ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse 41U5008

[yak]

Hi,

I just received the mouse. I haven't had yet much time to play with it but I made some photos of the box and what's inside along with some screenshots of the Lenovo Mouse Suite. I decided to take these shots because I was looking for them before I bought this mouse and found only a handful on the web.

Pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/arkadiusz.w ... directlink

The mouse itself feels very nice and is working well. This is my first Bluetooth mouse (and first cordless for that matter) and I don't notice any lag in cursor movement. Not sure about playing FPSes because I don't.

The keys click nicely, the wheel also produces audible clicks and can be pushed down as well as tilted to the sides. That makes a total of 5 buttons.

I like the software which seems more system friendly than for example the Logitech SetPoint that I used shortly with their V150 corded laser mouse. Later I decided to sacrifice the ability to scroll horizontally (by tilting the wheel) and removed this bloatware with ugly UI.

The Lenovo Mouse Suite lets you program all keys. You can choose from a variety of functions including simulation of a keypress or launch of an arbitrary program.

The software shows you the level of the batteries in the mouse and supposedly alarms you when it gets to the point of your choice (10% by default).

Other nice functions like slow down when pressing the Shift key are also available.

I would like to see a separate mouse speed setting so that I can set up the TouchPad and Mouse independently.

There is a function that lets you calibrate the mouse. It means that you can choose in which direction the cursor will move when you move the mouse to the right for example.

Sorry for the German screenshots but that's what I have here.

Anyway, that's all for now. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

[Radioguy]

Thanks for the pics. I had thought it a customized version of the Targus BT mouse (Targus is a Lenovo OEM mfgr for bags/cases), but it looks more different internally. Plus, I assume this doesn't have a mini-usb connector to recharge Ni-Mh batteries internally (can't see the front, but it includes alkalines) so I guess it's a different animal.

It looks nice though. This an UltraNav keyboard is a must have for those who can afford them.

[yak]

I also read a lot about it being a Targus BT mouse with ThinkPad logo. Problem is, I couldn't find any Targus mouse that would even remotely look similar to this one.

It comes with standard alkaline Energizer batteries and the mouse cannot recharge (even if I would replace them with Ni-Mh). You're expected to either buy new batteries each time or buy Ni-Mh and a separate charger (although I haven't tested it yet with Ni-Mh but I wouldn't expect any problems). The mouse has a power save mode which it enters after some idle time (around 10s) but wakes up pretty fast. It also reattaches in around 3-4s after sleep. After 2 days of usage it still shows 100% of batteries so I hope it will last pretty long.

Unfortunately they're not including any carrying case, a simple bag with a string (and a ThinkPad logo of course ) would be enough.

Still, I'm really satisfied with this mouse. It's a great design, all covered in this nice to touch soft rubberized coating and it feels very solid.

[Radioguy]

I was thinking that it might be the same as the Targus AMB03US in a different shell/chassis, not just a different color or logo. The absence of the USB connector and rechargeable AAAs nixes that idea. I suppose it "might" have the same internals as one of the other non-rechargeable Targus BT mice like the (AMB01US/AMB02US/AMB04US), but the black and red design beats all of those.

[Tim M]

Just got one of these and it's a great little mouse. My only gripe is that the pointer moves a bit to speedily and the only way to slow it down is with the global setting, which in turn makes my other mice and Ultranav move too sluggishly. Does anyone know of a workaround?

Oddly, I also don't always see the "Bluetooth" tab in the Mouse Suite, though I suspect this is because my BTW Stack Server will crash if the computer is Suspended or Hibernated. Mice still work, but headsets do not. I've never been able to sort that out.

[yak]

Just got one of these and it's a great little mouse. My only gripe is that the pointer moves a bit to speedily and the only way to slow it down is with the global setting, which in turn makes my other mice and Ultranav move too sluggishly. Does anyone know of a workaround?

