Filed under: Peripherals

We’re pretty certain that there isn’t a gadget out there that can save the world as well as the Sigma SGM2 presentation remote and mouse. And for ¥3,480 ($30), just about everyone can afford to unleash their inner sci-fi superhero. The SGM2′s crazy — dare we say, futuristic? — design has an inner trigger button that will probably make you feel as excited as that hairy-chested dude on the left. Better yet, when you’ve vanquished the purple octopus in the background (surely meant to represent your skeptical colleagues) you too can lift up the remote triumphantly in your board room. Still, we can’t wait for the Sigma SGM2 straight-to-DVD anime movie to come out.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Peripherals

While we’re still stuck with 20th-century style bar codes ’round these parts, our friends around the world (mostly Japan) are currently enjoying the abstract art and added info of QR codes and ColorCodes. You can, of course, read ‘em with a cellphone camera, but if that’s not convenient enough you might want to consider Elecom’s latest mouse, the M-CZ1UR, which’ll cease its cursor pushing duties and turn into a ColorCode reader at the push of a button. Apart from that, the M-CZ1UR looks to be a fairly standard, if undeniably stylized, optical mouse, with 1,000 DPI resolution and the standard USB interface. No word on what you can expect to shell out or even Japanese availability, so you’ll still have to do your ColorCode reading the old fashioned way for the time being.

[Via Akihabara News]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Peripherals

As if to prove a point to their comrades in the Microsoft Windows division, Microsoft Hardware has just launched nine new peripherals to show ‘em how its done. We won’t trouble you with all nine products, but the four highlights of the launch are plenty to be getting on with. Pictured above is the new Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000, which claims to be the first wireless rechargeable backlit keyboard, and who are we to argue? The ‘board features ambient and proximity sensing, while keeping it slim at a mere 1-inch thick, and it should be available next February for $250. Next up is the do-it-all Wireless Presenter Mouse 8000, which stuffs in slide presenter, laser pointer, media remote and laser mouse functionality into its meaty girth. The Bluetooth mouse should be out mid-October for about $100. Microsoft also has the new Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000, with high-def laz0r tracking and intense ergonomics, and the new LifeCam NX-6000 webcam, which features 7.6 megapixel stills and 2.0 megapixel video in a minuscule package. The cam should be out in November for $100, while the Laser Mouse 6000 should follow in January for $80. Now, if only we had a shiny new OS to use these with. Keep reading for more pics.

Read – Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000
Read – Wireless Presenter Mouse 8000
Read – Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000
Read – Microsoft LifeCam NX-6000

Wireless Presenter Mouse 8000

Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000

Microsoft LifeCam NX-6000

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Peripherals

It’s a little painful and hideous to watch, but some of us are still a little curious as to just how Logitech managed to fit those dozens of moving parts (and a few motors) in their new Revolution mice to give that wheel its free-spinning abilities. We’re not firm believers in animal testing ’round these parts, but this mouse was just begging to be opened up for the betterment of human knowledge.

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Filed under: Peripherals

Logitech went back to the drawing board on the MX Revolution and VX Revolution mice, and here’s what they came up with: the MicroGear Precision Scroll Wheel, which enables force feedback application support. Basically the heavy-feeling alloy wheels (of which there are two on the MX, and one on the VX) can spin freely and smoothly for up to seven seconds with a flick of your finger, or lock into the regular ratcheted scrolling motion like most of us are used to, depending on usage (the VX requires a flipped switch to toggle between the modes), the application, and your system’s settings. It’s kinda one of those things you have to try for yourself to really appreciate (we got to play with one a few weeks back), but if you’re already sold and don’t have any problems with your mice once again having dozens of moving parts, the Revolution series will set you back $99 or $79, respectively.

