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October 13, 2008 10:04 AM PDT

The cure for 'mouse arm': Gyroscopic mice

by Dan Ackerman
  • 5 comments

The Gyration Air Mouse

Do you suffer from hand and arm pain while mousing? Many factors can be blamed, from poor posture to a badly designed ergonomic environment. Unfortunately, simply adjusting one's seat or desk height doesn't always solve the problem (and sometimes you can't adjust either of these much at all).

I was a longtime sufferer of the condition I dubbed "mouse arm," which at one point got so bad that after a few hours, I would have to awkwardly mouse with my left hand for the rest of the day. About five years ago (long before I joined CNET), I discovered a company called Gyration and its line of gyroscopic mice.

The very latest version is the just-reviewed Gyration Air Mouse, a smaller $99 travel version of the company's standard Gyration Go model. Like most other gyroscopic mice, the Gyration Air functions as a regular optical mouse when placed on a flat surface--but lift it up, and it switches into gyroscopic mode, letting users control the cursor by moving the mouse through the air.

Unfortunately, the new Gyration Air doesn't compare favorably with either the Go or another favorite, Logitech's sleek MX Air. The Air Mouse feels flimsy and insubstantial, and it literally rattles in your hand. The clacky mouse buttons feel loose, and worst of all, the optical tracking feels a tiny bit sluggish when used in the nongyroscopic mode.

A final note--newcomers to the gyroscope party should note that using one of these devices seems impossible at first, but after a short but intense 24-48 hour learning curve, it'll be second nature.

Read the full review of the Gyration Air Mouse.

Also, see our handy chart comparing gyroscopic mice.

September 8, 2008 12:54 PM PDT

Gyration Air Music Remote gives you total control

by Joseph Kaminski
  • 2 comments

(Credit: Gyration)

The Gyration Air Music Remote with MotionSense technology made its debut Monday. This new universal remote is meant to replace all previous Gyration remotes with its new features. The Air Music Remote not only controls the satellite/cable box, home theater, and TV, it also controls Windows XP- and Vista-based computers.

This is all possible through the gyroscopic device in the remote, which allows in-air cursor tracking. A user can interact with and manipulate items onscreen through movement and pointing of the remote, similar to a Wii remote. It also has left and right buttons to launch and/or close applications.

In addition, the remote can play and manage music files from iTunes and Windows Media Player without having to turn a TV or PC monitor on. The backlit 1-by-1.5 inch LCD display, on the top of the remote, allows the user to search for artist, song, genre, or playlist.

According to Gyration, the PC remote's range is about 100 feet. This is due to the RF (radio frequency) on which the remote operates. It also works on IR (infrared), which is common with televisions and audio equipment.

Stay tuned for our full review.

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