News Origami-Inspired Mouse Is Thin, Lightweight and Folds Flat

I would rather use a laptop trackpad than a trackball mouse. trackball mice are not the most accurate, nor are they particularly comfortable to use. They are usually heavy mice as well. I do not see the appeal for them beyond nostalgia or hanging onto something that you are used to using, and potentially for overcoming some disability.
 

Kamen Rider Blade

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I would rather use a laptop trackpad than a trackball mouse. trackball mice are not the most accurate, nor are they particularly comfortable to use. They are usually heavy mice as well. I do not see the appeal for them beyond nostalgia or hanging onto something that you are used to using, and potentially for overcoming some disability.
I'll admit that there is a barrier to using the TrackBall, but once you get over it, it's really beneficial to ergonomics & avoiding RSI.

Despite how heavy they are, you usually don't move a TrackBall around in the same way you do a mouse, you just rotate the ball to where you want and click, so it has that advantage.

The force necessary to rotate a ball is pretty minimal.
 
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Two of those are brutally un-ergonomic. Only the third one is ergonomic at all (it's ambidextrous). The folding mouse in the news item is nicely symmetrical, which makes it ergonomic. The first two I'd toss in the trash due to the painfully bad design of the trackball and button placement where only some can actually use it. Kudos to the makers of this folding mouse to not forget making it actually usable.
 
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I'll admit that there is a barrier to using the TrackBall, but once you get over it, it's really beneficial to ergonomics & avoiding RSI.

Despite how heavy they are, you usually don't move a TrackBall around in the same way you do a mouse, you just rotate the ball to where you want and click, so it has that advantage.

The force necessary to rotate a ball is pretty minimal.

A lot of trackballs are completely unergonomic by being lopsided. They need to be symmetrical in order to be ergonomic.
 
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All this effort for a lighter mice to move around, or you can try out a trackball and transistion to that.

It'd be better for you in the long term ergonomically.

It's better in the long-term ergonomically only if the
Sorry, the majority of the world designs for right-handed users.

What can I say.

Actually the "majority of the world" designs truly ergonomic (ambidextrous) computer pointer devices. Including the origami mouse from this Tom's Guide posting .The vast majority of mice made and sold are ambidextrous and can be used by anyone. The same is true of track pads on laptops, the overwhelming majority of which are center-mounted which means anyone can use it.

Thankfully, only a tiny minority of pointer devices are these unusable lopsided trackballs and such. Trackballs remain a tiny niche partially due to the badly designed, brutally unergonomic lopsided examples which are seen in some in the comments to this news item.

I just know googled "bestselling computer mouse" and at least the first 20 pictures showed ergonomic devices which can be used by anyone. The asymmetrical devices which are much harder to use just do not sell very well.

Making a pointer device left-handed only or right handed only is unnecessary, and it turns out it's hardly ever done. Quite understandably.

A badly-designed trackball is no substitute for a good symmetrical and ergonomic mouse such as this origami one.
 

Kamen Rider Blade

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Actually the "majority of the world" designs truly ergonomic (ambidextrous) computer pointer devices. Including the origami mouse from this Tom's Guide posting .The vast majority of mice made and sold are ambidextrous and can be used by anyone. The same is true of track pads on laptops, the overwhelming majority of which are center-mounted which means anyone can use it.
Sadly, the vast majority of mice I see are either Right-handed or Universal Ambi models in a 50/50 split

Thankfully, only a tiny minority of pointer devices are these unusable lopsided trackballs and such. Trackballs remain a tiny niche partially due to the badly designed, brutally unergonomic lopsided examples which are seen in some in the comments to this news item.
It's ergonomic for right-handers. And ELECOM makes some Left-handed Trackballs as well if you look at their full lineup.

I just know googled "bestselling computer mouse" and at least the first 20 pictures showed ergonomic devices which can be used by anyone. The asymmetrical devices which are much harder to use just do not sell very well.
I literally went to Google's Top 20 selling mice, and half of them were right-handed only mice.
The other half were ambidextrous mice.

Making a pointer device left-handed only or right handed only is unnecessary, and it turns out it's hardly ever done. Quite understandably.
I disagree, go look at many of the popular mice makers, there are plenty of "Right-Handed" only mouse, its' quite common actually.
Go look at Logitech, Razer, Corsair, etc.
Plenty of Right-Handed only mice.

