ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse Review

by Kevin O'Brien

The new ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse is Lenovo's answer to the portable mouse everyone has wanted to go with their new Thinkpad notebook. This new mouse was created in the ThinkPad image, claiming great performance in a durable rubberized paint shell. Read on to find out if this new ThinkPad mouse is worthy of the name it bears.

Lenovo ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse specifications:

• Bluetooth 2.0 wireless technology
• Soft-touch finish offers the ultimate in all-day comfort
• High definition 800DPI laser sensor delivers accurate and precise control
• Exclusively contoured for both right and left-handed usage
• Tilt wheel offers four-way scrolling
• Includes two AA batteries
• Price: $49.95

Build and Design

The ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse has a very simple design, not unlike the famous ThinkPad notebook line. The shape is fairly simple, showing no ergonomic slopes or ridges for fingers, which is fairly common these days. While some might balk at this design as being uncomfortable, you have to remember that this also makes it perfectly useable by both left and right handed individuals.

(view large image)

Build quality is second to none, and I haven't felt a better built mouse in years. The only thing that I can remember that comes close was my first Microsoft PS2 Intellimouse. This thing is built like a tank, and very over engineered. The battery bay of all things is a beauty of engineering with a spring loaded hinge that makes the entire cover flip up like a car hood to replace the batteries. The paint is the same that you find on the ThinkPad, being the slightly rubber black texture, that holds up great showing little wear.

(view large image)

In Use

The ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser mouse is very comfortable to use, even though it is not a very ergonomic shape. The soft feel of the rubberized paint adds a layer of comfort when holding the mouse, and also assists with grip even when your hand is sweaty.

The mouse buttons provide a very audible click when pressed, and all of the buttons worked without any strained effort.

(view large image)

The sensitivity of the mouse (while not up to gaming standards) was great, and worked on many surfaces, even some of those that have confused other laser mice. Adding to the wonderful pickup were the slippery Teflon pads that rival those of any other mouse on my desk. They are thicker than most Teflon pads I have seen on mice, so durability should not be a problem.

Bluetooth Connectivity

Bluetooth performance out of the mouse was excellent, with only a few quirks from its power management scheme. During normal use, the mouse would go to sleep after 10 or so seconds, and require a jiggle and a split second to reacquire before it would move fluidly across the screen. This setup is in place to give the mouse rated battery life of three months.

(view large image)

The Bluetooth range of the mouse was 10-15 feet before the mouse would start to stutter in its movement. This was in our office setting, and probably one of 10 other Bluetooth devices and countless 802.11b/g notebooks. Lag was unnoticeable during use, and on par with my Microsoft Laser Mouse 7000.

Conclusion

The Lenovo ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse is a great companion for any ThinkPad notebook, and for the tame price of $50 retail, it is hard to pick other mice over it. The durability is second to none, the function and feel are great, and the styling is awesome for the nerd in me. For the money I dare you to find a cooler looking wireless mouse, and even if you could mine could still beat yours up.

Pros

• Built like a tank
• Soft rubberiezed paint
• Color Matched to any ThinkPad
• Little Lag and great laser sensitivity

Cons

• Bluetooth range was only 10-15 feet in a office environment

 

How cute!!!!!!!!!!!! I like how it opens for batteries..ohhh..its so a thinkpad.. aha!..when you open the top to see batteries..they should be spring loaded and shoot out..then it WILL be a true tank!

 

Can you test if it works on Macs?

 

Looks nice, though the logo seems a little big. Would probably consider buying it if I didn't already have the deathadder

 

I want to buy this for a ThinkPad X300. Considering the X300 has Wireless USB (UWB) built-in (which should become more popular in the future), would Lenovo consider releasing a WUSB version of this mouse?

How does Wireless USB (UWB) compare to Bluetooth for HID peripherals? Better battery life? Less interference with Wi-Fi? Longer range? No pairing lag issues? Able to connect to multiple more wireless peripherals at the same time without problems?

 

It'll be interesting to compare this with HP's equivalent, the HP bluetooth PC card mouse (which is simply a rebadged MoGo mouse).

