Explorer Mouse

Introducing the World's Most Advanced Tracking

Mobility is no longer a luxury for computer users, it's essential. Consumers want to use their notebooks everywhere - not just at their desks, but on the kitchen counter, in the living room on the couch, on the floor, even outside. Demands on mobility for computers aren't restricted to the laptop - they apply to the mouse too.

Microsoft Corp. invented a new go-anywhere tracking technology called Microsoft BlueTrack Technology. It allows mice to work on virtually any surface* - hardwood floors, granite or marble counters, even on carpet. It is difficult to find a place where this mouse doesn't track.

The technology doesn't just create a "four-wheel drive" mouse, but also one that's more dust-resistant and travel-sturdy. The Explorer Mouse with BlueTrack Technology is the most advanced mouse on the market, combining attractive design and cutting-edge technology in an essential peripheral that works well where you do.

Top Features

•	BlueTrack Technology
•	Fully featured five-button mouse
•	Stylish design with blue light and chrome detailing
•	Comfortable design
•	2.4GHz reliable wireless connection
•	Snap-in transceiver
•	Features for Windows Vista

•	Easy Recharging. Dock the mouse in the compact, horizontal recharging station when it's not in use. A blinking green light tells you that the mouse is recharging, and solid green means that it's at full charge. If the light on the mouse is red, it means the battery power is running low.
•	Design and Style. The Explorer Mouse emits a cool blue glow when you pull out the transceiver or when it wakes up from the energy-saving sleep state. Chrome highlights are attractive and eye-catching, and the right-handed, ergonomist-approved design offers hours of comfortable use.
•	Reliable and Convenient Wireless. When it's not in use, the 2.4GHz wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB) transceiver snaps into place on the bottom of your mouse for storage and transit. And when it's hooked up, the wireless connection works from up to 30 feet away with virtually no interference.
•	Features for Windows Vista. One-touch access to Windows Flip 3D allows you to flip through open windows in a stack and quickly switch among applications for added productivity. The Tilt Wheel and Magnifier tool let you activate key computer commands and movements with a single touch.

BlueTrack Technology - How It Works

Microsoft-Designed CMOS Chip

The Explorer Mouse uses a proprietary, Microsoft-designed complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chip with advanced algorithms and pixel architecture for more precise tracking. It is Microsoft's fourth-generation application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) using CMOS technology.

Blue Specular Optics

Microsoft's proprietary high-angle imaging optics generate more exact surface images - even of shiny surfaces such as granite and marble - instead of blurry, out-of-focus images, as can be produced by many of the leading laser mice. And blue light helps create high-resolution, high-contrast images for better navigation.

Four Times Wider and More Diffuse Beam for Better Imaging and Tracking

The wider beam enables illumination of a larger surface area and allows more light to return to the sensor. This helps for tracking on irregular surfaces such as carpet, where a smaller beam could get lost between the individual fibers. The BlueTrack Technology light source is optimized to provide illumination at the tracking surface that is more uniform than current laser or optical mice. This illumination is accomplished by using a new optical element, never before used in a mouse. The light source is encapsulated in a diffusing optic that smooths out hot spots within the illumination profile. While the concept of diffused lighting is well known, the application of diffused light sources to mice is a Microsoft proprietary technology.

Incoherent Blue Light

Laser mice use coherent light that's easily disrupted by dust and dirt, leading to poor tracking. The Explorer Mouse's incoherent blue light doesn't have the extreme sensitivity to dust, so the signal quality is maintained. This means your mouse will provide excellent performance even in a less than clean environment - you'll get great precision performance in a dusty workshop or outdoors just as you do on an ideal clean surface.

Price

The estimated retail price of the Microsoft Explorer Mouse is $99.95 (U.S.)

Availability

Microsoft Explorer Mouse will be widely available in October 2008.

Did You Know?

Blue light allows the sensor to capture a high-contrast image of the surface. For example, the blue light beneficially interacts with fluorescent dyes within the surface to increase the amount of reflected light relative to an infrared laser beam. The physics is similar to the "blue light" used in crime-scene TV shows to examine surfaces for police investigations.

A mouse works by emitting light that bounces back to a camera sensor. The sensor "sees" the surface and takes a picture - actually thousands of pictures per second. A custom CMOS ASIC analyzes the information in the photos to determine what's changed from the previous image and sends that information to the computer. The computer responds to that information by moving the mouse cursor.

In a BlueTrack Technology mouse, the sensor, the light and the component configuration have all been optimized for the best possible surface image for a variety of conditions. BlueTrack Technology provides the mouse ASIC and the computer with exceptionally accurate and detailed information for advanced tracking on almost any surface.

Microsoft engineers tested the BlueTrack Technology mouse on more than 40 surfaces, including carpet, velvet, rattan mats, hardwood floors, finely polished wood surfaces, and lots more. BlueTrack Technology performed on almost every surface tested - except glass and mirrors. There is currently no mouse tracking technology that works on these surfaces.

Of all PCs sold, 72 percent are notebooks, and these get used in a surprising variety of locations. That's why a go-anywhere, work-anywhere mouse is such a useful peripheral.

Things to Try

Join the BlueTrack Technology challenge. Try your mouse on any surface that's not glass or mirrored. Use it on your carpet, your hardwood floors, your granite kitchen counters, your microfiber couch and your beach mat.

Open Microsoft Paint and use your old mouse to draw circles or write your name on any of the different surfaces you've found. Now try with your BlueTrack Technology mouse, and see the amazing difference it makes.

*BlueTrack Technology does not track on glass or mirrored surfaces.

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