Microsoft 2.4GHz Wireless BlueTrack Technology Laser Explorer Mouse with 30-Foot Range and Easy Battery Recharging Base (5AA-00001).
- Easy Charging – The battery status indicator tells you when a quick recharge is needed. The compact, stable recharging base is easy to use.
- Reliable Wireless on the Go – Microsoft 2.4 GHz wireless and the snap-in mini-transceiver deliver a reliable connection with up to a 30-foot range.
- Sophisticated Design and Comfort – The glowing blue light effects and comfortable curved surfaces set your mouse apart.
- Go Anywhere – Microsoft Blue Track Technology combines the power of optical with the precision of laser for remarkable tracking on more surfaces.
The Microsoft Explorer Mouse, with revolutionary Microsoft BlueTrackTM Technology, works more places than ever before, including on granite countertops, living room or airport carpets¿even on a wood table or rough, unfinished park bench.
Rating: 
(out of 66 reviews)
List Price: $ 79.99
Price: $ 17.79
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Review by Siarhei S. Vaurynovich for Microsoft 2.4GHz Wireless BlueTrack Technology Laser Explorer Mouse with 30-Foot Range and Easy Battery Recharging Base (5AA-00001).
Rating:
What I liked:
=============
The first thing that I loved was that the mouse works fine under Linux (and Windows, of course), even the two side buttons: under Linux they are “Back” and “Forward” in a web-browser by default.
The mouse is rechargeable and requires one AA Ni-MH battery (which means it can be easily replaced when the battery dies eventually) and comes with a low charge indicator (slowly flashes red when the mouse needs recharging and slowly flashes green when the mouse is being charged) and an easy charging station. After some minimal charging is done, the green flashing stops and the indicator just stays on green. Unfortunately there is no indication as to when the mouse is fully charged – the indicator does not change to blue or some other color, instead it just stays on green).
The two customizable buttons can be assigned (under Windows) many different functions out of a list.
The mouse indeed works well on most surfaces. However, I found out that it does not work at all on a concrete wall painted with a white paint. It also barely works on its original package (which could mean that it performs poorly on transparent surfaces). I guess there are always exceptions.
The mouse looks beautiful! Although, keep in mind that you won’t see the blue light from under the mouse and the BlueTrack sign all the time – it only turns on for a few seconds when the mouse is turned on (i.e. after one takes the receiver out of the mouse) and after the mouse returns from a sleep mode (the mouse goes into the sleep mode to save battery if it is not used for a while).
What I liked and did NOT like at the same time:
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One thing which I love is the smooth no-sound (no clicks) scroll wheel in a web-browser. It is as convenient to use as a wheel with clicks. It is great, for example, during meetings since the constant wheel clicking would not annoy anyone or in any situation when one wants to be quiet. The scrolling also takes very little effort. However, in all the other applications (not in a web-browser – for example in PowerPoint or in Excel) the scroll wheel is too sensitive, i.e. even a slight touch of the wheel causes a difficult to control scrolling of a page(s). One can get used to it but will still remain uncomfortable.
What I did NOT like:
====================
The first (very annoying) feature, from my point of view, is that the scroll wheel has to be clicked in a specific direction away from the user, when used as a middle button., i.e. if one just presses it down or towards oneself it would not consider it as a (middle) click. So it takes some thinking (or maybe a habit) to put a finger on the nearest end of the wheel and press it away. I love using the middle click to open a link in a new tab in FireFox. And also middle clicks are used really a lot under Linux (paste) so I consider it as major drawback of the mouse. I also cannot understand why the mouse was designed that way, since unlike scrolling, it takes some effort to click the wheel, so one would not click it accidentally anyway.
The second thing that I did not quite like was that the mouse is very big (its physical size: it is wide and thick – feels like a ball in ones hand). It is probably one of the biggest mice I ever seen or used. I have small hands and find it more convenient to use a narrower and thinner mouse. It does not make using the mouse troublesome – just feels somewhat uncomfortable. There is a “Mini” version of the mouse but that one is not rechargeable.
The mouse gets discharged pretty quickly (i.e. in less than a week – just a few days) when it is off. That is if I fully charge it and then snap the USB receiver into the mouse to turn it off with an intension to take the mouse with me on the road in a few days – it does not work, since in a few days when I turn the mouse on again, the charge indicator blinks red (which is an indicator that the mouse needs to be charged). It looks as if some circuit does not get disabled and still drains the battery power even in the mouse’s off-state.
I find putting the mouse’s wireless receiver in and out quite inconvenient. It takes special care to put the receiver in since it does not naturally find its proper position before one pushes it in. Even much more inconvenient is to take the receiver back out of the mouse – it gets stuck there pretty tightly and deeply and it is not easy to grab on it to pull it out (accurately without breaking it).
I also do not quite like the feature that to turn the mouse off one has to put the USB receiver into the mouse. It is subjective, of course, but I would find a simple on/off switch more convenient. The switch could be even positioned on the front or back side of the mouse so that it does not get congested with dirt over time, if this is the problem.
Also I wish the mouse would come with some carrying case. The idea of the BlueTrack technology is that the mouse works on most surfaces which makes it a good choice to take it with on the road, so, I think, a carrying case is desirable.