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Filed under: Peripherals

If that Mighty Mouse of Apple’s isn’t fulfilling your need for classic cartoon references or laz0r-based accuracy, the new Danger Mouse from MacMice might do the trick — plus it tosses in a nice, fresh pop cultural reference to boot. The Danger Mouse sticks close to Apple design cues, but splits its shell in the front to make concession to a traditional right click function. MacMice also tossed in a MicroScroll wheel to ape Apple’s scroll ball (in 1 dimension at least), and a 1600 DPI laser sensor for tracking with the best of ‘em. So yeah, MacMice isn’t exactly breaking new ground here with their stylings, but with the homogeneous tastes of the general Mac populace, would that make them Crazy?

[Via The Gadget Weblog]

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The MoGo Mouse is great for businessmen and polygamists who need to make their way from city to city, often only taking a laptop and a change of clothes. Slashgear found that the MoGo was perfect due to its using the PCMCIA slot as both home and charger. No more forgetting to charge the mouse or losing track of where it is.

Even though there's no "depth" to the mouse, the kickstand helps a bit by angling it in your hand so that you're not performing the eagle-talon of death trying to check whether today is the day for GOOG to tank. The only missing feature: scrolling. They couldn't fit a traditional scroll wheel in there, but maybe in a future setup they'd add some kind of touch-sensitive area for scrolling.

Check the link for a bonus Unboxing video. – Jason Chen

MoGo Mouse Hands On [Slashgear]

Filed under: Peripherals

The LG FINGER mouse is a rather self-explanatory product: it’s a tiny mouse shaped like a severed human finger. You push the top part of the button to left-click and the bottom portion to right-click — pretty simple. About the only thing this mouse has going for it — besides its disregard for handedness — is the fact that you could stuff it in a pocket for use with your PDA or UMPC; other than that, it looks fairly uncomfortable to maneuver, and sporting a wired mouse is like totally passé. We don’t know what it costs and we’re not sure where it’s available — our guess is Korea only — but we doubt folks will be lining up to get their, um, fingers on these things anyway.

[Via Engadget Japanese]

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No, this isn’t just some $5 mouse pad with a Lamborghini on it. This is an actual Italian leather Lamborghini mousepad, made by the same people who bring you those fancy horseless wagons with all the horses under the hood.

The pad is in the shape of the Lamborghini crest, but doesn’t have the actual crest design. We’re not sure how much it costs, but it’s sure to be less than the $500 F1 Mouse Pad. – Jason Chen

Lamborghini [via Sybarites]

Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals

Filed under: Peripherals

There’s at least one manufacturer at Computex this year who’s never heard about the concept of not fixing something that ain’t broken, as evidenced by the atrociously-designed mouse you see pictured above, which actually repositions the left- and right-click buttons to an almost unreachable spot in order to make room for the same media controls already accessible on-screen, on your keyboard, or from your remote. We’re not gonna harsh on this ridiculous product too much, though, for fear of sounding stupid on the off-chance that its initially-questionable design takes off just like the Wii-mote’s did.

[Via Gadgets Weblog]

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Filed under: Peripherals

Being that we're not precisely masters of the Japanese language -- written or spoken (that's why we have Engadget Japan after all) -- we're not even sure who the makes this thing, but it looks like the cleverly named EEM-GTMS-300BK finger mouse is now available (at least across the Pacific). The mouse straps onto your finger, and it should work on any surface thanks to the 800 dpi optical sensor, not unlike your run of the mill optical mouse. The device itself weighs 35 grams and, as you can see, isn't wireless, although you can convientently (and we use the word loosely here, people) wrap up the cable with the finger strap. It also appears to be Windows only, but doesn't require a specialized driver and is shown plugged into a Mac, so who knows. List price looks to be 4,980 Yen ($45US), but at least one Japanese online retailer is selling it for as little as 3,140 Yen ($28US), a real deal if this is actually something you've been looking for (and happen to live overseas).

