Entered CNET Catalog: 06/25/2005
SKU: 0079000331858
Manufacturer: RCA
Manufacturer description
You can have it all with the GO 2.4 GHz Wireless Optical Mouse! Sit back and enjoy wireless freedom. This multipurpose mouse offers the ultimate in flexibility - the optical sensor allows you to use it on your desktop; the gyroscopic technology allows you to use it in the air. What a perfect combination for everyday computing, presentations, gaming, surfing the net and more! GyroTools Media Controls Software for Windows (included) provides over 50 dynamic Internet, Media, Input, Windows and General tools for fingertip controls, easy access and customization to your liking. Imagine with the flick of the wrist or push of a button you can launch an MP3 playlist, surf forward and backward, or adjust your sound volume. The Gyration GO 2.4 GHz Mouse frees you from the confines of your desk and allows you to be mobile up to 30' away from your computer with no line-of-sight limitations. Gyration's high-power 2.4GHz radio transmits data at lightening fast speeds. You'll feel the benefits of a smoother tracking, real-time cursor movement and quick responses.Product summary
The good: Comfortable to use on top of a desk or in the air; easy-to-use software; more than 20 programmable commands.
The bad: Precision control in the air is difficult; extra buttons are easy to hit accidentally.
The bottom line: The comfortable Gyration Go 2.4 Cordless Air Optical mouse performs flawlessly on a desk or in the air and is ideal for use in a conference room or with a Media Center PC.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 07/13/2005
The versatile Gyration Go 2.4 Cordless Air Optical mouse will fit at a desk, in a conference room, or with a Media Center PC in the living room. This comfortable mouse can be lifted off the desk and used in the air. Its intuitive software and seemingly endless customizable command functions give it more usability than the average cordless mouse, which must remain deskbound. Given all its functionality and its sheer coolness factor, its $80 price is more than fair.
Installing the Gyration Go 2.4 is about as easy as it gets. The mouse works as a plug-and-play wireless mouse; all you have to do is charge the mouse in its charger, plug in the RF receiver, and press the connect buttons on each. From there, you can adjust the settings through your control panel as you would with any mouse.
To take full advantage of this unique mouse, however, you need to install the included GyroTools software. This incredibly intuitive utility installs a control panel on your desktop, which lets you program the mouse's myriad command functions. The Gyration Go 2.4 recognizes double-clicking, pressing and holding buttons, horizontal and vertical shakes, and mouse swipes in eight different directions. You can also program eight different screen hot spots. In all, the Gyration Go 2.4 offers more than 20 programmable actions and allows you to choose from a wide variety of commands, including ones that open applications, cut and paste objects, control media devices, issue Internet commands, and trigger keystrokes such as Esc. Using the Other Events tab, you can also create your own key combination and assign a button or a shake to it. Setup doesn't require restarting the computer; so the whole installation and customization process can be done in less than five minutes. A detailed and well-written instruction manual guides you through the entire setup process, and the help menu of the GyroTool software answers most questions about programming the mouse.
The Gyration Go 2.4's high arch and long body make it comfortable to use as a desktop mouse, although we found that our hand tended to slip off the narrow back. The main left and right buttons are responsive and reachable, but it's easy to hit the lower three buttons by accident. Holding the mouse in the air is equally comfortable, and its curvy underside fits the hand well. The buttons are all readily navigable with your thumb. To use the mouse in the air, pick it up and click the activation trigger on the mouse's bottom twice. Then, when you move the remote, the mouse cursor will follow. The Gyration Go 2.4 doesn't even have to point at the screen or the receiver for it to work. Put it back on your desk, and it will return to regular mouse mode.
On the desk, the 800dpi optical mouse worked flawlessly; we didn't experience any glitches in cursor movement or loss of signal. We had no problem establishing the connection after our PC was restarted or when it woke from sleep. The only trouble we had was mastering the swipes, which work by pressing the large middle navigation button to show your programmed commands, and then performing a swift slide or flick of the mouse in the appropriate direction to execute the desired command. Shakes (moving the mouse quickly up and down or from left to right), desktop hot spots (corners or sides of the screen that, when selected, perform a programmed command), and the programmable buttons all worked flawlessly, although it took some practice swiping and shaking the remote to get the commands to work. The mouse is nearly as easy to use in the air as on the desk, and it works up to 30 feet away from the receiver; however, it responds better to quick flicks of the wrist than to subtle movements, making precise control a bit difficult.
