Vendor Website:Targus

SRP:	$29.95
What’s Hot:	Lightweight and portable
What’s Not:	A bit too small, driver needed for second mouse button

Think small — real small. Targus, Inc., best known for rugged and
functional laptop cases, recently introduced a slew of accessories designed
to improve the portable computing experience. These products range from
the handy, such as their harmonica-sized USB Mobile Mini Hub and numeric
keypad, to the super-cool, such as their pending Stowaway PDA portable
keyboard. Falling squarely in the “handy” category is the USB Mobile Mini
Mouse.

This mouse quite possibly represents the only mouse capable of being
dwarfed by Apple’s much-maligned hockey puck mouse.

Unlike the hockey puck mouse, however,
Targus specifically had portable computing in mind: the mouse matches the
PowerBook black color exactly, the cord is intentionally short and, as a
result, virtually tangle-free, and extra buttons and ergonomics were
actually considered. The result is a 2.4 ounce mouse that is both too
small and just small enough, both child-like and convenient, both
oddly-designed and well-designed.

The dichotomy in this mouse lies in how you intend to use it. If you’re
considering getting a USB mouse for your desktop system, this isn’t the
mouse you’ve been looking for. It’s simply far too tiny for daily use.
If, on the other hand, you want a mouse for your PowerBook that easily
stows away, and that would only be used occasionally, this might be the
one.

I recently used this mouse while presenting at a conference in South
Carolina. The trackpad built into my PowerBook works fine, of course, but
gets awkward to use when doing certain types of presentations that require
extensive switching between keyboard and PowerPoint use. (For that matter,
try playing Quake III with the trackpad — uggh!)

In this case, I was giving a presentation about using Adobe Acrobat to
facilitate computer mediated learning. The presentation involved repeated
switching from Acrobat, to a web browser, to PowerPoint, all while using
various toolbars and pull-down menus, entering and editing text, and
dragging around files. Again, the built-in trackpad would’ve functioned
well enough for these tasks. However, the Mini Mouse proved more
convenient, overall.

As with most USB devices, getting the Mini Mouse to work simply involves
plugging it in to an available USB port. No additional drivers are needed.
However, if you want to second button to do anything other than a single
click, you’re out of luck. Luckily, I already had the ubiquitous USB
OverDrive installed. Using this driver, I switched the second button to
open contextual menus. Targus — and Apple — should consider either
licensing this driver from Alessandro Levi Montalcini, or at least
including the url to it in their documentation. This appears unlikely,
though, as their web site states that “Targus, has no plans in the new
[sic] future to add a MAC OS driver which enable some other features with
the 2nd button.” Oh well.

Aside from the dearth of second mouse button options, the USB Mini Mouse is
a functional mouse for portable computing. The price is reasonable, and it
packs well. Targus plans to release an optical version soon, though
pricing and an exact release date aren’t yet known.

Note: Aside from variations in color, Targus’ USB Mini Mouse
appears to be identical to Macally’s iMouse Jr. Macally makes a driver for
their iMouse Jr. called “Macally USB Mouse/Trackball 3.0″. This free
driver may or may not work with the Targus mouse, to add functionality to
the second mouse button.

Filed under: Reviews