In my case it was a problem of speed between the mouse, the touchpad and the trackpoint. I've been fiddling a lot with Synaptics API to find a way to set the touchpad/trackpoint speed separately from the Windows global mouse speed so that I can set a comfortable global speed for the mouse and then fine tune the touchpad/trackpoint settings.

I was able to find exactly that but only for the touchpad. The trackpoint has a sensitivity setting which somewhat helps but it's not exactly the same as speed setting.

To set the touchpad speed, one has to use the registry editor (regedit.exe) as the Synaptics drivers have no GUI for this.

The relevant registry key is:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Synaptics\SynTP\TouchPadPS2

Two DWORD values in this key are used to control the touchpad speed:
CursorMotion
CursorSpeed

CursorMotion is a switch (0=off, 1=on) that enables/disables the touchpad speed setting. Normally the value isn't even set which equals to 0 (off). It has to be created and set to 1 (on).

CursorSpeed is the actual speed. The value has to be chosen experimentally, 350 works well for me.

The problem is, these values seem to be read when the driver is loaded so any change has to be followed by a reboot. There might be a better way to cause the driver to reload them but I don't know it. I haven't really tried hard to find it too as I know how to do it programmatically so that's what I did but I don't have the tool anymore.

[yak]

Today the mouse started indicating that the batteries are low. Actually I got a tray balloon in Windows couple of days ago but today the mouse itself started blinking red and the Mouse properties window shows 1% of remaining power.

Both the LED on the top between the left/right buttons and the one on the bottom near the on/off switch (the same ones that blink green during BT-pairing) start to slowly blink red (once every 5s for 0.5s) when the mouse is not moved for some time. Or at least it seems so, right now it doesn't blink even when I'm not touching it.

I haven't changed the batteries since I bought the mouse back in February (see the first post) so it lasted almost 4 months on the included two Energizer AA cells. Not bad I would say, but I haven't used the mouse extensively. About 2-3 hours a day on average but that's just my estimation.

I think I'll try some cheap batteries now to see which ones are more cost-effective.

The mouse itself performs very good. The rubberized coating doesn't show any signs of wear (which to some degree might be due to the digital camera bag I keep it in). The wheel's clicking might not be as loud as it was when the mouse was new but it still is very distinct. I even like it better that way.

[Tim M]

^ Thanks for the info. For some reason, I have no BT tab in my Lenovo Mouse Suite, which I'm guessing is due to using the WIDCOMM bluetooth stack, which has been flaky for me all along. Is it possible to update the stack?

[Temetka]

This looks like a really cool mouse. I need a nice wireless mouse to take with my Thinkpad when on the road. When cash becomes available, I will definitely be picking one of these up.

[yak]

I got a lot of work to do lately so I was sitting in front of the laptop for two days now and the batteries finally died.

The red LEDs that were blinking went solid, probably to drain them completely even faster . The pointer won't move.

I'm happy as the blinking was kind of distracting and getting on my nerves.

Fresh batteries are now in. I bought some no-name cheap alkalines. We'll see how long they're going to last.

[Harryc]

Yak, 4 months on a set of batteries is impressive. I've heard good things about this mouse.

[ThinkPad R]

I would really love to buy a ThinkPad bluetooth mouse, but right now I have a laser mouse with cord from IBM that I bought 5 years ago, and it's okay & working fine, so I'll have to wait. The bluetooth mouse is small and very ideal for carrying around, but it is also very expensive. It looks absolutely fantastic.

[Radioguy]

BT mice have come down in price (generally). They are much more affordable. If you aren't set on a TP-branded one, you can probably swing one of the others like Targus or Thermaltake, although not all are made the same.

[forests_gump]

I am currently using a wireless optical mouse (non-bluetooth), which requires plug-in the wireless mouse dongle into Thinkpad. Advantage: there is no-pairing needed.

So I am evaluating if I should move-on getting a Bluetooth mouse, as it does not need a mouse dongle.