[Via Akihabara News]

Filed under: Peripherals

Proving that it still has (some) love for the fiercely-loyal army of Mac enthusiasts (especially the dual-booters), Microsoft has released its first Wireless Laser Desktop for Cupertino-created computers. This new keyboard and mouse set, which features a Comfort Curve ergonomic 'board and high-definition laser mouse, sounds almost identical to the company's Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 (pictured above) which was released last year for Windows machines, except for the addition of Mac-specific modifier and hot keys. Available immediately, this package will set you back $100.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Serious gamers are always looking for an edge, so any product that promises to transfer to a mouse the movement commands that were formerly restricted to the keyboard is bound to draw some interest. Sandio Technology is showing off one such mouse, the Game O', at E3 this year, calling it "the first and the only six degrees-of-freedom 3D mouse in the IT industry."  From what we can tell, the 2000 dpi laser mouse seems to allow players to move in around in 3D space by translating mouse motions into 3D in-game movement, as opposed to just aiming a weapon's crosshair's, when the button above the scroll wheel is depressed. Sandio will be releasing the Game O' "soon," for the not-unreasonable price of $80.

[Via MobileWhack, picture courtesy of 4Gamer]

Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals

We were about to write this off as a harmless gimmick, and a great gift to slow down a couple FPS rivals of ours, but after staring mesmerized at the sheer craziness of it all, we’re starting to think these Combimouse peeps are on to something. Their concept is quite simple: reduce the repetitive and arduous task of moving your hand from keyboard to mouse and back again a few thousand times a day. They accomplish that by splitting the keyboard and making the right half into a full fledged mouse. Your merely switch up your grip and the mouse function automatically springs into action. You might look a bit dorky in the act, and it surely won’t work for everybody, but it seems to us that a spreadsheet pusher could quickly get used to the setup and learn to rock it. The creators of the Combimouse have recently completed their final prototype and are on the lookout for a manufacturer. We’ll keep you posted.

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Filed under: Peripherals, Wireless

src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/05/bluetake_mouse.jpg" />Well, href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/04/ask-engadget-who-likes-their-bluetooth-mouse/">speaking of Bluetooth mice,
it looks like Bluetake’s got a new wireless mouse of their own kicking around, the 700mAh rechargeable Bluetooth 1.2
compliant BT500 . We all know what these things do and how they work, so we’ll leave the white plastic aesthetic and
ergonomic judgement to the court of public opinion. No word so far as we can tell on price or release, but it shan’t
cost you all that much.

[Via GeekZone]

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Filed under: Ask Engadget, Peripherals, Wireless

You've got questions, and well, the rest of you have answers. That's right, it's time for Ask Engadget. You hit us up at ask at engadget dawt com with the questions you'd like your Engadget-reading peers to take on, and we'll let them sort it out in our comments. Last time Serge wanted a good home NAS solution, but this time Drew's got an easy one:

Here is a good one for all of the Boot Camp converts. What is the best 2 button Bluetooth mouse!

Well, what do you say? We're sure there's more than a few of you out there who stopped waiting for that god forsaken Bluetooth Mighty Mouse and broke down and bought something else. You like what you got? Let us know!

Filed under: Peripherals

Microsoft has upgraded its Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse with "High Definition Optical Technology" tracking technology, which the company boasts puts its mice "two generations ahead" of other pointing devices. According to Microsoft, the Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse works at 1,000 dpi, captures 6,000 frames per second, uses a low-powered chip to conserve battery power, and offers smoother tracking on any surface. Not bad for a $30 mouse that doesn't even use a laser. A desktop version, the Wireless Optical Mouse 2000 will also be available for $30, while the Laser Mouse 5000 will be priced at $50. As for Microsoft's appropriation of the term "High Definition," we'll have to cut them a break, given that Logitech and other rodent-makers also use the term for their high-DPI pointers.

Filed under: CES, Peripherals

It's a Sony mouse with MPD that thinks it's a phone. It's not completely delusional, because it does function as both mouse and as a phone for VoIP appplications, say -- but we're getting it some psychotherapy anyway.