Microsoft has launched a new pair or rodents aimed at helping users make the most of their new Windows 8 PC systems. The Sculpt Comfort Mouse is equipped with a touch-sensitive blue strip which also acts as a Windows Start Button. The Sculpt Mobile Mouse is, as you would expect, a compact mouse. It also includes a Start Button, just above its 4-way scroll wheel. Both of these mice are wireless, connecting via Bluetooth.
“These are the first mice from Microsoft to include a Windows button on them, giving you quick and easy access to specific features in Windows – and, in the case of the Sculpt Comfort Mouse, more advanced functionality in Windows 8,” wrote Brandon Le Blanc on the Windows Experience Blog.
On the side of this mouse you can see a distinctive cyan strip with the Windows logo upon it. This blue area is touch sensitive, Microsoft calls it “the Windows Touch Tab”. When pressed this will also act as a Start Button or Windows Key but there are other functions available using swipe gestures.
Swiping up on the Windows Touch Tab cycles through all your open MUI apps. Swiping down reveals the app switcher slide-in panel, to the right of the Windows 8 screen area. Obviously this mouse is aimed at right-handed people who would position their thumb nearby the blue Windows Touch Tab. As you can see from the video below, the touch panel isn’t always below your thumb it needs a conscious thumb-reach forward.
This mouse is designed to be your “perfect travel companion” and is of an ambidextrous design. We are told that “the Windows button on Sculpt Mobile Mouse is an exciting new feature that operates seamlessly with Windows 8. Simply press the Windows logo to instantly view the Start screen and access all of your favourite apps, just one click away.” So it has a Start Button/Windows Key built in, just like the Comfort Sculpt Mouse, above.
This button is placed behind the 4-way scroll wheel. (On my present mouse I have a DPI settings toggle in this position and usually press it accidentally about once or twice per day). That is the beginning and end of the Sculpt Mobile Mouse Windows 8 optimisation feature list.
BlueTrack sensor
As previously mentioned both these new rodents are wireless Bluetooth devices. They also use Microsoft’s BlueTrack sensor which “works on virtually any surface”. The wee Sculpt Mobile Mouse is said to be available in May at a suggested retail price of $29.95. The right-handed Sculpt Comfort Mouse will not be released until June and has a suggested retail price of $39.95.
