4. Usage
Since the mouse transmits at 49MHz, you can use the mouse as far away as 25 feet in the consumer model. One of the inherit problems with the Logitech cordless optical mouse was that I often had problems with interference or the data transmission rate wasn't fast enough. You don't have that problem as much here since the Gyration Ultra mouse transmits data at a fast 80 Hz data rate.

4.1 Desktop or Midair - Take your pick
While the cool factor of the mouse is the ability to use it in the air as if you were waving a wand, you can also switch to a more normal desktop mode where the mouse acts as a normal wireless optical mouse. The mouse immediately figures out you are on a desktop when you put it down and switches on the fly to the desktop mode. When placed on the desktop, the mouse acts as any other optical mouse. The response rate is quite good and much better than the Logitech wireless mouse.

Now the real attraction of course is the ability to use the mouse in the air. Using their patented GyroPoint technology, you can hold the mouse using intuitive gesture motions. You grip the mouse as if you were holding a trigger handle. Whereas on your desktop your index finger is used to press the left mouse button; in midair, your thumb is used to press the left and right buttons. Gyration recommends using very little arm movement when using the mouse in mid air. All motion should stem from movements of the wrist. It initially took some getting used to. In fact my initial inclination was to point the mouse at the screen! However after a little bit, I got used to the notion of sitting back on my couch and just holding the mouse and making simple wrist gestures to move the mouse cursor. There's no need to point the mouse in any particular direction since you don't need a line of site between the receiver and the mouse. Gyration recommends switching off to the desktop mode to diversify the way you use the mouse and to relieve arm and hand fatigue.

Here is a sample video clip of myself holding the mouse. The cursor on my Television set is matched to the movements of my hand. This video clip is in AVI format and is 2.5 MB large so be warned!! Watch the video made of using the mouse in the air.

If there's any complaint that I might have with the mouse itself, it would be the buttons. There isn't a great deal of travel depth for the mouse buttons and thus if you are used to a responsive and tactile mouse button, the Gyration mouse won't really provide that. However the feedback from the buttons aren't too bad compared to some other mice out there and is good enough for most normal uses. The mouse shape might be a distraction for those using this mouse more on the desktop than in midair but I'll get to that in a little bit.

Holding the mouse in the air	Showing the grip on the bottom	from the top

4.1 General mouse usage
The mouse worked wonderfully for general usage such as moving the cursor around on the desktop and selecting menu items and moving windows. Using the thumb to press the mouse button takes a little getting used to but ultimately it works out well. My other minor quibble is with the activation trigger under the mouse. Perhaps it was just me but there were a number of times where I accidentally hit the button and turned off the GyraPoint features of the mouse. In order to activate the GyroPoint features of the mouse, you need to double click the trigger button. In my opinion, the index finger is really close to the trigger button but this is a minor quibble. My wife had no problems using the mouse when navigating through Windows and surfing the web. The mouse does have a slight latency in response time from hand movement to perceived cursor movement. However it's not that big of a deal for most applications except for high speed/action games.

In short, this mouse makes a great device for those who have HTPCs because you can easily navigate your through Windows without the need to put the mouse on a desktop. In short - a dream come true! When the keyboard and mouse combination package comes out, I suspect this will be the ultimate HTPC addition.

However, it should also be noted that the Gyration Ultra mouse makes a great device for business users as well. Who needs a laser pointer for their presentations when they can move their mouse around in mid air with very good accuracy (Not to mention the fact that you will wow your clients!)

4.2 Games
So how would the Gyration Ultra Mouse work with games? Since it claimed to have a higher response rate, I thought a good test would be for me to use it on a game like Warcraft 3. I'm not a FPS player so I'll leave those tests with some of my fellow reviewers later on. I also figured that for nearly most games, I won't be using the mouse in mid air but on a desktop.

The Ultra Mouse faired decently while playing Warcraft 3. The problems that I had with the Logitech Wireless Optical occurred less frequently with the Ultra mouse though they still manifested themselves. Occasionally the mouse movements during intense scenes would get jerky. However unlike the Logitech wireless optical mouse, the Gyration Ultra mouse was able to recover from this and deliver fluid motion once things slowed down during the game. Another problem was more about ergonomic design - the mouse is too small for gaming where a normal sized mouse fills the hand nicely. I found myself grabbing the mouse tightly trying to get a good grip of the mouse during fight scenes in Warcraft. Overall however, if you intend on playing games on your HTPC or whatever PC you use this on, I would suggest switching to a corded mouse. Nothing beats that currently for gaming purposes.

4.4 Mac OS X
Since Gyration claimed that this mouse would work out of the box on a Mac OS X system, I thought I would go ahead and also connect it to my 15 inch flat panel iMac. Sure enough once the receiver was plugged in, everything was good to go. Moving the mouse around both in air and on the desktop was a breeze. Gyration's claim that installation would be fast and easy was again proven correct.

iMac with Mouse installed	RF Receiver	Gyration Ultra Mouse next to Apple's

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