Canon Puts Efficiency On Press
Entered CNET Catalog: 06/14/2007
SKU: 600603111952
Manufacturer: Rocketfish
Manufacturer description
The revolutionary design and user-programmable mouse buttons of Rocketfish Twister Laser Mouse let you easily navigate your favorite program.Product summary
The good: Compact shape fits well in your bag's organizer pockets; programmable buttons; tiny receiver stores inside the mouse; laser tracking for precision on many surfaces.
The bad: Uncomfortable, square shape; center scroll zone requires more pressure than a scroll wheel; may be too small for people with medium-size or larger hands.
The bottom line: The Rocketfish Twister laser mouse won't take up much space in your laptop bag, and it incorporates a few great features, but its rectangular shape and compact size make it uncomfortable for all but the smallest hands.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 06/15/2007
While desk space often comes at a premium, space in your laptop bag is even more precious. That's why Rocketfish has designed its $45 Twister laser mouse, a flat rectangle smaller than a smart phone, to fit snugly in one of your bag's organizer pockets or even your back pocket if necessary. When you're ready to get to work, a twist of the lower third of the mouse creates a more traditional mouse shape, though we thought its rectangular edges still made mousing a bit uncomfortable, particularly given the Twister's small size. We appreciate the innovative design, and we like several of its features, such as a receiver that stows inside the mouse (also found on the more expensive Logitech VX Revolution) and software that lets you truly customize the mouse's few buttons. Also, people with smaller hands may appreciate the Twister's compact size. But despite these advantages, we found the Rocketfish Twister too small and awkward for sustained use.
The Rocketfish Twister's glossy black case feels sturdy enough to stand up to everyday abuse in your laptop bag, though it also comes with a neoprene sleeve for extra protection. For transit, the Rocketfish Twister stores into a flat rectangular shape that measures 3.4 inches wide, 2.2 inches deep, and 0.5 inch thick--one of the most compact travel mice we've seen and one that's uniquely shaped to fit inside your bag's organizer pockets. We love that the tiny USB receiver fits entirely inside the mouse when not in use; the mouse automatically turns off when the receiver is stowed, which saves power and ensures that the mouse won't accidentally turn on when it's in your bag.
When you're ready to get to work, the lower third of the mouse twists 180 degrees, snapping into an angled position that creates a more traditional mouse shape. This lift is important, as it holds your hand in a position that's closer to neutral. While that makes mousing with the Rocketfish Twister a bit more comfortable, it wasn't quite enough to combat the mouse's boxy shape, which is harder to grasp than more traditionally shaped mice. In addition, the mouse's small size makes it difficult to maintain an ergonomically appropriate wrist angle; our sensitive wrist began to ache after using the Twister for about five minutes. That said, we think users with smaller hands (for example, women who find traditional mice too large) may find the Twister to be perfectly comfortable.
While other mice (even travel mice, such as the Logitech VX Revolution) incorporate volume control , zoom, or other media buttons, the Rocketfish Twister keeps it simple, with just a single, slender thumb button on the mouse's left side. Unfortunately, this button is hard to reach if you mouse left-handed like we do. In a strange shift, the Twister doesn't incorporate a scroll wheel between left- and right-mouse buttons, but rather a smooth scroll zone, as found on most laptop touch pads. While we suspect this is necessary to maintain the Twister's sleek profile, we don't like it--it requires more pressure to scroll than a wheel does and you lose the center-click functionality that comes with more traditional mice.
Setting up the Rocketfish Twister laser mouse was straightforward: we popped two AAA batteries (included in the box) into the mouse, plugged its tiny receiver into a USB port, and it started working right away. (The mouse does include a Connect button on the bottom, but we never needed it.) We like that the Twister's laser allowed for effective mousing on a variety of surfaces, including a desk, a catalog, and even fabric.
To take advantage of advanced features and customization options, you'll need the included Mouse Suite software, which installs cleanly and is easy to navigate. Inside the program, you can map specific actions to each of the mouse's buttons. Mouse Suite lets you choose from a vast list of keystroke, application-launch, or folder-open commands, ensuring that your most frequent action, whatever it is, can be assigned to the mouse. You can also program a button to display the Rocketfish HyperGrid, which launches a small box with buttons for nine Windows functions (such as Open Start menu, Minimize window, or horizontal and vertical scroll).
Rocketfish backs the Twister laser mouse with a standard one-year limited warranty. The company's support Web site offers only a link to warranty terms.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4out of 4 user reviews
Receiver Broke!
Pros: great shape, great idea for travel, really responsive, side button great, the receiver stores neatly inside
Cons: it broke after a short time
out of 4 user reviews
Great for 2 mo. or less
Pros: compact size and ability to carry it in your pocket
Cons: dies in 2 mo. or less
That is, until the connection between it and the receiver suddenly died after about 2 months. I checked the batteries and they were still good (I have a battery tester), but just to make sure I replaced them with fresh ones, inserted the receiver in all of my 4 USB ports to make sure one wasn't bad, and I even tried it on my desktop computer, but still no connection. So I took it back to Best Buy and got a replacement. Two months later, same thing happened. Again, I went throught the whole battery, port and desktop thing, but still no connection. So I took the replacement back and got 2nd replacement. This time it only lasted about 2 weeks. Now I am ready to do battle with Best Buy to get my money back because I think 3 times is enough (not to mention the wasted time and gas @ $4/gal.).
If anyone out there has any ideas as to why the connection dies and will not reconnect with the receiver plugged into both my Dell laptop and Compaq desktop, please let me know.
out of 4 user reviews
Better than the reviewer states
Pros: Tiny and lays very flat in your laptop bag. Laser tracks very well. Battery life supposedly up to 6 months...!
Cons: a little less comfortable than most portable mice. It's not bluetooth.
It has a wonderful touch scroll "wheel" that's also clickable as well as a "4th" mouse button on its side.
The usb adapter stores inside the mouse itself as well, which makes it that much more convenient.
For it's intended purpose it's easily an 8 out of 10 and that's conservative. The only reason I didn't give it a higher score is because I really would have appreciated it being bluetooth, which would mean no usb adapter needed at all for people like me with built in bluetooth...
out of 4 user reviews
Pretty good for its purpose
Pros: Very compact for traveling , ingenious design, laser accurancy
Cons: Uncomfortable after prolonged use, scroll pad is hit and miss
There are however, some drawbacks to its design. While it is wider than most other laptop mice, it is still far too short in length to make it comfortable for any extended period of use. I found that in order to hang onto the mouse without dragging my own hand across the table, I have to essentially pinch the mouse between my ring finger and thumb, while elevating the rest of my hand up above the mouse to keep it off the table. The scroll pad is also a bit numb and doesn’t react well when you attempt to use it. No doubt the pad was incorporated because wouldn’t add any thickness to the unit, not for its functionality. Lastly, one look at the underside of the mouse shows that there are two gliding pads on the front corners of the mouse, but none at the rear. This causes the mouse to have a tendency to stick to the work surface when you first try to move the mouse. If you are doing any kind of work that requires finesse (ala anything graphic related) this mouse will frustrate you to no end.
These shortcomings aside, it is still a pretty good mouse for travel. And for that singular purpose I would recommend it.
