Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsGreat Hardware (paperweight)...Unusable software - 12 months w/4 support reps...still unresolved
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2023
Update: (1 to 3 starts for now) Late Jan 2024 - the latest release of the driver software 6.0.5 MacOS, has finally resolved the issue that has been plaguing this device since the Dec 22 purchase. Support failed to notify me of the repair, even with a number of outstanding trouble tickets filed - but at least the program appears to be fixed. Testing starting now in detail......
Update: 1 year anniversary and problem still not address. Customer support contacts me once in a while (although not in that last month or so), so I can repeat yet again the entire sordid history of the same repeatable problem to yet another support rep, which then goes into a blank hole never to be heard from again.
Update: Now at 11 months and dozens of emails - no resolution. On the 4th support staff person. One email, no response. The 1st and 3rd CS rep has been able to confirm engineering could replicated the software bug (replaced hardware without success), but I've had to go back over the complete history of what has been done to test this (hardware/software versions, connectivity, driver versions, etc. ) with each new CS rep. The problem is consistent and repeatable, but as yet unresolved.
Mouse makes a decent paperweight however. Love the ergonomics, so not willing to give up on the product yet with the hope that at some point, engineering will solve the issue on assigning keys from the numeric keypad to a mouse button.
Always on the search for the best ergonomic pointing device, I've owned a few dozen ergonomic mice, trackballs, etc. - including the Contour Design RollerMouse Red. Their hardware is rock solid and the most flexible and comfortable to use of any.
The software, however, has been - at least on the Mac - highly problematic. I've spent hours on the phone with tech support, remote support screen shared, hardware and software upgrades, and the one key feature I really needed, remains elusive.
I write code and do some accounting work for my business. In both cases, many dialog boxes use a RETURN key (on the main keyboard) AND an ENTER key (the similar key on the numeric keypad). These 2 are NOT the same; they [are supposed to] generate different scan codes and software can be made to respond to them differently. In my code development, a RETURN creates a new line in the code; an ENTER is equivalent to clicking the OK button. I don't use a full size keyboard, so the numeric keypad does not exist and clicking a mouse button is quicker than moving the pointer.
The beautiful device configuration control panel works for most things, but any mouse click defined to emulate a key on the numeric keypad will NOT stick. You do the setting, and the minute you close the settings dialog, the setting disappears.
As this was a key productivity feature I needed - the 3rd mouse button assigned to the ENTER key - this mouse remains on the shelf awaiting yet another software update to see if it gets resolved.
In [weak, and maybe implausible] defense of the situation; most Windows keyboards - including those from top keyboard manufacturers - do NOT distinguish between and ENTER and a RETURN key, an apparently ignored (at least by Windows device makers) standard convention that goes back to the days of teletype machines. Yet even in the ASCII key encoding tables, A RETURN and an ENTER key produce different key scan codes specific to the unique - and sometimes common - function of that key. When wanting common actions, it is up to the programmer to capture the different scan codes for the next behavior.
As a result, I continue to use my most excellent SwiftPoint ProPoint mouse, which CAN define a true ENTER key to a conditional mouse setting, and my UniMouse remains gathering dust on the shelf. :-(
