Recommendations for a new mobile mouse

Hi folks,

I'm in the market for a good mobile-friendly mouse.

I've just ordered a tablet PC, and as luck would have it, I seem to have lost the USB receiver for my Logitech VX Nano mouse. The mouse itself is working perfectly fine, but it sure as hell won't work if I can't find my USB receiver and I unfortunately can't buy one from Logitech (or anywhere else for that matter).

I thought this would be a good opportunity to consider looking for a new mouse. I really liked that VX Nano mouse as it worked flawlessly for so many years. I'm already considering getting the current version of the mouse from Logitech (Anywhere MX), but thought I'd open the floor for suggestions. I'm open to most anything, though I'd really prefer not to go over $100.

This does have to be a mobile mouse: it will sit in my bag all the time. I already have full-size mice for desk use (both Logitech G510s, one at home, one at office), so I'm not looking for a full-size mouse.

My only requirements for the mouse be that
* it's got dedicated fwd/back buttons
* the scroll wheel has ratchet scrolling

The only mobile-friendly mice that I could find that have dedicated fwd/back buttons are
* Logitech Anywhere MX
* Razer Orochi
* Mad Catz RAT M
* Mad Catz MOUS9
* Rapoo 7100P
Almost everything else I've come across either doesn't, or only has a single button.

Are there any mice out there that I should consider?

 

Have the Anywhere MX.

Got it locally for ~$60 and installed the nano receiver internally in my laptop.
It's a great mouse for sure. very nicely put together and a good weight. It tracks well on more or less anything and battery life is excellent.

 

Check out the Rapoo 7100P or 7800P. Great wireless mouse, fwd/back buttons, no interference.

 

Logitech G602, i think you forgot to mention that one. This being said, i have the Orochi, amazing mouse, get it , even comes with a carrying case.

 

Thanks for pointing out the Rapoo 7100. I've seen Rapoo before, but never really though of them.

Unfortunately the Rapoo 7800 and the Logitech G602 are too big for my use. The mouse I'm looking for must be one of the smaller ones, the kinds that comfortably fit inside a carry sleeve or your jacket pocket when moving between meeting rooms.

But I'm still on the look out!

 

I have the Mad Catz RAT M and the fwd/back function is handled by a 4-way button that can moves like a joystick. It takes a while to get used to it...

 

You cab find a new Logitech USB receiver for cheap on Ebay.

 

Thanks for bringing that up. But I already tried my hand at a couple of them, both turned out to be fakes (one was broken out of the box and clearly not a Logitech nano receiver; other one didn't even have a model number on the underside of the shield and couldn't pair up with my mouse). Both receivers, however, shipped miraculously fast, figures. I'd rather not try my hand at another gamble and just get a new mouse at this point.

I considered that to be a problem, but couldn't the user just unassign all actions from that 4-way button?

 

Yes you can remove all functions from the 4-way button, it's actually 5-way since it can also be pressed. My main problem with the 5-way button is it quite small and instead of just pressing on a fwd or back button you need to move the 5-way button forward or backward with your thumb. It makes the mouse wiggle in your hand and if used repeatably could caused strain in your hand. When I use my RAT 9 the 2 separate buttons are much easier to use.

 

But in the reviews I saw that it also has dedicated fwd/back buttons, not just the 5-way stick. Those are the buttons I would use. I would likely just disable that 5-way stick, maybe keeping only the centre click as the middle-mouse button.
However, between the RAT M and the MOUS9, I am leaning more towards the MOUS9 since it's every so slightly larger and "simpler" (if one can call a Mad Catz/Cyborg mouse simple) than the RAT M.

As it stands I'm rather partial to the Logitech Anywhere MX, mostly because Logitech products have never failed me since I got my first mouse from them back in 1999. But the far fetched look of the Mad Catz have me considering them - they are strange looking things, but they also kind of unintentionally present a solution to a problem I didn't have before: I can use Bluetooth on my tablet PC (Win 8 w/ BT 4.0) and I can use USB on another laptop that I have at work. That means I can easily share the mouse between both machines without having to re-pair or move the USB dongle around. Also, the 1 year battery life of the two Mad Catz mice is enticing. Realistically that probably equates to say 5-6 months, versus people's claims of averaging 3-4 months with the Logitech Anywhere MX.

I don't know, I'm still deciding. If I can find a MOUS9 on sale for less than $100 I think I would spring for it, if not for the novelty of it then for the fact that it can work with two machines interchangeably. Otherwise, the Logitech is still high up on the list...

 

You're right, there is dedicated back and forward buttons. I missed them the few times I used it and assumed the 5-way was it... Thanks!