Evoluent VerticalMouse 4 for Mac (Right-Hand)

Once you've seen the VerticalMouse, you don't mistake it for anything else. The Evoluent VerticalMouse 4 for Mac (Right-Hand)?part of Evoluent's series of ergonomic mice?is designed to put your hand, wrist, and forearm into a neutral handshake position, a position that offers better joint alignment than traditional mice, and thus reducing the joint stress that leads to mouse-related carpal tunnel problems and repetitive stress injuries. Adding a wireless twist to the award winning design of the Evoluent VerticalMouse 4 Small, the new VerticalMouse 4 (for Mac) loses the cord and gains Bluetooth connectivity, and is available only through the Apple Store. That's right, this ergo-mouse is for Macs only.

Design
As mentioned already, the VerticalMouse design puts your hand into the handshake position, a vertical orientation that prevents the twisting motion caused by more horizontal mice. Other ergonomic mice use different approaches to reducing joint strain. The Hippus HandShoe Mouse (with LightClick) cradles the hand with a contoured shape that lets it lie on the mouse without need for any sort of gripping action. The MouseTrapper Advance takes a different tack, combining a padded wrist rest and a unique version of the laptop touchpad. The result is a mousing experience that skips normal mousing behavior entirely, but seemed to offer the most benefit as a wrist rest.

While the ergonomic merits of each approach are open for debate, the simple fact remains that the VerticalMouse 4 (for Mac) is comfortable, and the handshake grip isn't uncomfortable. While previous versions of the VerticalMouse have a matte finish, the Mac-specific model has an almost glossy finish, but it's not a huge difference. Our review unit has a white plastic enclosure, being the European model of the VM4 for Mac. Stateside, the same mouse is sold exclusively through the Apple store, and comes in black. Aside from the difference in color, the two models are identical.

The mouse itself has several buttons, far more than you'll find on the Apple Magic Mouse that comes with Apple desktops. Instead of one mouse button for clicking, there are three: the left-click, double-click, and right-click. A scroll wheel works just like any other, though the change in orientation left me slightly confused for a while about which was up and which was down?my own confusion, surely, but there nonetheless. Just behind the scroll wheel is a two-button rocker that lets you adjust the cursor speed on the mouse instead of in some system preferences menu. On the chrome-finished thumb cradle are two additional browser buttons, for navigating forward and back while Web browsing.

It's also a right-handed mouse, though Evoluent often comes out with a left-handed counterpart to its right-handed VerticalMouse models. Battery life is estimated at three months, which we were not able to confirm during our brief test period.

Features and Performance
The VM4 is a Bluetooth mouse, so there's no dongle to worry about (or lose), but you will need to take an extra step or two when pairing the mouse to your Mac. The process is fairly simple: First, put the AA Battery into the mouse and power it on. Once turned on, it should be discoverable as a Bluetooth device. On your iMac or MacBook open up your system preferences. Under Bluetooth select Add Device, and select the Evoluent VerticalMouse 4 (if not immediately discoverable, try searching for Bluetooth devices). Once paired, the mouse should work right away.

Evoluent does have a downloadable software package, but it's not necessary for regular use. Within the UI you can reassign button functions, adjust cursor speed, and determine how many lines one click of the scroll wheel will go through. While useful for fine tuning, I didn't find much need for the software as the mouse is well configured right out of the box.

The Evoluent VerticalMouse 4 for Mac takes the award-winning design of the Editors' Choice VerticalMouse 4, adds sleek Apple-esque colors, untethered with a new Bluetooth design. The new design will look good next to your iMac or MacBook Pro, but without the broad compatibility of the original, the previous, wired VerticalMouse 4 retains its Editors' Choice for ergonomic mice.

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Evoluent VerticalMouse 4 for Mac (Right-Hand) with several other computer mice side by side.

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