How fitting a statement for the world of pocket electronics. And as we follow the urge to further miniaturize our gadgets, one must wonder, how small is too small? In this review we are looking at Newton Peripherals' MoGo Mouse - a Bluetooth mouse of very small proportions that fits into the PCMCIA slot of your laptop computer. Is its smallness a fault, or is the MoGo another small thing in life that will allow one to accomplish those proverbial great things? Read on for the review!
THIN IS IN?
When this unit arrived, it still wasn't available to the general public, as it is now. But even as it came, wrapped up in a box, on loan from one of the staff at Newton Peripherals (who was probably sorely missing it the second they sent it away to us), the MoGo was easy to set up, and just as simple to use. And as you can see, from the top (Figure 1), it looks like nothing more a shapely PCMCIA card.
(all images link to higher resolution)
Figure 1: The MoGo Mouse from the top.
Looking at the end of the MoGo (Figure 2), the PCMCIA look continues, and for good reason, as you'll see shortly.
Figure 2: A close up of the end of the mouse.
Moving to the bottom of this very thin mouse, we find a small "flipstand" (Figure 3), by which you ready the MoGo to be used. After kicking this bit down (from the top right), one simply taps the left mouse button, and the MoGo connects to your paired device with relatively no delay.
Figure 3: Flicking down "flipstand" readies the mouse to be connected.
The MoGo is an optical mouse (Figure 4), which means that it will work on most surfaces that have little glare, and at least some texture to follow. I found that it worked as well as any optical mouse I've owned, though not as well as my MX1000 (which is a laser mouse). In the figure below, you can also see the pairing pin hole, and the small bit of plastic to help the mouse slide around easily.
Figure 4: A close up of the optical port.
FLIP, TAP, AND JACK
Once the unit is powered on, the red optical light appears, blinking occasionally (if you let it sit), and going back solid as you move it around. You can easily see the red glow from the bottom of the MoGo (Figure 5), as well as through the gap around the buttons. While the MoGo doesn't have a scroll mechanism at this point, I really liked the feel of the left and right buttons as they reminded me of my favorite IBM keyboard - nice solid click with great tactile feedback.
Figure 5: There is a tiny bit of light leakage from the bottom of the MoGo.
There is also a small light (Figure 6) at the top of the MoGo which operates as the Bluetooth indicator (blinking when connected) and also to show the charging status.
Figure 6: The Bluetooth indicator light blinks when connected.
To charge the MoGo, simply slide the unit into the PCMCIA port of your laptop. Red indicator means charging (Figure 7), green equals charged (Figure 8). I could easily go all day with the MoGo, but considering it charges when in its storage location, it was tough to accurately determine the exact battery life. Representatives from Newton Peripherals have informed us that the mouse does have some very fancy power saving functionality, and since I never had a time where the MoGo didn't just turn on, I would have to agree.
Figure 7: Red equals charging.
Figure 8: Green means the unit is fully charged.
FAT VS FLAT
Size wise, the MoGo really isn't much smaller than the Bluetake's BT500+, but noticeably smaller than my Logitech MX1000 (Figure 9). The MoGo did win out on the thinness factor, however. Since this mouse is carried within ones laptop, it also won in the portability round.
Figure 9: From left to right, my Logitech MX1000, MoGo, and Bluetake BT500+
Usability was tough to compare. No, I couldn't just flop my huge hand down on the MoGo - that would cause the flipstand to collapse. This mouse required not so much a lighter hand, but a difference hold altogether (personally, I grip the mouse between my thumb and ring finger, resting my index and middle fingers on the appropriate buttons, and keep my hand cupped as if I was holding a normal sized unit). It didn't take long to make this new hold second nature, and I didn't experience any cramping or additional strain because of the change. In fact, I probably had less strain issues as it practically forced my hand into a piano-playing position (Figure 10), floating with the mouse, rather than resting the heel of my palm on the desk.
Figure 10: The MoGo, in hand.
PURCHASING
You can purchase Newton Peripherals' MoGo Mouse here for $69.99 USD.