Overall:
========
I kept the mouse. My goal was to find a rechargeable wireless mouse which would use standard rechargeable batteries (i.e. AA or AAA) and I found it. It is a good mouse, but I would not call it a marvel of engineering – it has a few important things to get fixed. I guess the Microsoft engineers were so excited about the novel BlueTrack technology that they forgot to make sure that other not so novel features of the mouse are implemented conveniently for a user.
Review by Sunira S. Moses for Microsoft 2.4GHz Wireless BlueTrack Technology Laser Explorer Mouse with 30-Foot Range and Easy Battery Recharging Base (5AA-00001).
Rating:
This mouse is an excellent replacement to my older corded laser mouse. I was having issues tracking on my new desk because of the wood grain. I did some reading on the bluetrack technology and it’s improved tracking effect so I took the plunge and I can’t be happier.
The mouse tracks perfectly on multiple surface types. I even tried it on carpet just for fun and it works on there too!! It’s pretty cool to sit on my bed with my laptop and use my mouse on the comforter.
Anyway, I’ve only been using it a few days so I have no comment on battery life. The mouse turns off on its own pretty quickly, which will hopefully conserve battery.
The shape of the mouse makes for a comfortable fit in my hand. The scroll wheel turns VERY smoothly, unlike my previous click-scroll wheel. This meant it took a little bit for my fingers to adjust to the same level of accuracy with scrolling but it’s definitely not a minus. The extra two buttons alongside my thumb were a nice idea but the one closest to my palm is harder to push. I never use it but that may be an issue for someone else.
Overall, I’m really happy with this mouse. It’s got this awesome blue halo it throws around itself when you’re using it. It fits great in my hand. It tracks flawlessly. What else could I really want?
Review by B. Johnson for Microsoft 2.4GHz Wireless BlueTrack Technology Laser Explorer Mouse with 30-Foot Range and Easy Battery Recharging Base (5AA-00001).
Rating:
Really like this mouse. The ‘clickless’ mousewheel is very smooth & quiet. The mouse tracks well on all kinds of surfaces. I’m on the couch now, using the armrest as a mousepad. A few minutes ago, I was using the dog’s stomach (she’s on the couch too) as the mouse pad.
It seems like the mouse should snap into the charger dock, but it doesn’t, it just sort of sits on top of it. I initially was putting a book on top of the mouse in the charger to keep it down, but found out that was unnecessary. It charges even though it doesn’t mount into the dock.
I’ve had millions of mice over the years it seems, this one is my favorite.
Review by Leslie B. S. for Microsoft 2.4GHz Wireless BlueTrack Technology Laser Explorer Mouse with 30-Foot Range and Easy Battery Recharging Base (5AA-00001).
Rating:
I just bought this mouse and it is absolutely amazing and I think everyone is being way too critical! The scrolling is wonderful, the bluetrack technology is great, the recharging is very useful.
I have a Mac and so far all of the buttons have worked exactly as they are supposed to. The forward and back buttons work perfectly in Firefox and Safari and the scroll wheel works in iTunes.
When recharging the mouse, the light turns solid green once it is fully charged. Not to mention that you don’t have to fiddle with it to get it to stay on the charger because the light (either red, blinking green, or green) comes on when charging begins.
Furthermore, for the person that complained about the mouse not working on transparent surfaces, the box specifically says “BlueTrack Technology does not work on clear glass or mirrored surfaces” – so it’s really not fair to expect the mouse to do something that it specifically says it can’t do.
This mouse is a replacement for the Mighty Mouse which seems to break ever 6 months or so, and doesn’t have nearly as many wonderful features as the Explorer. Hands down, best mouse I’ve ever used!
Review by M. Rodriguez for Microsoft 2.4GHz Wireless BlueTrack Technology Laser Explorer Mouse with 30-Foot Range and Easy Battery Recharging Base (5AA-00001).
Rating:
I bought this mouse as a replacement for the most recent in a series of Logitech MX Revolutions. Thus far I’ve found this mouse to be comfortable and pretty precise, and certainly not a bad value for the price. Also I’m a Mac user and it seems it’s pretty compatible. (I have not tried to program any of the buttons yet etc.)
I do LOVE the quiet scrolling. That “zip, zip” noise that most other mice make when you are scrolling can get annoying at times, especially when you are trying to be quiet. 🙂 I also like the look of the design, and being a designer myself, that sort of thing is important to me. So if you are an appreciator of aesthetics and not just functionality, you’ll probably like this mouse a lot.
I’m not thrilled with the charger though…it doesn’t feel like it fits the mouse exactly which causes me to fiddle with it a bit to make sure it’s actually on there. It probably would have been a better design if it was upright.
Though the mouse is pretty comfortable, I think it could also be a little higher in the palm area and maybe a little smaller. By design it causes you to hold it lower, putting your wrist pretty much right on the desk (instead of slightly raised)
I also like the blue light feature but it’s a little over played, since it actually only comes on when you take out the battery. It is supposed to come on when the mouse is awoken from “sleep” mode but thus far mine has not. I realize it would probably kill the battery completely though if it was on all the time…but it would be nice to see it more often. 🙂
All in all, not a bad effort, especially for a first run product.