Iogear – USB 32MB Memory Mini Mouse
Review

USB 32MB Memory Mini Mouse
Company: IOGEAR
Price $50

What if you take two essential computing requirements, mousing and storage, and combine them into one (almost) seamless product? IOGEAR has it, and it’s called “Memory Mini Mouse 800 with 32MB Flash Memory”.

Very funny looking combo, with the mouse essentially identical to the single-purpose IOGEAR two-button, scroll-wheel mini mouse reviewed previously, and the 32MB storage flash memory module inside a spring-loaded blob that houses a retracting cable connecting computer to mouse.

I’m usually a fan of multipurpose gizmos, but I wasn’t enamored of this peculiar duo-device during my initial couple of weeks using it on an occasional basis. Evaluating the 32MB memory mini mouse as a reviewer, I was lukewarm at first because:

the physical mouse is too small for my medium-sized adult male hand to operate with complete control

its spring-loaded cable is too thin for serious long-term usage, and it snags easily and frequently

how much data can you get within its 32MB flash memory capacity before wishing you had ten times the space?

Then I had a crisis!

I was helping a computer tutorial client learn how to use iTunes on her Windows XP laptop, and we needed to transfer a few tracks between her Dell and my iBook. Back and forth went the songs, quickly and effortlessly, without requiring any software drivers or other cross-platform barriers.

Suddenly the efficient brilliance of this 32MB mini-mouse became evident, and she ordered one for her future personal use. My reluctance to take this device seriously transformed into an enthusiastic endorsement of its finer points:

• unlimited portability, including a snug, blue caserapid desktop mounting of the 32MB flash moduleno-questions-asked smooth mousing

  expanding/contracting spring-loaded cable built-in, requiring a modest amount of tender loving cablecare.

A mouse is a mouse, right? Wrong. IOGEAR is working for you, and it’s time to take seriously this company and their innovative products.

Would I buy their 32MB flash memory minimize? Yes, in a flash, because a single mission-critical tutorial session with it convinced me that the mouse is splendid value for money when money and time are interlinked. Watch IOGEAR for improved versions of this device as flash memory becomes less expensive and their mouse-cable-spring technology improves.

MyMac.com rating: 4 out of 5, if you value its functionality more than its drawbacks