PROS
- Ultra-portable
- Great battery life
- Lightweight
CONS
- No scroll capability
OVERALL
IMPRESSION
At first glance, I thought the MoGo interesting, but was skeptical on how much use I would get out of it. Truth be told, now I'll be surprised if laptop manufacturers don't start offering these as "Featured Accessories." It doesn't take much time to get used to holding the MoGo, and the tracking was as good as any optical mouse I've used. And one would be hard pressed to find a mouse smaller, easier to carry, and even easier to charge than this thin wonder. Now if they would only hurry up and release a unit with scroll functionality...That said, we give Newton Peripherals' MoGo Mouse the following score:
Figure 3: Flicking down "flipstand" readies the mouse to be connected.
The MoGo is an optical mouse (Figure 4), which means that it will work on most surfaces that have little glare, and at least some texture to follow. I found that it worked as well as any optical mouse I've owned, though not as well as my MX1000 (which is a laser mouse). In the figure below, you can also see the pairing pin hole, and the small bit of plastic to help the mouse slide around easily.
Figure 4: A close up of the optical port.
FLIP, TAP, AND JACK
Once the unit is powered on, the red optical light appears, blinking occasionally (if you let it sit), and going back solid as you move it around. You can easily see the red glow from the bottom of the MoGo (Figure 5), as well as through the gap around the buttons. While the MoGo doesn't have a scroll mechanism at this point, I really liked the feel of the left and right buttons as they reminded me of my favorite IBM keyboard - nice solid click with great tactile feedback.
Figure 5: There is a tiny bit of light leakage from the bottom of the MoGo.
There is also a small light (Figure 6) at the top of the MoGo which operates as the Bluetooth indicator (blinking when connected) and also to show the charging status.
Figure 6: The Bluetooth indicator light blinks when connected.
To charge the MoGo, simply slide the unit into the PCMCIA port of your laptop. Red indicator means charging (Figure 7), green equals charged (Figure 8). I could easily go all day with the MoGo, but considering it charges when in its storage location, it was tough to accurately determine the exact battery life. Representatives from Newton Peripherals have informed us that the mouse does have some very fancy power saving functionality, and since I never had a time where the MoGo didn't just turn on, I would have to agree.
Figure 7: Red equals charging.
Figure 8: Green means the unit is fully charged.
FAT VS FLAT
Size wise, the MoGo really isn't much smaller than the Bluetake's BT500+, but noticeably smaller than my Logitech MX1000 (Figure 9). The MoGo did win out on the thinness factor, however. Since this mouse is carried within ones laptop, it also won in the portability round.
Figure 9: From left to right, my Logitech MX1000, MoGo, and Bluetake BT500+
Usability was tough to compare. No, I couldn't just flop my huge hand down on the MoGo - that would cause the flipstand to collapse. This mouse required not so much a lighter hand, but a difference hold altogether (personally, I grip the mouse between my thumb and ring finger, resting my index and middle fingers on the appropriate buttons, and keep my hand cupped as if I was holding a normal sized unit). It didn't take long to make this new hold second nature, and I didn't experience any cramping or additional strain because of the change. In fact, I probably had less strain issues as it practically forced my hand into a piano-playing position (Figure 10), floating with the mouse, rather than resting the heel of my palm on the desk.
Figure 10: The MoGo, in hand.
PURCHASING
You can purchase Newton Peripherals' MoGo Mouse here for $69.99 USD.
PROS
- Ultra-portable
- Great battery life
- Lightweight
CONS
- No scroll capability
OVERALL
IMPRESSION
At first glance, I thought the MoGo interesting, but was skeptical on how much use I would get out of it. Truth be told, now I'll be surprised if laptop manufacturers don't start offering these as "Featured Accessories." It doesn't take much time to get used to holding the MoGo, and the tracking was as good as any optical mouse I've used. And one would be hard pressed to find a mouse smaller, easier to carry, and even easier to charge than this thin wonder. Now if they would only hurry up and release a unit with scroll functionality...That said, we give Newton Peripherals' MoGo Mouse the following score:
