3M Ergonomic Mouse, Optical, USB/PS2 Compatible, Large Size, Black (EM500GPL)
by 3M
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List Price: Our Price: $49.69 You Save: $50.30 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $44.65 (click here) Category: Office Product See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of 3M Ergonomic Mouse, Optical, USB/PS2 Compatible, Large Size, Black (EM500GPL)
Customer Review: Great mouse for "tennis/mouse elbow"
Summary: 5 Stars
I am on my computer all day long at work and using a traditional mouse contributed to tennis elbow (the doctor called it "mouse elbow" since that is one of the common causes) in my right arm. My boss suggested I try to find an ergonomic mouse to help alleviate the problem. I tried both this 3M mouse and the Evoluent VM3R2-RSB Vertical Mouse. I have been using both for nearly a month now. I work from home much of the time and I have one in my home office and the other at work.
Both are great at maintaining a neutral hand position and I can now work for hours without additional arm/elbow pain.
This 3M mouse provides a more normal, comfortable hand and arm position for me - somewhat like a joystick at an angle. Unlike a joystick, it is fixed - it does not bend but slides on a desktop/mousepad like any optical mouse. The only think I miss is the scrolling wheel. It has a button that acts much as a scroll lock to allow movement to other areas of a worksheet but it seems cumbersome and I have not gotten used to it.
The Evoluent Vertical Mouse is very much like a standard mouse tipped on its side and does include a scrolling wheel. The drawback for me is that the angle is a bit too vertical to feel natural or neutral for my hand and arm.
Both the 3M and the Evoluent mouse definitely make long-term mousing more comfortable and I can recommend them both.
Customer Review: Good for my hand, but a little cheap
Summary: 4 Stars
I have a lot of pain due to "digital tendon entrapment syndrome", or "trigger finger". This is kinda like carpal tunnel, except the tendons bind in my palm rather than my wrist.
This is the only mouse I've found that doesn't require any movement of the index and middle fingers. You can curl them around the body of the mouse, or leave them straight - it doesn't matter. If you're like me, and have your hand on a mouse 8 hours a day, this is a big deal.
My only complaint is that the thing is a little cheap. For a person like me, that has a dozen almost new mice, trackballs, touch pads, etc. sitting in a desk drawer, because they hurt my hand, an extra few bucks for better construction wouldn't have been a big deal. In fact, you can buy a ten of these for the price of a cortisone injection.
Looking at the picture, you might think that you grip this mouse like a joy stick. Actually, you rest your hand on the base, and curl your little finger around the "stick". Your thumb works the left click, center off, right click rocker switch on the top, and your other three fingers can be in whatever position you want. There is a long switch going up the stick on the left side, that you use to operate the scroll function, but I don't use it, since I have a scroll wheel I can operate with my left hand on my keyboard. I can't bend my stiff fingers enough to operate it anyway.
Customer Review: 3M Ergonomic Mouse
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this mouse because I was having trouble with pain in my wrist/fingers after several days of very extensive mousing. I first tried one of these mice that our safety department loaned me. The mouse was excellent at relieving the stress on my wrist - after about two-three weeks of using it, the pain definitely diminished. Based on that experience, I order this one from Amazon. It arrived in about a week. Not great timing, but they met the shipping expectation that they set. From the beginning, I found that the thumb button on the new mouse seemed to work differently than the loaner. I found my thumb getting sore, so I would trade back and forth between using the new ergonomic mouse and my old standard mouse. After two weeks of using the new mouse, it abruptly starting registering single-clicks as double clicks. When the problem wouldn't go away, I called 3M. They were very helpful, and very prompt in sending me a new ergonomic mouse (and the prepaid label to return the old one). The new one they sent feels much better on my thumb, and registers single clicks properly.
Pros - mouse definitely provided the ergonomic benefits, excellent warranty service from 3m
Cons - I wish that I hadn't had any problems with the mouse. The software for programming the third button to alternate behaviors than scrolling doesn't work with Windows XP.
Customer Review: Does the job well enough, but a bit pricey for the quality
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this about two weeks ago and I am already feeling relief in my wrist and hand. Whereas I formerly could type for only a few minutes before the discomfort set in, I am now comfortable even after an hour.
My only gripe is the price and quality. It is simple and not especially durable looking. The laser on the bottom of the mouse allows you to move the mouse around by gliding it on your desk or mousepad. For $41.99 the craftsmanship is not especially impressive, it is in fact less durable and complicated than my regular laser mouse I used formerly.
One other thing: the pointer tends to fly across the screen at odd times, seemingly unprovoked, and the precision is less than with a normal mouse.
I was able to get used to it relatively quickly. In that sense, it was intuitive enough that adjusting to the new position did not in itself cause any discomfort.
I am also taking B vitamins, glucosamine and chondroitin, plenty of water, and occasional ice on my wrist to keep the swelling down. That, with this new ergonomic mouse, has really worked to drastically decrease the wrist and hand pain.
4 starts for effectiveness, only problem functionally is the precision (which is just fine 95% of the time) and 4 stars also for price. If not for price, I'd give five stars.
Customer Review: Needs improvements but way better than a regular mouse
Summary: 3 Stars
I USED TO have bad pain in my hands and wrists from office work all day long. I've tried this mouse for about three weeks now and have found the following:
Pros:
1)Vertical use of the mouse relieves a lot of stress from your nerves
2)Scrolling button in the middle is very useful for viewing documents that are long
Cons:
1)Still requires the same amount of space as a standard mouse, maybe more in some cases
2)Would have preferred the vertical alignment to be closer to a 90 degree angle
3)Biggest problem I have started noticing is if you do a lot of clicking, you will start straining your thumb
I was debating whether to give this item 4 or 3 stars but when I thought about whether or not I would buy it again, I found 3 stars more appropriate. This is a good product, an improvement on the standard mouse, but you could easily develop problems with your thumb if you do a lot of clicking. I attribute some relief of my pain to this mouse but the main factor was switching over to a safetype keyboard. Now I'm starting to develop strain in my thumb so I will be trying another ergonomic mouse.