Does the bluetooth mouse requires pairing, each time I use the laptop (startup, resume from sleep/Hibernate, etc). Is such behaviour consistent both thinkpad bluetooth mouse & other bluetooth mouse makers?

What is the 'device connection' procedures/steps, for repeating use?
Need some experience sharing here.

[yak]

I can't say for other mice but I only had to pair my ThinkPad Bluetooth Mouse once. After that, whenever I reboot, hibernate or turn the mouse off/on, the mouse reattaches automatically in about 3-5 seconds. This works as long as you use the mouse with one computer (or more specifically, with one Bluetooth receiver). Pairing it with another one will force me to re-pair when I come back to the first one. This is definitely HW-address based as I can freely reboot between Windows and Ubuntu and the mouse works in both without re-pairing.

I only had one issue with the mouse. After I connect and disconnect my Nokia N73 using Bluetooth, the mouse may loose the connection occasionally without any apparent reason. I have to go to the Bluetooth properties and remove the N73 from the known devices. This however may be an issue with Nokia software.

Another thing (that I don't consider an issue) is that when I'm transferring some big amounts of data over WiFi, the mouse cursor doesn't move as smooth as normally. It's still perfectly usable though.

[forests_gump]

Thanks Yak for sharing in such great details.

I just wonder if there is other brands of bluetooth mouse has similar positive experience or it really differs on brands of bluetooth mouse on the Thinkpads.

[ThinkPad R]

umm probably yes

in fact i'd figure that a company that is a major brand in mouse & keyboard & laptop bag etc would make better mouse than a computer company.

[yak]

I don't think this mouse is better than other. It's a very good mouse but there probably are other ones at least as good as this one. Microsoft and Logitech makes some popular BT mice. However, I can't really tell since as I said, this is the only BT mouse I had.

As for it being made by a computer company, some say that its internals weren't really made by Lenovo but Targus, another fine BT mouse maker.

[yak]

Just updating my thread.

I have just parted with my ThinkPad mouse after 14 months of usage. The mouse has served me well but as already mentioned in other threads, its weak point are the buttons which tend to develop a contact problem, very irritating when dragging some objects. This happened to my mouse a couple of days ago and after a failed attempt to fix it, I decided to buy something new.

I went with Logitech VX Nano which seems to be a very popular mouse and it's only slightly more expensive. Being made by a typical peripheral company, I hope it will last a bit longer. We'll see.

[vladis]

Today I purchased this mouse, so I am wondering how to use this mouse on multiple PC´s on the same time ? Or if it is not possible, so how to use it without matching them with mouse after using it on another pc from the beginning.

any options ?

[yak]

The mouse remembers the last device it was paired with so when switching between PCs, you will have to go through the pairing each time, unfortunately.

On the other side, how else would you want it to work? If it remembered more than one, how would it know which PC to connect to if both were in range?

Bottom line, it's not meant to be used with more than one computer.

[ParatoOptimal]

I'm using a Dell BT mouse that's all black and matches my ThinkPad well.
Do you have a link where I can purchase the ThinkPad mouse?
Thanks

[Radioguy]

Googling the model spawns plenty of hits including sellers:

http://www.google.com/search?q=41U5008

[crashnburn]

If its that good, I might consider getting one.

[Tim M]

Well, I must report that my TP Bluetooth Laser Mouse has suffered a failure after only 20 months of use. The scroll wheel right tilt function no longer works. I noticed this after pairing the mouse with a new laptop; however, the tilt no longer works on the computer with which the mouse used to be paired.

EDIT: Fixed! After giving it a good thwack, I noticed that the right tilt started working intermittently. A few minutes with canned air and contact cleaning spray, and it's working fine again. I had feared a microswitch failure.

[Tim M]

Well, the mouse has failed for good. Right tilt function was still intermittent, so I did additional treatments with canned air and contact spray. The laser has now failed. Questionable build quality on this unit, especially for the current price.