Two Cool Optical Mice from Contour
Charles Moore
- 2004.05.24 -
Tip Jar
Contour's Perfit Mouse Optical
The Contour's Perfit Mouse has been in production for seven years
with over 100,000 units sold. I reviewed conventional ball-type
Perfit mice here a few years back in
both ADB and USB configurations and found them to be excellent
products.
Now the Salem, New Hampshire-based company has released new
Perfit Mouse
Optical, which takes the classic Perfit Mouse design to a new
level. Reengineered to incorporate optical technology, improved
reliability, and increased functionality, the Perfit Mouse Optical
retains all of the ergonomic benefits that have made the original
Perfit Mouse so comfortable and popular.
Carried over from the legacy Perfit Mouse are the basic form factor
with:
- Tilted palm support that prevents static grip by allowing the hand
to rest comfortably and rock freely in a balanced, natural
posture.
- Elevated wrist support that reduces stress on the wrist by keeping
it off the desktop,
- Sculpted elevated buttons to reduce excessive load on fingertips
and help keep the fingers positioned for comfortable activation.
- Thumb support, which reduces the grip force that has been
associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
New with the Perfit Mouse Optical are:
- An 800 DPI optical sensor which provides precise control,
durability, low maintenance, and tracking on virtually any
surface.
- A scroll wheel activated by the thumb. This gives you the user
added support, control and comfort. Allows you to move the mouse with
reduced pinch force which is known to increase the risk of carpal
tunnel syndrome. The scroll Wheel provides scrolling and the textured,
rubber coated light touch two position rocker switch provides access to
additional repetitive commands.
A light-pressure two-way rocker switch, also a thumb-activated, for
initiating chores such as forward and back in a browser. The
two-position side rocker switch uses very light touch internal switches
and is designed not to require pinch force to activate. The switches
"click" with a very slight forward or backward motion of the thumb. The
switch "rocker" is rubber coated and textured to provide maximum grip,
with little effort.
The USB and ADB Perfit mice were excellent products, but the Perfit
Mouse Optical is a significant improvement across the board. No more
cleaning the ball and rollers, and the optical tracking seems more
precise. The scroll wheel and rocker switch are convenient additions
that don't compromise the already excellent ergonomic design.
As with its ball-type predecessors, the Perfit Mouse Optical comes
in three left-hand and four right-hand sizes (small, medium, and large,
with an extra-large version available for right-handers only). The
sizes are color-coded with the scroll wheel and rockers switch in
orange on the small unit, red for medium, blue for large, and green on
the extra-large model.
The appropriate
size Perfit Mouse Optical for you is determined by measuring
from the tip of your middle finger to the first crease on your wrist.
For me, that turned out to be 8" on the nose, so I fall in the range
for the large size Perfit Mouse of 7-1/2" to 8-1/4".
The Perfit Mouse is designed to minimize biomechanical load and
reduce hand and arm deviations from the neutral pronation position. The
shape of the original Perfit Mouse was the result of three years of
testing with users complaining of mouse hand and wrist pain from their
existing devices. The mouse's top surface is contoured to fit the palm
of the hand to disperse pressure across the palm during use, and the
thumb side of the mouse is higher than the other to minimize pronation
strain. There is also a support for the thumb, which allows movement of
the mouse with reduced Pinch Force which is known to increase the risk
of carpal tunnel syndrome.
The elevated wrist support reduces pressure on the wrist by keeping
it off the desktop, maintains a straighter wrist alignment, minimizes
lateral deviation, balances the hand in a neutral, tilted posture, and
prevents static grip by allowing the hand to rock freely.
This posture allows mouse clicking pressure to come mainly from the
whole finger being depressed from its base joint, which, once you get
used to it, begins to feel quite correct and natural, as well as less
stressful on the muscles of your fingers and wrists. From this
perspective, the big mouse began to make "perfit" sense.
The Perfit Mouse Optical is highly configurable and programmable in
OS X using the Contour Mouse Control Panel. Additional
functionality can be added to device by downloading the third party
shareware driver, USB
OverDrive. The mouse settings allow you to speed up your daily
tasks by assigning useful actions to all the extra buttons in your USB
mouse.
