Macally Accuglide

The good: Slim enough to fit in your back pocket; brushed metal exterior.

The bad: Flat design isn't ergonomically friendly; a rare wired mouse in a wireless world.

The bottom line: We like the idea of a travel mouse slim enough to fit into a tight pocket or a space-challenged laptop bag, but the Macally Accuglide's wired connection has limited appeal.

Known for making Apple-oriented accessories, Macally has several new laptop mice specifically designed with Apple laptops in mind--although they're all standard USB peripherals, which will work fine on your Windows PC.

The $19.99 Macally Accuglide is a slim travel mouse, designed to be aesthetically compatible with the silver-hued MacBook Air. To say the $2,000 laptop and the $20 mouse look like a matched pair is a bit of a stretch, but the brushed metal top panel and mouse buttons (on a silver plastic body) gives it a fun, industrial-style look, as does the blocky rectangular design. With about the same footprint as a credit card, the Accuglide is 0.5 inch high, 2 inches wide, and 3.4 inches long, with a standard two-mouse button plus scroll wheel setup.

Being that thin, we could see the Accuglide easily slipping into a pants pocket or a particularly space-challenged laptop bag--an excellent characteristic for a travel mouse, even if the totally flat design doesn't seem particularly ergonomic for extended use.

However, we're not sure why anyone would want, even for only $20, a wired USB mouse. The cable neither detaches, winds up, or otherwise stores itself inside the mouse body, and for most users, it wouldn't be the best strategic use of the MacBook Air's single USB connection.

Intro: The Mace Accuglide is an opto-mechanical, cabled mouse.Compared to other cabled mice on the market, it is relatively inexpensive at around $20.This product connects to any available USB port.

Noteworthy Features: This device's resolution of 800 dpi is very high in comparison to typical pointing devices.Offers a set of programmable buttons and scrolling wheel.(Using a scroll wheel reduces repetitive motions and makes it easier to quickly scan documents and web pages.)

Weaker Features: None noted, given available product data.

Suitability: Suitable for general computing.

Value: Overall, this mouse's features are in line with its price.

Suggestions: (1) With its programmable button function, you can set up a common sequence of actions to execute with a single click.(2) You might be interested in comparing this with a mouse that received Editor's Choice on CNET.

Use Scenario: Cabled device suitable for basic computing tasks.Programmable buttons offer custom control for easier graphics and data manipulation.