Review: Mogo Mouse travel mouse

When we laid eyes on the Mogo Mouse, our first thoughts were “that’s going to be uncomfortable to use”. And this impression wasn’t helped when we couldn’t get it to work.

The original mouse had an intermittent fault so, after we contacted the manufacturer, a new one was sent in its place.

The Mogo Mouse needs charging before it can be used, and that is done in the PCMCIA slot. That’s right – it’s the size, thickness and weight of any card that fits snugly in a laptop’s PCMCIA slot, giving it an unusual look for a mouse.

Once charged, which didn’t take long, it was simple to pair with our laptop via Bluetooth. And defying its flat shape, the mouse is surprisingly comfortable to use – more so than other travel mice we’ve tested. A kickstand flips down to turn it on and it takes a couple of seconds to spring into life.

While more portable than other travel mice, it does have drawbacks.

First, there’s no scroll wheel. There is space between the left and right mouse buttons for a scroll pad and, if technically possible, it would be a worthwhile addition. Laptop screens are typically small, so there’s a lot more scrolling needed.

Second, your laptop must be on for it to charge. This means occasionally slotting it back into the PC card slot when the laptop is on, rather than using it. But we found the battery life to be quite long.

Ergonomically, we unsure if it would be suitable for people suffering with RSI - you'd need to check - and it’s probably not advisable to use as an everyday mouse. It’s also expensive, costing £50. But if you travel often, and want an easy-to-use, highly portable mouse, this is a good option.

You can see our more on the mouse, its looks and how it works in our video review of the Mogo Mouse on the Test Bed blog.

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Logitech MX Revolution laser mouse
Logitech's Revolution MX is an attempt at seachange in mouse design

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