Gyration offers a two-year limited warranty against defects--a year longer than on most mice. Phone support is available from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET. You can also e-mail tech support. You'll find drivers, FAQs, and troubleshooting advice on Gyration's support Web site.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13out of 13 user reviews
Light, Versatile & Easy to use. More than just a mouse!
Pros: Super fast setup, easy to get used to, super comfortable on the desktop, but even more comfortable in the air, very precise mouse movement and response to air motions, buttons are out of reach when using in the air avoiding unintentional mouse clicks, pro
Cons: Charger adapter is a little big, comes with four parts: Go Mouse, charging cradle, transceiver and power adapter. Don't leave one of those parts behind after your presentation. The ability to charge with a standard USB cable would be extremely nice (easy
I like the software that comes with the The Gyration Go Air mouse, but if you travel and don't use your own laptop I can see setting up the button features in the software becoming a little annoying. I use my own computer so this is not an issue for me. Besides, the mouse sets up quickly without drivers in most cases without the extra programmable button features and gets the job done. I see the programmable button features ad a tool to shorten detail work anyway.
Oh yeah! I almost forgot. The Gyration Go 2.4 Cordless Air Optical mouse does not work well on glass surfaces. Then again... Who cares?! It's an air mouse!
out of 13 user reviews
The Greatest for Constant Computer Users
Pros: A must for constant computer users, repetitive motion injuries and cramps of hand/arm muscles. I developed arm and shoulder cramps and went to using both ball-mouse on the desktop and the air mouse in the air.
Cons: A one-day learning curve about as difficult as learning to use chop sticks. Well worth it. Check the internet market for the inexpensive replacement battery that lasts years of daily use.
out of 13 user reviews
Brand new - Broken right out of the box
Pros: None that I can see compared to products in the same category from other manufacturers.
Cons: Was broken - pointer would get stuck every 2 minutes or so, and the only way to unfreeze it was to take the battery pack out and reconnect. Totally unusable, as that was happening every 2 minutes or so. Must have a mouse pad, otherwise does not work.
out of 13 user reviews
AWETHUMB mouse
Pros: love it once you learn how to use the profile editor you will be amazed at what you can do with this mouse, I find hard to use a desktop mouse now it's so 20th century the only way to mouse love playing HL2 with it
Cons: none so far
plus CTS what more do you want. also if you get the drifting and it is consistent call gyration and they will RMA it excellent turn around time no hassles
Updated on Oct 20, 2008CTS carpel tunnel syndrone
out of 13 user reviews
Good mouse! The keyboard is a bit light weight (combo)
Pros: Totally futuristic! I feel like I am using a Wii wireless controller on my PC! ;-)
Cons: Mouse is great, is like a laptop's. Forced to buy both since my local PC store did not have the mouse separate. I guess if you wanted to sit back from the PC or laptop or was projecting the image & walking around the room both would be nice to have.
out of 13 user reviews
Best ergonomic mouse on the market
Pros: Relieves wrist strain, cheaper than other ergonomic devices
Cons: Takes a while to get used to
I use the mouse for egronomic reasons, not for presentations. I don't know why Gryation doesn't advertise the mouse as an ergonomic device. Ordinary mice make my wrist ache, and I was so happy when it arrived.
When I asked my doctor about how to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome, he said to hold the mouse in the "beer can" position. I have found over the years that is my favorite position for holding the mouse. (The other way is two-handed.) People inevitably don't hold it that way when they try it, and they feel awkward with it. They wave their arms around, which is NOT the way to use the mouse. Make sure you spend time learning how to use it before sending it back. You'll be glad you did.
I tried the latest Evoluent Ergonomic for a couple weeks just before buying this one. The Evoluent may be good for some, but it didn't feel as comfortable as Gyration mice have been. I sent it back.
This mouse is thankfully lighter than the Ultra, which was the heaviest of the four I've had. The receiver is much improved as well. The previous one took up disk space.