You can read abstracts of
scientific studies confirming the Perfit Mouse's ergonomic
virtues on Contour's website.
The Contour Perfit Mouse is not cheap, but it appears to be a very
high quality product. My older Perfit mice have proved durable and
trouble-free, and there is nothing else quite like it on the
market.
System Requirements
- Mac OS 9.x and earlier
- Mac OS X
- Windows 98, 98SE, Me, 2000, and XP
Perfit Mouse Optical MSRP $109.95.
Contour MiniPro Mouse for Laptop Users
Also from Contour is the
Contour MiniPro USB
Mouse, which is designed expressly as a pointing device for a
road warrioring laptop users.
I don't mind using a trackpad, especially with the "tappable"
function activated, but when I'm in "desktop substitute mode" with my
iBook or PowerBooks (which is most of the time), I wouldn't want to be
without an external mouse, and even on the road there are times when a
trackpad really isn't ideal.
The Contour folks say that their marketing research indicates that
more than 70% of users who buy the MiniPro optical mouse intend to use
it on the road.
The first thing you notice about the MiniPro mouse is that it comes
in a convenient "Pack n' Go" case that houses and protects the mouse
while in transit - and keeps the cord from getting tangled with or
snagged on other contents of your laptop case. The Contour folks say
they have placed a lot of emphasis on the design of the snap-closure
Pack n' Go case and that if you use it, you will minimize the risk of
bending, twisting, or kicking your mouse cord in transit. Just slip the
mouse into its case, coil the cord counterclockwise around the mouse
body making sure that the there's no been kinking or bending, and snap
the case closed. Slick.
The MiniPro is the smallest mouse I've ever used - a bit larger than
the footprint of an extra-large hen's egg - and smoothly contoured.
It's an optical, two-button mouse, a with the second ("right") button
at the inner edge of the main "left" one. Being optical, there are no
moving parts other than the click buttons, so it will never need
maintenance or cleaning.
The advanced optical controller allows for precise control even in
less than optimal places such as airplane trays, where other mice fall
short of being practical. The MiniPro Mouse even tracks on non-flat
surfaces, such as on your pant legs. However, the Contour MiniPro mouse
does not work on these surfaces:
- glass, or other glossy materials,
- halftone images, such as mousepads with pictures
Because the mouse is so small, you don't really cup it in your palm
like you do a conventional mouse, but rather you guide it with your
thumb and finger tips. The main button action is light and short, which
I prefer in any mouse. The second, inner button is somewhat stiffer,
which should prevent inadvertent clicking of the "right" button
function.
The mouse is also very light, and it glides smoothly effortlessly
across the mousing surface. The cord is a shortish 32" long, which
doesn't give you much slack when using it right-handed with an iBook's
left side USB ports, although it's actually 10" longer than the 22"
cord on the hockey puck Apple
USB mouse.
The Contour MiniPro Mouse comes in either snow white, which matches
my opaque white iBook exactly, or in titanium metallic, to harmonize
with the metal skin of the titanium or aluminum PowerBooks.
As with all Contour products I've used and sampled, the MiniPro
Mouse is well constructed out of first-rate materials. It carries a one
year manufacturers warranty.
Key Features
- Titanium or snow color to complement your system.
- Compact design is ideal for laptop users on the go.
- Use it anywhere on almost any surface.
- Designed to be comfortable, yet compact.
- Pack N' Go carrying case provides added protection and easy cord
storage.
- Two Button Mouse
- Optical Technology - No Mouse Ball
- USB Connectivity
- Simple Plug n' Play Installation
- Mac OS 9 & OS X compatible as well as Windows 98, 98SE, Me,
2000, and XP.
- Mac users: Contour Overdrive for buttons customization
- Dimensions: 3 1/2"L x 1"H x 1 7/8"W
- Cord Length: 32"
MiniPro (Ti and Snow) MSRP $34.95
