Contour SliderMouse Pro review – Tech Advisor

Worth When Reviewed

From $259 | Mannequin reviewed $274

Greatest Costs Immediately: Contour SliderMouse Professional

$259.00

For individuals who endure with RSI, arthritis or basic hand ache, ergonomic equipment could be a lifesaver. There are many devoted keyboards round, with break up or angled keys, however most mice you see are bizarre shapes that alter the way you maintain and work together with the gadget. Contour has a unique and novel strategy.

Its SliderMouse Professional acts as a extremely maneuverable bar throughout the highest of a wrist-rest. So, does this technique assist or hinder? I put it to the take a look at to seek out out.  

Design & Construct

• Snug design
• Join through wired or wi-fi
• Risers wanted for low-profile keyboards 

At first look, you’d be forgiven for pondering that it is a fairly commonplace wrist-rest. The SliderMouse Professional has a large, curved floor for exactly that operate, with simply the highest space gifting away its precise function.

The remaining space is roofed in what seems to be like cloth, however when you contact it you realise it’s a textured rubber prime, which can be padded to make it snug when typing for lengthy periods. 

Martyn Casserly

There’s an offset part alongside the higher fringe of the remainder space that’s residence to a scroll wheel, very similar to you’d discover in the course of a mouse (albeit a lot wider). That is surrounded by 5 programmable buttons that can be utilized to set off typical mouse instructions and the wheel itself could be clicked to open a hyperlink in a brand new tab.

The true artistry is the row above the wrist relaxation which homes the ‘mouse’ mechanism, not simply one other scroll wheel. Right here you’ll discover the Sliderbar part that may be slid vertically and horizontally to maneuver the cursor as you’d with a normal mouse. It accommodates a couple of horizontal strains to present some grip and all of it strikes freely.

There’s a little noise the place it feels like the fabric is barely dragging on the Sliderbar at instances, however this doesn’t translate into something you may really feel or have an effect on the motion of the cursor. 

A little bit button on the left facet panel permits you to alter the sensitivity of the cursor and the setting is illustrated by a column of 5 lights simply above the button. Connecting it to your laptop is completed in certainly one of 3 ways – wired, USB dongle or Bluetooth.

Martyn Casserly

A cable comes within the field (USB-C to USB-A), plus there may be an included USB dongle and a converter that means that you can plug in an extended USB cable. Contour states {that a} absolutely charged battery will provide you with three months of regular use, so that you gained’t have to convey the facility lead with you should you’re out and about. 

The corporate additionally throws in a few adjustable plastic keyboard risers you could put below your keyboard to carry it up. These are mandatory, as the sting of the SliderMouse Professional sits fairly excessive should you use a low-profile keyboard (such because the Apple keyboard). The risers work okay however don’t really feel that secure until you discover the right placement.

Should you’re utilizing a taller keyboard, like a typical mechanical one, then the SliderMouse Professional really sits at a great peak already. 

Martyn Casserly

Contour presents the Slidermouse Professional in two colours, mild gray and darkish gray, and it additionally states you could swap the covers out for others that connect by magnets, together with a relatively fetching wood one. I’ve to confess I couldn’t discover the covers on the web site, so they could be at present unavailable. This might have modified by the point you learn this. Should you don’t need the massive wrist relaxation part, then there may be the Slidermouse Professional Slim, which reduces the area taken up on the desk by eliminating the flatter a part of the remainder. Alternatively, there’s additionally the Slidermouse Professional Prolonged, which provides an additional part on the best facet of the body to present you much more room.

Options & Efficiency

• Quick and correct Sliderbar
• Six programmable buttons
• Most likely higher suited to right-handed individuals

One of many essential benefits the SliderMouse Professional has for these with hand issues is that you just don’t need to place one hand off to the facet as you’d with a normal mouse. It acts extra like a laptop computer would, with the controls instantly beneath the keyboard.

The Sliderbar sits properly below the thumbs and has little or no friction, making it straightforward to control. It does take a short while to get used to it, however when you’ve adjusted to the ergonomic design it’s a pleasant strategy to management the cursor. I believe, being left-handed, that it’s higher suited to right-handed individuals, because the offset place of the Sliderbar implies that the best thumb has much more room to maneuver. 

Martyn Casserly

The Sliderbar can be clickable, so you may make decisions with out transferring your typing place. One factor you may’t simply do with the bar is drag a web page up or down or do the identical for checklist choices. These are greatest dealt with through the scroll wheel as a substitute. Once more, this takes a little bit of getting your head round, however because of the reachable location of the wheel it quickly turns into second nature.

You may as well avail your self of the buttons across the wheel whilst you’re there, supplying you with just about all of the controls you’d get with a normal mouse. Downloading the accompanying drivers (for macOS or Home windows) means that you can configure the buttons to do what you need, which is useful. You do miss out on the gestures that you could be be very hooked up to should you’re an everyday macOS person. This does take some adjustment, however there are key mixtures that may obtain many of the fast navigation controls that you just lose.

Having copy and paste on devoted buttons is a pleasant shortcut which may cut back the variety of button presses it is advisable do, which once more is useful for stopping arms from getting fatigued. 

Martyn Casserly

I did see some inconsistencies with the buttons, in that the copy/paste operate labored fortunately in Microsoft Phrase however not Google Docs, so hopefully Contour will be capable of repair this with an replace. In any other case, it’s a extremely strong and spectacular approach of navigating your desktop. 

Worth & Availability

As with most ergonomic equipment, the costs are increased than a normal, mass-produced mannequin. Contour sells the SliderMouse Professional (wired) for $259/£274 whereas the wi-fi model bumps that to $274/£289. You may as well purchase it from Amazon UK.

That is costly when in comparison with ergonomic mice just like the Logitech MX Vertical (which prices $99/£109.00) or the price range Anker 2.4G Ergonomic mouse ($25/£30), however they nonetheless have the identical downside of inserting your hand and wrist to the facet of the keyboard and requiring you to maintain altering your place.

The SliderMouse Professional is a unique class of gadget, bringing with it the price of that exclusivity and luxury. See our chart of one of the best keyboards for extra choices. 

Verdict

I’ve to confess I used to be a little bit sceptical of the design once I first noticed it, however after only some hours it started to essentially develop on me.

I’ve lengthy suffered with arthritis and RSI which suggests I haven’t been in a position to make use of an everyday mouse for over a decade. The SliderMouse Professional makes a cushty change from trackpads that may depart my arms aching after some time.

The ergonomic format, blended with the responsive Sliderbar and multitude of buttons, allowed me to tailor the instructions to these I exploit most, lessening the influence on my arms and joints that might usually happen. 

You don’t essentially need to already endure from pains in your arms to make use of the SliderMouse Professional, both. The truth is, it would really assist stop these circumstances from ever showing. Sure, it’s an costly quantity to spend on a mouse, however should you use a pc on a regular basis, then it may nicely pay for itself many instances over if it retains your arms wholesome.

Specs

• Multi-directional Sliderbar
• 10 ranges (600-2800 DPI) of sensitivity
• 5 ranges of click on resistance
• 6 programmable buttons
• Scroll wheel
• Curved wrist-rest
• Wired or Wi-fi connection (relying on mannequin)
• Driver app for customisation options (Home windows and macOS)
• 3-month battery life
• 38.3 cm x 16.5 cm x 2.3 cm/ 15 in x 6.4 in x 0.9 in
• 2 yr assure