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During the holidays I got a gift that Ive been using pretty extensively. The Microsoft Sidewinder Mouse, and I have to say I absolutely love this new mouse. Ive been a big fan of Logitech Mice, tried a Microsoft mouse a time or 2 and even though they were decent, I still went back to good ole Logitech. The sidewinder brand from Microsoft in the past was used for their gamepads, and joysticks, there was even a motion control gamepad called the Sidewinder freestyle pro (yea that was way before the Wii). This Sidewinder product follows the same lines, at least I think that is what Microsoft is considering it, a gaming mouse. There are some things that gamers will find useful about this mouse, but before I get to that I’ll give you a basic overview of the mouse itself.

What is the Sidewinder Mouse all about.

First, this mouse is a 5 button mouse, it has the traditional left and right buttons plus the scroll wheel / middle mouse button. Like many higher end mice, it also has 2 thumb buttons, used by me mainly for forward and back when web browsing. The buttons are programmable so you can use those side buttons for other functions. There are 2 things about the mouse buttons that are worth a mention, one good and one not so good. First, the thumb buttons are arranged vertically instead of horizontally. This is something that is new to me but I find that they work out pretty well for how I use a mouse. Like I said in a previous post about this mouse the horizontally placed buttons you find on most mice are sometimes hard to reach, well just the forward button. It never bothered me that much because I don’t use the forward button as much as the back button, but when I do, I have to make a conscious effort to reach that button. With the Microsoft Sidewinder mouse, the vertical thumb buttons alleviates that problem. Both buttons are pretty easy to reach and it becomes effortless to use either one.

The not so good thing is the scroll wheel. The scroll wheel on most mice have a rounded touch, while the one on the Sidewinder mouse is a flat cylinder. Doesn’t seem like much, but when I use the Sidewinder mouse It feels a little awkward if my finger isn’t completely level on the scroll wheel. Most mice, because of the rounded wheel, it doesn’t matter if your finger is level. (See the comparison picture below to help make sense of this).

What makes this a gaming mouse?

There are 3 things about this mouse that gamers may find useful.

• The first is the adjustable weights that are included with the mouse. Me personally, I like to have a heavy duty feeling mouse, a mouse with a little weight. The sidewinder mouse comes with several weights that you can add to give it just the right feel for you. It comes with 4 separate weights, 3 10g and 1 5g. You can put have a total of 3 weights in the mouse at any one time up to a total of 30 grams. I put a full 30 grams in the mouse and it is perfect for me.

• The second are the adjustable feet. On the bottom of the mouse are 5 feet that can be removed and replaced. There are 3 different sets that you can use with the mouse that are all made of different materials to give you a different slide when using the mouse. I personally didn’t find them that useful but I can see the use.

• The third thing, which is the probably the biggest feature gamers will like is the adjustable DPI on the fly. In addition to the 5 mouse buttons, there are 3 buttons that can be used to change the DPI whenever you see the need. They are also programmable, with the setting ranges from 400 to 2000 DPI. I have mine set at 800 - 1600 and 2000 with 1600 being the DPI I use the most. On top of having the adjustable DPI settings, there is also a small LED screen that displays what DPI setting you are currently using, which is a nice little feature.

So what do I think?

Like I said, this mouse has become my favorite little mouse, Ive even put my Logitech mouse in the drawer as a backup. I like how it feels and the vertical thumb buttons is something that Im not sure I can live without. All of the weights and extra feet fit neatly into an included case that also doubles as an anchor to keep the cord out of the way when using the mouse. The only problem I had with this mouse is figuring out how to use the macro feature. There is a macro button on the mouse that is suppose to record a few seconds of actions to be called up whenever you want but I haven’t figured out how to use it. Theres no setting for the macro button in the software I downloaded from Microsoft (there was no included software CD, the directions instructs you to go to Microsoft.com for download).  That may have just been something I overlooked. All I can say is I definitely love this mouse.

You can get the Microsoft Sidewinder Mouse for $62 at Amazon.com.  Product page.