Arc Touch Mouse is the first wireless slim mouse with variable geometry. It features two buttons – the left one and the right one- and the touch strip with haptic feedback engine for scrolling. Arc Touch Mouse features a rubber tail that can be curved to meet the user’s palm curve and works also as an on / off toggle.
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Microsoft Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse Review [Video]
Video uploaded by Peter Blanco on May 24, 2015.
Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse
Though Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse looks like a carbon copy of the Arc Touch Mouse (RVF-00052), it doesn’t need any dongle to pair with the PC or laptop. But it means, the mouse can work only with the systems featuring the latest Bluetooth LE version.
The Arc Touch Mouse features the proprietary BlueTrack technology. Blue stands for the laser, which is blue with the higher precision level than the general red laser. Arc Touch Mouse works on any surface, smooth and mirror-like or fibered. Arc Touch Mouse features the special button on the bottom for smooth and quick Bluetooth pairing. The mouse is powered with 2 AAA alkaline batteries with an approximate life of 12 months.
Specifications
- Product name: Microsoft Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse.
- Mouse Name: Microsoft Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse v1.0.
- Type: mouse.
- Mouse Connection: Bluetooth Low Energy Compatible.
- Wireless Platform: Nordic nRF51822 (Bluetooth Low Energy).
- Wireless Frequency: 2.4 GHz frequency range.
- Wireless Range: 32.8 feet (obstacles-free) in open air, up to 46.4 feet in office environment,
- Bluetooth Profile Support: HID Over Gatt Profile (HOGP).
- Full compatibility: Microsoft Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / RT 8.1 / RT 8.
- Limited compatibility: Mac OS 10.10.
- Compatibility logos: Compatible with Microsoft Windows 10 / 8, Bluetooth smart logo.
- Microsoft Windows PC top system requirements: Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / RT 8.1 / RT 8, 60 MB of free disk space, Bluetooth 4.0 or higher.
- Macintosh PC top system requirements: Mac OS 10.10, 30 MB of free disk space, Bluetooth 4.0 or higher.
- Software: Mouse and Keyboard Center 2.8.
- Mouse tracking system: Microsoft-proprietary BlueTrack Technology.
- Imaging Rate: Dynamically adaptable to 1200 frames per second.
- Resolution: 1000 ppi.
- Tracking speed: 30 inches per second.
- Scroll wheel: No.
- Mouse Button Features: 3 buttons and touch scroll strip.
- Right & Left Button Life: 3,000,000 actuations at no more than 2.5 actuations per second.
- Mouse Scrolling Features: digital high precision vertical scrolling.
- Wheel Vertical Scrolling Life: equivalent to 100,000,000 revolutions.
- Tail Mechanism Life: 40,000 cycles.
- Mouse dimensions (flat): 5.12 x 2.25 x 0.57 inches.
- Mouse dimensions (curved): 4.37 x 2.32 x 1.44 inches.
- Mouse weight: 2.29 ounces.
- Mouse batteries: 2 AAA alkaline batteries (included).
- Batteries life: Six months under normal conditions.
- Color: silver-grey.
- Warranty: 3 years.
- Part #: 7MP-00011.
- Windows Certification Kit (WCK): ID:1735433 (32-bit) and (64-bit) Windows 10.
- Price: $ 69.95.
Miscellanea
- The Arc Touch Mouse is a great departure in design and technology. It’s the first portable mouse with variable geometry. It can be curved and flattened. The top part, made of glossy black plastic houses the hardware and the touch stip. The bottom part is solid and made of soft touch matte rubberized material and can be curved in an arc. When flat, the Arc Touch Mouse is compact enough to fit your jeans’ front pocket and when curved, it can mirror your palm curve just the way you like it to do.
- Moreover, this rubberized ‘tail’ works as an on / off toggle. The mouse turns on when curved and a green dot light just below the touch strip goes on to indicate the working status. It’s enough to flatten the mouse to switch it off. It works great from the looks of it and the tail mechanism is claimed to live through 40,000 cycles, but that also means that the mouse will be always active while curved and drain your batteries in no time.
- A fault determined by the revolutionary design is the balance. Using this mouse takes some learning especially when it comes to pressing the buttons. Press the button too heavy and the mouse will fall on its side. Also, people with wide palms and big fingers can find this mouse too narrow.
- Another great feature is the touch strip with a haptic engine beneath, that stands in for a good old scroll wheel. The vibration is to imitate the physical contact with the wheel. The strip life is equivalent to 100,000,000 revolutions which is a whale more any conventional mouse can endure.
- The touch strip won’t support horizontal scrolling but it has other great features. The top / bottom taps work as Page Up and Page Down respectively while the center tap works like the pressed scroll wheel on a conventional mouse does. For orientation purposes the strip consists of two parts and a hair thin crack between them is well seen and felt.
- The mouse is a programmable one. There’s a pre-installed software on Surface Pro tablet that allows to customize the tap function, pressure and scroll speed.
- The Arc Touch Mouse wants a USB dongle to be paired with the PC. As the mouse is promoted as the portable device and an extra little part is easy to forget and loose, Microsoft engineers have foreseen the magnet in the tail. Turn your mouse over and you’ll see a special logo marking the magnet area. It will hold the dongle in place when in travel.
- The Arc Touch Mouse design suggests that the there’s some space between the optical sensor and the surface, that’s why the mouse features the most precision tracking technology of all – the BlueTrack Technology that also allows it to work smoothly on any surface, glass and carpet including.
Links
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