Microsoft Laser Mouse 7000

The biggest problem for mice destined for a life on the road is how to keep the connection to the computer as small and unobtrusive as possible.

Wireless mice such as this Microsoft Laser Mouse 7000 don’t have a wire to get tangled up but there is still a dongle to store. This mouse has a good solution as the dongle clips onto the bottom of the mouse. This also flips a switch that turns the mouse off, helping preserve battery life.

With its mobile aspirations, the Laser Mouse 7000 is smaller than average but still comfortable, thanks to the ergonomic moulding. It's also comfortable in either hand. The wheel is smooth and there are a couple of extra buttons on the side.

Unfortunately the Microsoft Intellipoint software that comes with this mouse has some odd ideas about the best functions to assign to the buttons. For some reason the right-side button was set to switch on the Magnify option in Windows, which caused a little confusion, especially in games.

Still it works fine in the test version of Windows 7, which bodes well for the future. The Intellipoint software can also set buttons to have different functions in different programs. As it can assign keystrokes to the buttons, the only limit to this is how much time you are willing to put into setting it up.

The mouse is powered by a single AA battery so this mouse doesn't suffer from the weight problem of many wireless mice.

At £25 this is a great mouse to take with your notebook on the move but is perhaps a little small to use every day.