I thought at first that the left button was going to be too far of a reach for my thumb, but it turns out to be fine. I haven't bothered to load the software, or use the programmable buttons.
When I first pressed the connect button, nothing happened. Persistence paid off, and it has been working fine since.
The cursor tends to creep once in a while. Its predecessors did that, too. Simply put it in the cradle for a moment to reset the gyro. You're good to go.
My favorite design was the original with a cord. It was the lightest of the four, and my favorite. No batteries to mess with! (Gyration, are you listening?) But this one is a nice edition to the family, and I think I will like it better than the Ultra.
out of 13 user reviews
Battery was DOA. I was told by Thompson that the battery is not under warrenty.
Pros: None - find another product
Cons: Battery sucks
out of 13 user reviews
proud owner for twenty minutes or so
Pros: Nicely made, simple setup (or would be -- read on)
Cons: doesn't work with SP2
Maybe they fixed it. Let me know and I'll try again. But do I really want to give a company like that a second chance?
out of 13 user reviews
The coolest PC gadget in a long time
Pros: Easy Install, Adaptive, Powerful, Innovative
Cons: Mouse Wheel Clicks Annoying, Learning Curve
This mouse is a great wireless optical mouse and presto!...when you pick it up it has the ability to move the cursor any direction in relation to any 3D movement.
Sit back put your arm anywhere comfortable and press the activation trigger and the cursor moves across the screen with the flick of a wrist. Add in about 50 menus that let you customize the mouse movements to anything you desire.
If you have used Firefox mouse gestures, then this is the same thing on steriods x 10.
Plus it is usable on any machine minus the programmable buttons simply plug in the dongle to a USB port and it is ready to go. It works together with any existing mouse without interefering. Imagine a periphial that doesn't require 100% or 0% but plays nicely with 50% of the action?
It has a lithium-ion battery and a cool blue led charging base.
The only thing I dislike is the mouse wheel has segmented notches for a more positive adjustment, but to me it is one loud click, click, click and even worse is you want to quickly scroll down several pages. It sounds like a stick being dragged across a picket fence. I guess they don't believe in 'smooth scrolling' at gyration.
Given everything else is perfect I live with the noise, because I love this mouse more than I love the cable remote being in my hand 24/7.
Expensive, but worth every dollar.
out of 13 user reviews
Tendency for the cursor to drift
Pros: Relatively easy setup. No learning curve if used as regular desktop mouse.
Cons: Cursor has tendency to drift when using air mouse (needs to be reset by placing on desktop frequently). Buttons not optimally placed. Needs an off switch so you can carry it without wasting battery
The mouse cursor needs to be frequently reset when using it in the air mouse mode (by placing it on the desktop for four seconds, per Gyration instructions). This may be specific to the mouse I have, but it is extremely annoying if you are using it as a primary pointing device.
Hint, if you need to carry the mouse around, you need to remove the battery pack (no off switch), otherwise it will deplete by turning on continuously (which is a bummer if you have presentation immediately at the end of your trip). Note that I would keep a small plastic bag for this, since the open contacts on the battery do present a fire risk if they come into contact with conductive materials (don't throw the battery loose into your luggage!).
out of 13 user reviews
Coolest Mouse in the World!
Pros: Dual in-air and on-desk use, fast response, great range
Cons: In-air control slightly tricky at first
Setup was a snap. No drivers were needed whatsoever. Also, the wireless performance is top notch on this device. The RF response is very quick, with no observable latency (can't say the same for a Bluetooth mouse)
I haven't quite figured out how to use the GyroTools software that's included, but from all the options that I see, it seems like it has a lot of potential.
If you think about it, you would easily pay $80 for a wireless mouse that won't have half the features of this Gyration mouse. But here, $80 gets you a super cool in-air mouse that also works on a desk, with its own charger base station so you don't have to keep swapping batteries. What's not to love??
Go get it. I promise you won't regret it.
out of 13 user reviews
My favorite mouse ever.
Pros: Easy to use and no installation necessary
Cons: Cons are for Microsoft
out of 13 user reviews
This mouse does it all well
Pros: Comfort, in-air features, swipes button
Cons: No titlt wheel
