Kensington SlimBlade Presenter Media Mouse review

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by Sarah Meyer

In September, Kensington launched their SlimBlade brand. The goal was to simplify a consumer's experience by adding great features to a stylish and easy to use line of mice and notebook set. Basically, they wanted &quot;to create the perfect computing accessories for traveling executives.&quot;

I decided to try out one of the mice, the SlimBlade Presenter Media Mouse. I wondered if the mouse would hold value to anyone beside Road Warriors; would this mouse be useful for a home office or in a classroom? And at the suggested price of $80, did Kensington price it out of many consumers price range?

SlimBlade Features

• Laser mouse with 360 Scroll ball
• Automatic sleep state conserves power
• Battery indicator light, 6 month battery life
• Sleek, ergonomic design provides comfort and mobility
• Symmetrical design
• 5-year warranty, free tech support

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Look and Feel

The SlimBlade is a small silver mouse with a small turquoise patch where the scroll ball is located.  On the sides, there is a black rubber panel for easy gripping and the SlimBlade fit perfectly in either hand. 

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The USB connector is seriously smaller than most flash drives and fits into the battery compartment on the bottom of the mouse when not in use.

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The media controls are also on the bottom of the mouse.  Flip a small switch between presenter mode and music mode to control your media from up to 30 ft. away. 

Performance

The SlimBlade is extremely easy to use.  Just pop in the USB controller and the mouse is ready to roll.  However, if you want to use the media features, you have to install the SlimBlade driver.  Don’t worry, that is relatively easy as well; just pop in the CD and go through the instructions.  It took a few minutes and I had to restart my computer but after that the SlimBlade worked flawlessly.

As a mouse, the SlimBlade is great.  It responds quickly and moves fluidly, no old school ball getting stuck or dirty.  The size might be a problem for some; when I first started using it I couldn’t get over how small it was.  I was use to a large mouse that conformed to my hand.  But wasn’t I got use to the SlimBlade; I found that I prefer the smaller mouse.   

The media functions that I mentioned previously on the bottom of the mouse worked well.  I have the Windows XP operating system with Microsoft PowerPoint, Windows Media player and iTunes.   The mouse worked with all three of these programs seamlessly.  To use the mouse with PowerPoint or similar programs you flip the small black switch on the bottom to presenter mode (It’s the projector screen icon).  To switch to Media Player, iTunes or back to a regular mouse, just flip to the music/mouse mode (it’s the music note icon). 

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I didn’t have any problems navigating through any of these programs, even from about 10 ft. away (Kensington boasts the SlimBlade will work from 30 ft.). The media functions can also be used with Windows Media Center and Mac operating systems. 

Also, in presenter mode, the SlimBlade has a laser pointer function so while you’re navigating through PowerPoint or a similar program you can point out important points with the handy laser pointer.

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Battery Life

I only used this mouse for about a week so I couldn’t test the battery life fully, but Kensington boasts up to six months of battery life with the SlimBlade.   It came with two AAA batteries and it worked great.   I did think at one point that the batteries stopped working but I think they might have just popped out.  Once I opened the battery compartment and adjusted them, the SlimBlade started working again and I didn’t have any more problems.  I’ll update if I find that the battery life is less than great.

Also, the SlimBlade is suppose to have a low battery indicator, or as Kensington refers to it, a fuel gauge.   This mouse is extremely small and I could NOT find an indicator like anywhere. 

Conclusion

The SlimBlade Presenter Media Mouse went above my expectations.  I was doubtful that this mouse could really be sold for $79.99 but the SlimBlade is small and wireless, keeping your workspace clutter free and making it great for travel.  The media features are extremely handy and would be great for anyone that makes presentations at work, businessmen and college professors alike. The only downside; It might be expensive for the average home office that doesn't need all of the media features.

Pros

• Goes into sleep mode automatically
• Sleek design
• Great response
• USB receiver is small, powerful

Cons

• May be uncomfortable for users with larger hands
• Only comes in one color option

Available for Purchase

The SlimBlade Presenter Media Mouse is available on Kensington's website for $79.99.

 

Looks sharp!

Thanks for the review.

 

Thanks for the review!

I did manage to find 3 other colors available on amazon.com.

The 360 scroll is what is tempting me to buy this mouse. I had originally planned on the VX Nano.

 

Unless I'm mistaken, I think those other color options are only for the SlimBlade Media Mouse. I'm pretty sure the "Slimblade Presenter Media Mouse" is only available in one color.

I thought they had multiple colors also until I noticed the other mice weren't labeled as "Presenter."

 

You are correct, I was mistaken. There is the Slimblade mouse w/ presenter option and media option. I should of read more carefully. Thanks for the correction

 

Too pricey of a mouse for my tastes, but it is nice! I like the laser pointer feature a lot too. Maybe I can snag one off ebay.

 

The $59.99 price that Dell sells it for puts it in the same price range as the VX Nano. Between those two choices, I'd still go for the VX.

 

i wonder what technology they are using for their 360 scroll ball. coz apple's mighty mouse uses 360 mechanical scroll ball that got jammed rather frequently (depends on the usage of course).

 

Looks nice. I have a MS BT presenter mouse that has full five button navigation and tilting scroll wheel too. But I do like the 360 scroll ball on this one since you can probably use this when sitting on a couch etc.. whereas the MS needs a flat surface. But I still think the MS presenter does more without needing a dongle (it does come with one if you don't have BT) and the extra back/forward navigation buttons. It also has all the presenter buttons on the bottom as well. Like this one, the MS is expensive. I did find one online for 70 dollars but the MS presenter can cost up to 100 dollars. I don't think the SlimBlade is out of line on price when you consider the presenter features.

 

The non-Bluetooth variety has "presenter" functions, including a laser pointer.

I just got the Bluetooth unit which costs more despite lack of those extra functions, but am delighted. In ball mode it is perfect for confined space, as on an aircraft. It works so well I might stick with it. "Fuel gauge" is misleading - it's an LED behind the ball that turns red when the batteries are low. Evidently when the Bluetooth signal dies (laptop is off), it goes to standby to conserve battery.

The BT unit, by the way, uses two AA batteries - not AAA.

All in all I rate it a "10".