Genius Traveler 355 Laser Mouse – A Perfect Match for the Touchpad Haters

Written by IT News on 8:40 AM

The mouse is smaller even than its driver setup file
By: Bogdan Botezatu, Hardware Editor | softpedia.com

Genius has made a habit of delivering good quality products at a reasonable price. I may even say that it is the perfect clone for what A4tech once was: affordable technology. Although everything that is affordable might mislead you into thinking that it's implicitly bad because everyone can afford it, you'll be surprised if only you gave it a try.

The Traveler 355 Laser Mouse is not a gamers' tool at all. It is a regular mouse for day-by-day use (web surfing, office applications and God knows what else) with some important tweaks and improvements. The first thing that will draw your attention is the absence of the scroll wheel. The mouse comes with an OptoWheel - an optical sensor with a comfortable touch scroll panel that mimics the classical wheel. This is quite an interesting feature, since it allows the user to scroll not only vertically, but also horizontally.

Since it is a laptop mouse and recent models have cut down the PS2 support, the mouse connects via a spare USB port on your notebook. It also uses a laser sensor rather than a LED-based optical one, which improves its tracking power. The mouse comes with its own driver software in a 67MB setup file, but it can easily do without, except for the fact that the vertical scrolling will become unavailable.

Overall, those who do not need high-performance mice will label it as a "fine mouse". In fact, it is so fine that the market is invaded by fake Traveler 355 Laser mice: an identical plastic shell with an optical, generic mouse fitted inside it. It is the world's first OptoMouse in the world, with an unique touch sensor and a maximum resolution of 1600 dpi.

The device offers the portability of a wired, miniature mouse. Although the wires may make it less appealing as compared to the multiple wireless solutions on the market, you will surely appreciate its affordable price.