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All Reviews > Hardware > Input devices > Mice/tracker balls

June 15, 2007

Saitek Obsidian wireless rechargeable mouse

The tag line on the packaging of the Saitek Obsidian wireless rechargeable mouse reads "Design Meets Desire", which sounds more like an ad for perfume than a peripheral. Still, we were impressed by the design of the Obsidian mouse – sleek, shiny black and oval, with well-designed curves all over the place.

The 5-button, 1000 dpi optical Saitek Obsidian wireless rechargeable mouse's unique feature is the use of a touch scrollwheel. Instead of a mechanical wheel to use for scrolling, the Obsidian lets users move their fingers up and down to indicate scrolling, as well as tapping the area once to engage the "auto scroll" feature (the feature where you tap and then scroll by moving the mouse). This takes some getting used to, especially if you've been using a mechanical scroll wheel for a very long time.

Scrolling with your middle finger when using the Saitek Obsidian wireless rechargeable mouse is uncomfortable, and we had to switch to index finger. This can slow down mousing speed if your index finger usually rests on the left-click button area. The round design also makes it less comfortable for the hand overall, we prefer a mouse that has indentations on the side that conform more to the shape of the hand. But this wasn't a major problem.

Another unique feature of the Saitek Obsidian wireless rechargeable mouse is the Obsidian's recharging station, which connects to a computer via USB for power. Instead of requiring that the entire mouse be recharged, Saitek gives you two round rechargeable batteries that can be recharged on the base station's circular pad. A wireless USB dongle (it uses the 2.4GHz frequency) can also connect to the base station, but if you want you can just use the dongle in the USB port without the cable for the base station (but then you lose the recharging functionality).

This can be good if you want to take a fully charged mouse and the dongle on the road without the base station. we also love the spare battery, which means you never have to worry about power to the Saitek Obsidian wireless rechargeable mouse.

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Saitek Obsidian wireless rechargeable mouse

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