Rapoo Wireless Laser Mouse 3710P

Rapoo claims to be the first vendor to have a wireless mouse on the Australian market that works in the 5GHz band, rather than the 2.4GHz band. The theoretical advantage of this feature is that it won't clog up the 2.4GHz band and contribute to any interference on this band. This is a good thing if you're running a 2.4GHz wireless router for your home network or have other 2.4GHz devices near your computer, such as a cordless phone.

Physically, the Rapoo 3710P Wireless Laser Mouse is small and perhaps better suited to users who don't have big hands. It's almost 110mm long, 60mm wide and 35mm tall. It's also light and easy to manoeuvre either on a desk or a mouse pad. However, it has a glossy finish, which can end up feeling sticky and can also start to look dirty after a while. On the plus side, that smooth surface can also make it easy to clean, but it might require regular cleaning.

The layout of the mouse is conventional, with left- and right-click buttons as well as a scroll wheel that can be used as a middle button, and there also back and forward buttons located on the left side of the mouse. These felt awkward to press due to the small size of the mouse.

The sensitivity of the mouse can be adjusted on-the-fly via a button near the scroll wheel, and there are two speeds to choose from: 800 dots per inch (dpi), or 1600dpi. We used the slow speed to navigate our Full HD desktop resolution, but the faster speed might come in handy for higher resolutions. The accuracy of the mouse was good and we didn't notice any problems with the pointer skipping or stalling.

For its installation, all you have to do is plug in the supplied 5GHz dongle, put two AAA batteries in the mouse, and switch it on. There's no need to configure anything. The hardest part is opening the battery compartment, which requires a combined outward and downward pull to open. The batteries are said to last for 18 months and there is an indicator light on the mouse to let you know if they need to be replaced.

There's not much more to say about this mouse. It's the type of product you should consider if you're current 2.4GHz-based wireless mouse is giving you interference-related problems. We found it to be a little too small, even though it performed well in the period that we used it, but we think it could use a slightly beefier size in order to feel more comfortable.