Review: Art.lebedev Mus2 mouse

As the market has evolved, wireless mice have taken on different forms ranging from gaming to speciality ergonomic and recently, novelty.

The latter is where the Art.lebedev studios' Mus2 mouse fits in. Shaped like a Windows mouse pointer, it certainly ticks the novelty box, looking good but at the same time looking like an incredibly uncomfortable way to get things done.

Yet on first use it seemed its looks had been deceiving. The cursor shape fits the hand comfortably and the cosmetic brushed plastic feel was also a nice touch.

However, trying to use the buttons at the point of the cursor was a different story, because the mouse is too long for comfort. You have to stretch to reach them and end up resting the palm of your hand on the highest point of the mouse. After 15 minutes or so, this becomes uncomfortable.

The discomfort might have been excused had the buttons been easy to use but sadly they aren't. Instead of being placed side by side they are one in front of the other, with the ‘left’ button at the tip of the cursor point and the 'right' below it. This was confusing and frustrating, especially since the ‘right’ click button was difficult to use properly.

The Mus2 comes with a quirky installation manual drawn out like a comic and is easy to install. You plug in the supplied USB receiver, load in the supplied AAA batteries and click the 'connect' button on each device to link them up.

Art.lebedev also supplies a mat with the mouse, which is puzzling considering this is an optical mouse using a light rather than a ball to locate itself on a desk. All was revealed when we tried to use it on the desk: it was a bumpy jagged experience, and very quickly back to the mat.

Although the Mus2 has a power indicator on the back of the handle that lights up when a battery needs to be replaced or a rechargeable battery is low, the light is so small you be forgiven for not noticing it until the mouse conks out.

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