I bought an MSI BM500 bluetooth mouse simply because I wanted to see how different it is from an RF wireless mouse that needed a usb receiver plus my ASUS F8SG has bluetooth so what the heck. This will be a review of the MSI BM500 bluetooth mouse but I’ll keep it short.

Let’s start with the pros:

• Good resolution (has a 1200 dpi mode).
• Good range (good reception even at about 6 meters).
• Has a USB cable as secondary power in case the battery drains.
• Doesn’t use a USB port since its bluetooth.
• Can be charged without docking.

Cons:

• Short battery life (a week at the most).
• Annoying sleep mode. If unused for more than 5 minutes goes to a “deep” sleep mode that takes about 3 seconds to wake.
• Best way to wake the mouse fast is to use the scroll button and not shaking it.

Verdict, the cons are a definite bummer. Not unless you only have 1 USB port and your laptop has bluetooth then this mouse isn’t really worth buying. If you really need one though you can find the MSI BM500 bluetooth mouse at dealextreme.com. ^_^

UPDATE: January 5, 2010

I just installed Windows 7 Ultimate on my ASUS F8SG and I’ve seen a lot of improvement in the way the MSI BM500 bluetooth mouse behaves. Since the bluetooth manager no longer reboots in Windows 7 ultimate I no longer experience the lags I usually do in Windows XP.

The OS really made a difference! So if you are using Windows 7 and you really need that “extra” USB port go ahead and get this mouse. Hope this helps ^_^