT 7.

The scroll wheel works very nicely with a positive feel to it. The same can be said of the two buttons which have enough resistance that you know when you are clicking it but will not tire your fingers. The only thing this mouse lacks is MORE of them. Asking anyone to give up his or her thumb buttons is asking a lot; but I personally was willing to do it as it meant less pain after a long day at the computer. Very good is how I would sum up my experience with this amazingly simple, yet simply amazing mouse.

Recap

• No Software Needed
• Elegant design
• Long 10-month battery life
• Integrated USB receiver holder
• SMALL USB transceiver
• Short learning curve
• Pivoting action does work!

• Low DPI sensitivity
• Only 2 buttons, really needs a forward & back button
• While the learning curve is short, you only get out what you put into this mouse (can be improperly used negating ergonomic abilities)
• Short warranty

Many, many people would like to own a truly ergonomic mouse yet are afraid to spend the asking price because of the odd shape and form factor most come with. For many the idea of a steep learning curve, coupled with the "unknown" factor does keep them from changing things for the better. In time their RSI / Carpal Tunnel Syndrome gets worse and worse until they HAVE to take the plunge but by that time things are pretty bad. This is what makes this mouse so special. The Smartfish ErgoMotion Laser Mouse really is one of the first "ergonomic" mice which doesn't have a steep learning curve, nor does it look at all that foreboding. While it looks like a regular mouse, it doesn't ACT like one and that right there is a good thing. It really is an ergonomic mouse, just one that doesn't look like the stereotypical "ergonomic mouse" yet still is one that does help relieve stress and strain on your wrists and hand without a steep learning curve! Amazing.

Even a complete ergonomic mouse virgin can pick this mouse up and use it without any difficulties. More importantly within an hour or two they be back to full 100% efficiency, just without the pain! The design of this mouse is amazingly simple yet amazingly sophisticated. It really is one of those "why didn't some think of this BEFORE" paradigm shifts that I really, really wish I HAD thought of first!

With that being said the lack of extra buttons is what keeps this mouse from being darn near perfect. While it is only a minor annoyance with the Smartfish ErgoMotion Laser Mouse it still is annoying. Heck, its going to take you longer to get used to not having a forward and backward thumb buttons than it will for you to get used to the unusual feel of this mouse in action! If you are looking for an ergonomic mouse which isn't as big as a brick or as surrealistically shaped as a Salvador Dali painting, this bad boy should be on your short list! Highly recommended.