Review: Razer ProClick Mobile Notebook Mouse

Razer Pro Solutions, best known for gaming mice such as the DeathAdder, has added a new wireless portable mouse to its lineup, the ProClick Mobile. The ProClick Mobile takes Razer’s excellent high-precision 1,200 dpi optical resolution technology, and packages it into a smaller wireless body. The ProClick Mobile is available in four colors—while I'd call them black, white, pink, and red, Razer’s marketing department has named them Naughty, Nice, Sugar, and Spice.

The top portion of the mouse features two comfortable buttons on a smooth matte plastic shell, while the sides are shiny plastic that’s the same color as the top. The mouse is designed for use in either the left or right hand—each side of the mouse is a mirror image of the other. Between the two buttons is a large scroll wheel made of a softer, nearly clear plastic. The scroll wheel has detents that provide tactile feedback, but that aren’t so deep as to prevent smooth and easy scrolling. They’re also nearly silent, which I prefer over loud, clicky detents.

There’s also a glowing LED version of the Razer triple-headed snake logo on the top of the mouse. When the mouse is not in use, the emblem glows and dims, indicating that it is in a power-saving standby mode. You can, however, disable this glowing feature if you'd rather not see a pulsating three-headed snake icon.

The ProClick Mobile comes in a white and pink box—yes, even if you choose the black mouse, you'll get a box with shocking pink side panels. In addition to the mouse, you’ll find two Duracell AA batteries, a user’s guide, and a relatively nice felt-like carrying case inside the box. The case is hidden in the box, as it’s located underneath the styrofoam insert that holds the mouse; if you’re not careful, you could recycle the case without realizing it.

Unlike some other portable mice, the ProClick Mobile doesn’t include rechargeable batteries and a docking station in which the mouse can rest and recharge when not in use. As I don’t like using up lots of batteries on a wireless mouse, I swapped the Duracells for a pair of rechargeable AA batteries. Batteries are easily inserted by popping off the bottom portion of the mouse’s cover. With the rechargeable batteries, I was able to use the mouse with my Mac Pro full-time for more than two weeks without requiring a recharge.

One problem I did run into was that there wasn’t any battery life information on the Bluetooth tab of the Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences panel, so there was no way to tell how much charge was left in my rechargeable batteries. That’s not the fault of the mouse or its software; the battery indicator for OS X only tracks Apple-branded keyboards and mice. When you use those same batteries in the Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse, the battery’s charge status appears as expected.

To connect the ProClick Mobile to your Mac, you use the Bluetooth System Preferences panel to pair the two together. I was able to easily pair the ProClick Mobile with both a MacBook Pro ( ) and a Mac Pro ( ) in OS X 10.5. Once paired, the mouse is automatically connected each time you power it on within range of the Mac, and it will reconnect when moved if the mouse has entered its power-saving state.

I found the mouse to be just about the perfect size for my hands—it’s small enough to fit comfortably without being so small that the buttons or scroll wheel are uncomfortable to use. With the 1,200 dpi tracking, it’s easy to quickly and accurately move the cursor around the screen. Due to the mouse’s high resolution, I had to reduce the tracking speed in the Mouse tab of the Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences pane to keep operations manageable. I never had any tracking issues, even when using the mouse on undesirable surfaces such as a magazine.

Because the ProClick Mobile doesn’t include its own software, you can only program the buttons using built-in OS X features. I had no problems, though, using the Exposé and Spaces System Preferences panel to assign the scroll wheel button to launch Dashboard. (The secondary button works as a control-click by default on any mouse in OS X.) I was also able to assign keyboard-mouse combinations without any difficulties—for instance, you could set the control key and the secondary mouse button to activate Exposé’s All Windows mode when pressed simultaneously. Given that the ProClick Mobile has only three buttons, the lack of customization software isn’t a huge problem.

Macworld’s buying advice

At $60, the ProClick Mobile isn’t cheap. However, it’s very well made, includes a nice carrying case, is nicely sized for travel use, and has high-precision tracking, and the Bluetooth wireless connections work well. If you need a travel mouse—or even just a smaller desktop mouse—it’s well worth considering Razer’s ProClick Mobile.

[Rob Griffiths is a Macworld senior editor.]