Recently, I received a cool looking gift from Microsoft – a Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse. The mouse lies flat for storage, and you bend it, to snap it into shape, when you want to use it.
It has a very small transmitter, that sticks out about 1/2″ when plugged into the computer’s USB port. When you’re not using the transmitter, just put it on the front or back of the mouse, and it magically (or magnetically) sticks there.
Instead of a scroll wheel, there is a slider, and that feature was very easy to use.
Testing the Arc Touch Mouse
The mouse was easy to install and use – I just plugged in the transmitter, and it was ready to go. On my first try, I didn’t bend the mouse far enough (one click, instead of two), so it didn’t work. After checking the Getting Started guide, I gave the mouse another click and it fired up.
The mouse handled well, for the most part, but it was a little sticky when trying to do some fine work. Maybe it gets better when the mouse has been used a little longer, or the operator has more experience.
Back to My Old Mouse
I worked with the Arc Touch mouse for a couple of hours, but couldn’t get used to it, so I’ve put it away for now. It would be better suited to someone with larger hands than mine, I think.
In my hand it felt too wide, and I was always conscious of the edges of the mouse. For now, I’ll stick with my little Logitech M305, which is a better size for me.
Have You Tried It?
Have you used the Arc Touch mouse? Did you like it and stick with it?
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Hi Debra,
Have not tried an Arc mouse, it appears to be more of a fashion statement rather than a utensil.
Did purchase a Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse package (MK520) about six months ago. It comes with a M310 mouse…
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Mouse-M310-Silver/dp/B003I4FHNA/
I have been happy with it, but had to use the, supplied, extension cord to position the transmitter near the mouse / keyboard.
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Jim Cone
I treated myself to the new Touch mouse whilst at Redmond.
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/p/touch-mouse/3KJ-00001
It works very well for single and two figured gestures but when I go for the 3 fingered gesture I just end up flicking the mouse across the desk!
I bought the ARC because I have the ARC keyboard and love it, but the ARC mouse does not seem to work as fluently as its shape and ergonomic design would suggest and it doesn’t work as good as the keyboard. I am running Win 7 X64 and the mouse is connected using a microUSB port. I love the feel of the mouse and the way it is portable by snapping it flat for easy storage. The main problem for me is one of intermittent frustration…for some reason the cursor freezes mid drag and other than closing the mouse into storage position then opening it again for operation there is no way of getting around the problem. I am hoping there will be a patch for the problem soon, but since it uses the MS Mouse and Keyboard Center for configuration, I cant see how. Great mouse if it worked consistently.