Christopher vanDyck
To tutor, to inspire, and to challenge
Mon 16 Nov 2009
Review of the tiny Eblue Trozo mouse
Posted by Christopher vanDyck under at 11:23 am

Well, I bought a couple of new computer mice recently, trying to find one that works for me. This is one which will likely be my favourite computer mouse for awhile. The brand name is Eblue, and the model is "Trozo."

The workmanship is fair, only. It's a laser mouse, rather than an led/optical version. It's a radio frequency wireless mouse, but the range is pretty minimal... It will start skipping if there's anything in the line of sight between the mouse and the little receiver which you see here. The mousewheel action feels rubbery and indexed, but there's a problem where it hangs up and then releases when you roll it up; the wheel rolls fine in the down direction. It takes a single AAA battery, and with heavy use that lasts no more than three or four days (so it's best to use rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries).

According to the pictures in the pamphlet that is packaged with it, apparently a regular flash of red light under the mousewheel means that there is a low battery. Sadly, this happens immediately after installing a fresh lithium or alkaline battery.

On the up side, the mouse is rather stylish. It has a nice rubber rim around the outside which feels good in your fingers. It's very light. With the battery inside, it weighs about 1½ ounces, which makes it really easy to use all day long.

Because it's a laser mouse, it works well on all different kinds of surfaces. The pattern or color doesn't matter - as long as the surface isn't shiny or clear.

The mouse has a trick you can use to change the speed of the cursor motion. If you press and hold both buttons simultaneously, and wait for a rapid pulse of light under the mousewheel, you can get the next in a series of options: slow medium or fast motion.

The trozo mouse turns itself off rather quickly if it's not in use. And to get it to turn back on, you have to press one of its buttons.

As you see, it's tiny. And that's the reason I bought it. I have found that really tiny mice that I can lift without effort between my thumb and pinky finger are much easier on my hand. There is less inertia when you move it the pointer from place to place, so it doesn't tire your hand out. The arch of your fingers has to be very high, in order to press the buttons, and that really takes the stress off of your wrist.

It always makes me shake my head in wonder to see how manufacturers believe that big heavy mice that are molded to the person's hands are "ergonomic." They aren't. That style promotes wrist strain, rather than alleviating it. Light, very small mice that require a high and angular finger arch are much easier on the hand.

Further developments and observations: the battery compartment lid catch tab broke off within two weeks; this would make it very awkward to use as a notebook mouse. It seems to me that the mouse has a reliable range of about 1 meter without any obstruction in the way. The mouse does not work with dos programs such as XOSL and Norton Ghost; it does, however work fine with Linux. I wrote to a technical support email address inquirypro@e-blue.jp, but received no response.











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