Image Courtesy: Sony

We’ve all seen the conventional mouse design, haven’t we? Majority of us are probably using that old, two-button mouse with a scroll wheel. Well, that’s about to change with Sony’s VGP-UMS50 USB optical mouse that’s targeted as the innovative mouse of its class. And quite honestly, Sony may just have the sleekest looking mouse in the market (excluding the gun-shaped mouse).

Sony’s VGP-UMS50 is an optical mouse with a shape of a perfectly cut bamboo stem. It features 800dpi of high resolution with a professional color scheme and design for those interested and ready for something new to try out. The black area at the top of the mouse houses two buttons in addition to a scroll wheel. The buttons are well integrated with little exposure to the buttons. According to Sony, it’s ergonomically friendly with a design that’s comfortable to use. Moreover, it uses a fluorine-based resin (polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE) that has low coefficient of friction to make the bottom of the VGP-UMS50 glide smoothly.

On average, the VGP-UMS50 retails around $34.99.

Initial Thoughts: Although it doesn’t appear that way, but companies have to work quite a bit in order to make sure the ergonomics of the mice are comfortable, as they are one of the most used components of the PC. Since Sony has opted for a non-conventional design, it must have welcoming ergonomics if it wants to interest potential buyers. The color scheme appears to be perfect with a professional theme, but we are uncertain about three buttons. Usually, three buttons (including the scroll wheel) would be plenty for the majority of you, but if you prefer to program mouse buttons according to specific games or for general-purpose tasks, you may not get the same choice with the VGP-UMS50. If Sony has the ergonomics right then the price isn’t too unreasonable for a device this different.