Samsung has just released its latest range of Optic Mice to present a solution to the problem of mouse grime. Samsungs range of Optic Mice, or as it likes to call them the Beetle Family, has been touted by Samsung as being highly durable and stylish.

There are three siblings in the Beetle Family, but this review is only focused on the curiously named Cyber Beetle. This is a mouse which has a left and a right click button, and the ever more standard fly wheel in the centre of the mouse for screen scrolling. The driver software included is not really anything special; as with any other conventional mouse it allows the user to control the left and the right click buttons, and the flywheel. However, it will allow the user to assign certain basic functions to the right click button such as backspace, forward or double-click. This obviously adds a certain amount of flexibility when, for instance, browsing the Internet.

In terms of hardware durability the Cyber Beetle does not use a ball and roller mechanism to sense positioning of the mouse. Instead it uses, as the name suggests, optical technology to reflect off surfaces, and hence determine the mouses location. Obviously, the fact that there are no moving parts within
the mouse means that theoretically the mouse should be more durable.

Furthermore, Samsung has also thought about the problem of cable twisting. In this instance the cable is mounted on the mouse at a sixty-degree angle which raises the cable above desk level. Every other mouse Ive seen has the cable flush with the body of the mouse. Its only a small matter but remarkably efficient. This is a way to beat snags if you have a desk as cluttered as mine.
The question of style is such a subjective issue, and so therefore Samsungs claim to having created a stylish mouse is open to opinion. The Cyber Beetle is, as the name suggests, shaped rather like a beetle. An interesting innovation in the style ranks, but nevertheless quite an ergonomically proficient design. It has the stock standard beige upper shell of all traditional PC peripherals, but, in this instance it has a see-through plastic under-shell that comes in a choice of four bright colours - I had the orange one but there are also red, blue and a lime green variety. This under-shell extends part way up the back of the mouse to provide the piece-de-resistance of the Beetle Family - a small compartment the user can personalise the mouse with by placing a small sticker photo mounted within the compartment.

The Cyber Beetle is compatible with Windows 95, 98 and 2000. It comes in both a USB and PS2 version. To connect the mouse and download the drivers proved to be a simple operation, and to mount a sticker photo in the compartment was even simpler. The Cyber Beetle is well priced at a recommended retail price of $46 and $51 including GST for the PS2 and USB versions respectively.

Stephen Teh