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Targus USB Mobile Mini-Mouse Reviewed

By: Paul Cesarini

Vendor Website:Targus

SRP:	$29.95
What's Hot:	Lightweight and portable
What's Not:	A bit too small, driver needed for second mouse button

Think small -- real small. Targus, Inc., best known for rugged and functional laptop cases, recently introduced a slew of accessories designed to improve the portable computing experience. These products range from the handy, such as their harmonica-sized USB Mobile Mini Hub and numeric keypad, to the super-cool, such as their pending Stowaway PDA portable keyboard. Falling squarely in the "handy" category is the USB Mobile Mini Mouse.

This mouse quite possibly represents the only mouse capable of being dwarfed by Apple's much-maligned hockey puck mouse. Unlike the hockey puck mouse, however, Targus specifically had portable computing in mind: the mouse matches the PowerBook black color exactly, the cord is intentionally short and, as a result, virtually tangle-free, and extra buttons and ergonomics were actually considered. The result is a 2.4 ounce mouse that is both too small and just small enough, both child-like and convenient, both oddly-designed and well-designed.

The dichotomy in this mouse lies in how you intend to use it. If you're considering getting a USB mouse for your desktop system, this isn't the mouse you've been looking for. It's simply far too tiny for daily use. If, on the other hand, you want a mouse for your PowerBook that easily stows away, and that would only be used occasionally, this might be the one.

I recently used this mouse while presenting at a conference in South Carolina. The trackpad built into my PowerBook works fine, of course, but gets awkward to use when doing certain types of presentations that require extensive switching between keyboard and PowerPoint use. (For that matter, try playing Quake III with the trackpad -- uggh!)

In this case, I was giving a presentation about using Adobe Acrobat to facilitate computer mediated learning. The presentation involved repeated switching from Acrobat, to a web browser, to PowerPoint, all while using various toolbars and pull-down menus, entering and editing text, and dragging around files. Again, the built-in trackpad would've functioned well enough for these tasks. However, the Mini Mouse proved more convenient, overall.

As with most USB devices, getting the Mini Mouse to work simply involves plugging it in to an available USB port. No additional drivers are needed. However, if you want to second button to do anything other than a single click, you're out of luck. Luckily, I already had the ubiquitous USB OverDrive installed. Using this driver, I switched the second button to open contextual menus. Targus -- and Apple -- should consider either licensing this driver from Alessandro Levi Montalcini, or at least including the url to it in their documentation. This appears unlikely, though, as their web site states that "Targus, has no plans in the new [sic] future to add a MAC OS driver which enable some other features with the 2nd button." Oh well.

Aside from the dearth of second mouse button options, the USB Mini Mouse is a functional mouse for portable computing. The price is reasonable, and it packs well. Targus plans to release an optical version soon, though pricing and an exact release date aren't yet known.

Note: Aside from variations in color, Targus' USB Mini Mouse appears to be identical to Macally's iMouse Jr. Macally makes a driver for their iMouse Jr. called "Macally USB Mouse/Trackball 3.0". This free driver may or may not work with the Targus mouse, to add functionality to the second mouse button.