Belkin Wireless Comfort Mouse Review

Belkin Wireless Comfort Mouse Details:

• All-terrain optical engine
• Magnetic USB receiver/perch
• Two AAA batteries included
• Three Year Warranty
• Available in four color options
• MSRP: $29.99

 

Build and Design
The Belkin Comfort Mouse has a very sleek shape that is easy to hold in your hand. Like many travel mice on the market it is about 30% smaller than desktop mice, but still comfortable to use. Even in my relatively large hands the mouse is easy to grasp without feeling out of place. The bottom of the mouse is designed with large Teflon pads to easily cope with "foreign" surfaces ranging from your office desk to the table at McDonalds. Belkin also designed the USB dongle to act as a stand for the mouse when carrying around your notebook. The dongle is shaped to fit in a recessed slot on the bottom of the mouse and hold in place with a powerful magnet. While this idea is pretty inventive I would have preferred the slot rotated 90-degrees so the dongle would cover the optical sensor while in storage.

The Comfort Mouse feels pretty well built with a solid feel and durable plastics used in its construction. The mouse doesn't creak during use and appears to hold up well being tossed around in my carrying bag. One area item that I really love about the mouse is the battery tray which is spring loaded. You press the button next to the power button on the bottom and it ejects the tray so you can swap out the batteries. The tray stays attached to the body, so no parts can be lost, and the switch is recessed so it can't be accidentally triggered.

In Use
Setup was easy and didn't require any drive disc on the Vista and Windows 7 notebooks we tested it with. Drivers were automatically installed when the dongle was plugged in and after a quick pairing the mouse worked perfectly. The Belkin Comfort Mouse was very responsive in our testing and worked on a wide range of surface materials. We didn't notice any lag which can be a problem for some wireless mice. Depending on the surface the mouse was being used on we did notice some weird tracking, but that was limited to soft fabric with an irregular shape. The precision of small movements was less than we have seen with comparable laser mice. Drawing very small circles resulted in a choppy oval. Broader motions showed none of these problems so it wasn't a huge problem in normal use. If you were intending to use this mouse for photo editing you might want to consider other options.

Wireless range was more than adequate for its intended purpose. We didn't have any problem using the mouse in a 10-15 foot radius around a notebook, even with constant Wi-Fi traffic. Long range testing was hard to gauge since after moving back more than 15 feet it is hard to see the cursor or tell if it is working in the same smooth motion that you are moving your hand in.

Conclusion
The Belkin Wireless Comfort Mouse does a pretty good job of being a relatively cheap travel mouse that is easy to store with your notebook. It offers innovative features like a spring loaded battery tray and magnetic mouse perch. The mouse itself was comfortable to use but lacked the precision of some of the more expensive models we have tested in the past. Overall the price is the deciding factor on this one, making this mouse a good option to toss in your travel bag for longer trips.

Pros:

• Only $29.99
• Comfortable to hold
• Spring loaded battery tray

Cons:

• Large USB dongle
• Less precise than laser mice