USB Geek Wireless Optical Liquid Mouse

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Judie Hughes

November 01, 2005

Some days it seems as if my desktop is lit up like a veritable Christmas Tree, and I don't see it getting any better anytime soon. I have green LEDs glowing for my desktop speakers, wireless mouse, PPC-6700 cradle and wireless router. Blue LEDs glow from my external hard drive, iPod charger / card reader and keyboard, and every other color in the spectrum is represented by my USB hub. Well, now I can add a couple more lights - hey, it's all for a good cause and the more the merrier, right?

Today I am going to take a look at the USB Geek Wireless Optical Liquid Mouse, a variation of the other liquid and floating character filled mice I have reviewed in the past. This one is the next logical step in the evolutionary chain - it is wireless.

Compatible with any Mac or Windows PC with a spare USB port or two, the Wireless Optical Mouse may be ordered with a floating rubber ducky or an orange clownfish that resembles a certain Disney fish which shall remain nameless.

picture courtesy of the USB Geek site

Included in the package is the mouse, a USB receiver...

picture courtesy of the USB Geek site

...and a USB charging cable which plugs into the forward end of the mouse. There is also an instruction sheet which walks the user through the mouse's setup.

The mouse is composed of  transparent blue plastic on its forward end, bottom and sides, with clear plastic for the remainder of the upper body. The rear end, where the user's palm will rest, has a small rubber ducky bobbing in the blue tinted oil and water mixture. The mouse measures approximately 4.5" long x 2.25" wide x 1.5" thick. Without the cable attached it weighs 4.3 ounces.

picture courtesy of the USB Geek site

Before using the mouse, the USB cable must be plugged into a free USB port on the computer and into the end of the mouse, allowing for at least two hours of charging. After this period the cable can be removed, and the mouse will be ready for operation.

The wireless receiver must be plugged into an available USB port within approximately six feet (two meters) of where the mouse will be operated. The receiver has a red LED lighted button on it's top which shines when it is plugged into an available port. Here you can see it plugged right into the colorful Sprinters USB hub which is kept on my desk. It's all quite...festive, wouldn't you say? ;0)

When the mouse is charged, a connection between it and the receiver is made by pressing the receiver's button and by sticking a paper-clip end into the button on the under side of the mouse.

Once the connection has been established, the mouse can be operated with or without the cable. This is a very handy feature if the user is forgetful about regularly charging their mouse - as I can be.

When fully charged, the mouse seems to stay powered for quite a while. I will generally use mine for a day or two before I will remember that it should be charged. This can be for periods of use approaching eight or nine hours at a time off and on each day, and it has not died on me yet.

The mouse can also be used with a laptop computer, which makes it a handy portable wireless travel option.

picture courtesy of the USB Geek site

Probably the best thing about this mouse - besides its reasonable price and the fact that it is wireless - is the fact that it can be used with or without its charging cable. I for one am notorious about forgetting to charge the Logitech wireless mouse I generally keep on my desktop. When its battery dies, I am hosed - and I will generally have to pull out a second backup mouse which I keep in my desktop's drawer for this very purpose. I think it is amazing that a mouse costing a fraction of its price can be used at any time and in a variety of configurations.

If you would like to add a wireless mouse to your desktop or portable computer, and you don't want to spend a lot of money, then the USB Geek Wireless Optical Liquid Mouse would be a practical and cute solution.