Product: Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse
Supplier: Microsoft
MSRP: $69.95     Find Lowest Price @ PriceGrabber
Author: Bill
Date: April 14, 2011

Microsoft’s new Arc Touch Mouse takes a fairly bold approach to a portable mouse. Instead of a traditional design sacrificing size for portability, the mouse is designed to fold flat for transport and bend upwards to use as a full-size mouse. In addition to a radical form factor, the mouse offers a touch-sensitive scroll bar and a tiny USB transmitter/receiver. Having used other portable mice from Microsoft, I was eager to try out the Arc Touch.

Packaging – Included Items

As a flagship product, the Arc Touch is packaged in a simple display case with an elegant design. A magnetic flap reveals product information, and the box is appropriately small for a portable peripheral.

Emptying out the box left me with the mouse, a tiny receiver, 2 AAA batteries, and a documentation packet. The batteries fit inside the head of the mouse, and the receiver sticks to the underbelly of the mouse (when folded flat) using a magnet.

Setup and Use

After loading the batteries and plugging in the USB receiver, I turned out the mouse by snapping the flat “tail” in to its curved position. The mouse clicks in to place satisfyingly, and the rubber skin wrinkles on the concave face (bottom) of the mouse. There is little definition to the shape of the mouse – the buttons are smooth, and there is no protruding scroll wheel for your fingers to anchor to. Instead the entire head of the mouse is sleek in stark contrast to the rubbery surface of the mouse body.

Without the IntelliPoint software installed, I was able to use the mouse but not customize its behavior. The left and right buttons are physical switches, but the center touch-sensitive strip serves a variety of functions. Double-tapping the center of the strip produces a middle-click, while double-tapping the top and bottom of the strip performed page-up and page-down commands. Dragging up and down the center strip scrolled, and there is a small piezo-electric clicker inside the mouse to simulate the clicking of a scroll wheel. Unlike a tradition wheel the touch pad offers momentum scrolling, so flicking up and down resulted in dramatic movements.

The mouse worked well, always performing the appropriate function when directed. Microsoft’s BlueTrack technology is included for movement tracking, and is extremely accurate. I tested the mouse on a variety of surfaces and the mouse tracked beautifully (even on a glass mirror). Unlike other sensors, this system emits a (very) bright blue light from a rather small aperture.

The mouse glides well on smooth surfaces, and did not seem to build up dust on the sensor. Because of the rubbery surface, dust built up quickly on the body of the mouse and was difficult to rub off.

Folding the mouse flat for carrying in a laptop bag is a great idea, but the magnet holding the receiver in place on the mouse was not strong enough to prevent the receiver from being stripped off the mouse as I was taking it out of a tight pocket in my messenger bag. Additionally, I question how much space folding flat saves, as smaller (rounder) mice have less of a footprint than the flattened Arc Touch Mouse. Depending on how you pack your laptop case, a flat mouse may be advantageous.

The Arc Touch was decently comfortable, but I found my fingers curling under the bent back of the mouse without anything to stop them. It’s not a deal-breaker for me, but it’s certainly not something I’m used to.

Microsoft’s IntelliPoint software allows the double-tap functions of the touch strip to be customized, and the internal scroll clicker adjusted from off to quite loud. The clicker produced a satisfying vibration very like that of a physical scroll wheel. The mac version of IntelliPoint that supports this mouse is not available yet, leaving the mouse frustratingly fast-moving.

Conclusions

Forty-five dollars is a fair amount of money for a top of the line portable mouse. The mouse saves space in a bag, comes with a nifty little receiver, and performs well. Like all peripherals, it deserves to be felt in a store (or friend’s house) before buying to ensure comfort. I enjoyed using the mouse, and it is extremely portable. While not Bluetooth, which would save me the USB receiver, the receiver is small and does not require any configuration.

Pros

• Small mouse expands for comfort
• Rubberized grip and overall ergonomic form
• BlueTrack tracking technology
• Robust set of scrolling features

Cons

• Rubber surface collects dust
• Strange form factor may be uncomfortable

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Tags: arc, BlueTrack, Microsoft, mouse, touch