Print
Discuss
Send to friend
If you’re getting fed up with your mouse, and have a bit of spare cash to splash around, Hela has an interesting and versatile alternative.
The interestingly named Perific Mouse comes with two sets of left and right buttons, a trackball, a small rubber scroll wheel and an optical light - the latter is only used when the device is operated as a standard desktop mouse.
But, thanks to the unusual design, we don’t see many people using it in this fashion.
It's actually intended to be used in mid air or in your lap. This can be done either one-handed or, slightly more bizarrely, by placing it over your left hand just behind your knuckles and using your right hand to control the trackball. Button clicks can then be performed by both hands.
You can see a few examples of how to use it by taking a look at our image gallery.
Using the trackball can be a little awkward, due in main to its small size. Similarly, the compact design of the entire unit makes it difficult to reach the mouse buttons if you’ve got large hands.
Setting it up is simple though. You attach the USB receiver to your PC and hit the sync button on both the receiver and mouse. If you plug it into a USB hub, you’ll need to make sure the hub is powered.
No drivers are required for standard use, but you can download a driver from Hela’s web site to customise buttons etc.
A small cable sits inside the receiver and, when attached to the Perific Mouse, will charge the two AAA batteries housed within.
The Perific Mouse is definitely a niche product. In an attempt to cash in on the online poker boom, Hela claims it’s ideal for online gaming by allowing you to sit away from your computer while you fritter away your hard-earned cash. It’s a tenuous link - we feel it more likely to be used in a business environment for presentations and the like.
Whatever its uses, it’s an expensive piece of kit and certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes. But if you're after an alternative to the desktop mouse, it's worth trying out.
View our image gallery of the Perific Mouse.
See also:
Stylish keyboard set that’s loaded with multimedia features 28 Oct 2005
Use the two-button pen instead of a mouse to navigate your computer 18 Aug 2005
All Keyboard & Mice
del.icio.us
Digg this
reddit!