 

Nice review. I think it looks great, and I love the battery door. How rubberized is the finish?

Also, you call it the answer to a portable mouse...how big is it? A lot of portable mice are pretty small. Is it still comfortable to use for long periods of time?

 

While I don't usually require a lot of buttons in a mouse, I do like the Forward and Back buttons that many mice have. I still love the original Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical (also an ambidextrous design) which has a Back button on the left (for my thumb) and a Forward button on the right (for my ring or pinkie finger).

Since this ThinkPad mouse does not have extra buttons, can the scroll wheel be programmed so that pushing the wheel to the left acts as a "Back" command and pushing it to the right acts as "Forward"? I ask because the specs mention that the wheel has a 4-way scroll (up/down and left/right). Well I don't usually need to scroll left and right, I would rather do a "Back" and "Forward" for browsing.

 

Great review. It should also work on the Mac

 

Wait, you're going to pair this with a MacBook? That would be quite an odd look, this thing is like the opposite in design of a Mighty Mouse.

Strong praise for a mouse here Kevin, I have to agree though, it's as fine feeling as a ThinkPad keyboard to use and has earned the ThinkPad name. Though maybe a ThinkMouse would have been better branding.

 

I have a Lenovo X300 as well as a 24" iMac. It would be nice to be able to use it on both. I don't care about looks.

 

How big is it? Same size as the Logitech V270, for example? 2 x AA batteries must mean it is fairly large and heavy (how heavy), so how much does it add to the travel weight? I've got the V270 but find it a little big if I want to travel light - a traditional wired mouse weighs less.

John

 

Substituting 2 x AA Lithium batteries instead of Alkaline should reduce the weight...

Anyways is this the best of Lenovo's mice? How about for ThinkPad keyboards or combos?

It seems that the only mice models with the rubberized paint soft-touch finish is this ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse, the regular ThinkPad USB Travel Mouse, and the Lenovo 2.4GHz RF optical mouse that comes in the keyboard+mouse combo?

P.S. I'm kind of scared of the Bluetooth mice horror stories though. A proprietary (but non-2.4GHz) RF or a Wireless USB (UWB) connection might be more reliable?

 

I'm using the bluetooth Mighty Mouse with my iMac and it is very reliable. As far as I'm concerned bluetooth has been great the past couple months. I do want to check out the Lenovo bluetooth mouse though because I want a more portable/travel friendly one.

 

Dry weight is 2.2oz (no batteries)
Weight with batteries is 3.9oz

The size is decently small compared to fullsize desktop mice. The hump on its back is about 1cm shorter than the other 2 mice.

 

Lovely mouse, bad price, looks like it's quite a bit more than my beloved Logitiech MX1000!

 

I know it's because of the finish, but that picture makes it look like it's sucking all the light out of the room.

 

How is it a bad price? The MX1000 and MX Revolution I have both cost 69.99 when they originally hit the market. This thing is 50 bucks, and bluetooth.

 

Without back/forward buttons, it's not a hit for me. Can't see why you didn't put that under "cons".

 

Aside from the way it connects to the system, how does this mouse compare to a Logitech VX Nano?

 

I have the v270, the TP mouse is smaller, shorter in length and lower hump (if that's the right way to describe it).

Bought it right after I read the review to go with my X61. It is a perfect match.

 

Just got this mouse in the mail today. Some quick facts:
- Pairs fine with my Black Macbook
- Is larger than the USB Travel Mouse. I was hoping that it would be the same size, but oh well.
- Overall good feeling in the hand. Solid feeling buttons and nice wheel.
- A little on the heavy side for me (used to using the USB Travel Mouse), so I'll probably try to find some lightweight lithium batteries instead of the included ones.

 

I am really disapointed with this mouse, just used less than three months and dead yesterday. so sad!

 

Don't they have some kind of warranty on it? Send it in to get a new one.

 

Call lenovo today, let me fax them invoice, afterwards didn't get answer yet.

 

received the replacement mouse today. Happy with it.