After wrestling open the Kensington Ci75m Wireless Notebook Mouse's hideously wasteful and dangerously sharp-edged plastic packaging, you're greeted by a pleasant surprise: Not only are the sleek, slim mouse's two AAA batteries included, but they're brand-name alkalines and not cheapo lead-acid no-names. What's more, they slip easily into the Ci75m due to its magnetic latch, which makes popping it open a cinch.

When open, the Ci75m reveals its dual nature: coiled inside is a two-foot USB cable that can be used in case of the unexpected demise of those batteries, or if you should find yourself in an RF-forbidden zone. The USB dongle that enables the mouse's 27MHz wireless RF connectivity is nestled in a slot on the Ci75m's underside.

The dongle doubles as the connection point for the USB cable's mini-USB jack, and slipping it into its in-mouse slot for traveling puts the Ci75m to sleep--a nice touch.

The next surprise, however, is less pleasant. Kensington's excellent MouseWorks software is not included in the package, and for good reason: it doesn't work with the Ci75m. You're limited instead to Mac OS X's Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences pane, which allows control over only the right-click/left-click behavior of the Ci75m's two buttons, plus adjustment of tracking, scrolling, and double-clicking speed. Also, you can't assign an alternate behavior to the scroll-wheel button; clicking it is hardwired by Mac OS X to activate Exposé, which is better than nothing.Kensington's Ci75m Wireless Notebook Mouse has a hidden wire just in case you need it.

Despite its small size and light weight (three ounces), the rubberized body of the Ci75m feels sturdy and balanced. Its 1,000-dpi tracking proved exceptionally accurate in even my most delicate pixel-pushing, its buttons are firm but not too stiff, its ratcheting scroll wheel responds to just the right amount of pressure, and an in-wheel light warns of low batteries.

Macworld's buying advice

Wired or wireless, the Kensington Ci75m Wireless Notebook Mouse is a great traveling companion. Solid, comfortable, accurate, and attractive--it's available in orange, grey, white, or black--the Ci75m would be a boon buddy for your 'Book.

[Rik Myslewski has been writing about the Mac since 1989. He has been editor in chief of MacAddict (now Mac|Life), executive editor of MacUser and director of MacUser Labs, and executive producer of Macworld Live. His blog can be found at Myslewski.com.]

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