With the rise of the digital nomad lifestyle, many professional computer users want to minimize the technology burden of traveling around the world. If a computer mouse is a must, there are many portable and lightweight solutions.However, the new Air.O mouse kick starter (opens in new tab) With its ultralight weight, incredibly thin folded shape, Bluetooth connectivity, and claimed ergonomics, it might be the best solution. I can not see.
As indicated above, this is a Kickstarter project, so as always, the promise and claimed brilliance of the product should be taken with a big pinch of salt. We hope so, but quite a few things can happen between the crowdfunding stage and the product being shipped to customers.
To analyze this offering, consider its obvious strengths and weaknesses. Starting with the positives, the almost completely flat nature of the Air.O mouse when folded is quite nice. The foam is just 4.5 mm thick, about half the thickness of the slim case of today’s smartphones. However, the sensor unit protrudes a little and presents a 10mm square mass. At 40g, the Air.O mouse is also very light, comparable to very light perforated gaming mice. (opens in new tab) and carbon fiber (opens in new tab) shell.
image 1 of 3
Other good things about Air.O are its strength and durability. Additionally, it uses Bluetooth 5.2 with driverless connectivity and claims to have three months of battery life. The mouse also provides a “scroll wheel” function between the two “button” areas. It forms a somewhat ergonomic mouse (not small) and an array of colors/finishes in production.
We’ve already mentioned the negatives about how this mouse folds flat. For example, a 10mm angled chunk may not look very good when pressed against the bag’s screen. Another thing about the folding mechanism is that it looks a little ‘sharp’ when you hold it with the raised spine in your palm while working.
Some images show that the origami mouse corner becomes the contact point on the desk. The caption for the image showing this describes the corner as a “smooth glider”, but that’s probably wishful thinking. Since normal mice don’t use the four little gliders in the corners, this may be a sub-optimal compromise.
The mouse is probably very quiet as claimed. However, people often appreciate some degree of tactile or auditory feedback. Similarly, failing ergonomics, the “scroll pad” area likely won’t provide the great tactile aggressiveness that a mouse wheel provides.
As for its claim to be a full-sized solution, in contrast to other portable mice, the Air.O is just 115mm long when assembled and ready to point. The foldable Microsoft Arc mouse in the office (2008 with 2.4GHz dongle and 2 AAA batteries) is 112mm unfolded, so the final shape doesn’t make much of a difference. However, the Microsoft model has a regular microswitch button and a responsive wheel. Microsoft’s design has undergone several refinements over the years.
Air.O Mouse’s crowdfunding has exceeded its original fundraising goal many times at the time of writing, so we’re forced to hit the market and donate backpacks and desks.The campaign is still over three weeks away. , “Early Bird” pledges $49 to receive a mouse in one of 12 “Kickstarter Exclusive Colors” scheduled to ship in March 2023. Same as pre-order. There is usually no guarantee that you will receive the finished product for the cash you deposit.
Readers interested in wireless productivity mice (opens in new tab) Check out our guide for 2022.