A badly-designed trackball is no substitute for a good symmetrical and ergonomic mouse such as this origami one.
It's badly designed only if you care about Ambidextrous or Left-handedness.

Just because it doesn't suit your desires doesn't mean it's bad. It just wasn't made for you.
~90% of Humanity is Right-Handed.
< 1% of Humanity is Ambidextrous.
The remaining ~9% is Left-handed.

Those are the cold hard facts.
 
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Sadly, the vast majority of mice I see are either Right-handed or Universal Ambi models in a 50/50 split


It's ergonomic for right-handers. And ELECOM makes some Left-handed Trackballs as well if you look at their full lineup.


I literally went to Google's Top 20 selling mice, and half of them were right-handed only mice.
The other half were ambidextrous mice.


I disagree, go look at many of the popular mice makers, there are plenty of "Right-Handed" only mouse, its' quite common actually.
Go look at Logitech, Razer, Corsair, etc.
Plenty of Right-Handed only mice.


It's badly designed only if you care about Ambidextrous or Left-handedness.

Just because it doesn't suit your desires doesn't mean it's bad. It just wasn't made for you.
~90% of Humanity is Right-Handed.
< 1% of Humanity is Ambidextrous.
The remaining ~9% is Left-handed.

Those are the cold hard facts.


I definitely don't agree. A mouse is definitely "bad" if it can't be used by everyone. If it's bad, It's bad because it's poorly designed and can't be used by everyone Nothing to do with my "desires". But everything to do with the reality of usability and the marketplace reflects this. The best selling mice are symmetrical)ambidextrous.. And this is what you find in workplaces: The vast majority of the mice on workstations are the usable ones, not the bad painful ones.

And as I mentioned on laptops, the trackpad is almost always mounted in the front center where it can be used, instead of over on the side where it's unusable. It's truly an ambidextrous world where it comes to devices, and the bad pointer devices are "on the outs".

Also, so called left-handed "ergonomic" mice are bad and not ergonomic at all. Because if you are right-handed it's a complete failure.

The eye-catching but badly designed quirky painful ones Just don't sell as well.

And the mouse in this Kickstarter is one of the good ones, not one of the bad ones. It probably wouldn't do nearly as well if it weren't ergonomic.

This is all apparent if you look at actual sales, instead of let your eye be drawn in by really terrible designs that just don't sell.

It's the devices made to work with the 100% that do the best.
 

Kamen Rider Blade

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I definitely don't agree. A mouse is definitely "bad" if it can't be used by everyone. If it's bad, It's bad because it's poorly designed and can't be used by everyone Nothing to do with my "desires". But everything to do with the reality of usability and the marketplace reflects this. The best selling mice are symmetrical)ambidextrous.. And this is what you find in workplaces: The vast majority of the mice on workstations are the usable ones, not the bad painful ones.

And as I mentioned on laptops, the trackpad is almost always mounted in the front center where it can be used, instead of over on the side where it's unusable. It's truly an ambidextrous world where it comes to devices, and the bad pointer devices are "on the outs".

Also, so called left-handed "ergonomic" mice are bad and not ergonomic at all. Because if you are right-handed it's a complete failure.

The eye-catching but badly designed quirky painful ones Just don't sell as well.

And the mouse in this Kickstarter is one of the good ones, not one of the bad ones. It probably wouldn't do nearly as well if it weren't ergonomic.

This is all apparent if you look at actual sales, instead of let your eye be drawn in by really terrible designs that just don't sell.

It's the devices made to work with the 100% that do the best.
The sales data for top mice says other wise, plenty of Right-Handed only mice sell very well and even place on the chart.

You just have a fixation with Ambidextrous everything, when reality has designs that offer Ambi, but generally cater to right-handed folks more often than not.

You're letting your PoV affect your decision, that's fine if it's your take on things.

But reality says otherwise.
 
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The sales data for top mice says other wise, plenty of Right-Handed only mice sell very well and even place on the chart.

You just have a fixation with Ambidextrous everything, when reality has designs that offer Ambi, but generally cater to right-handed folks more often than not.

You're letting your PoV affect your decision, that's fine if it's your take on things.

But reality says otherwise.

Yes, I have a "fixation" on good design and usability,,, devices that work with everyone, and a bias against poorly designed, completely unergonomic devices that only work for some and are entirely a "no go" for office environments. That is my POV.

And from this POV, this kickstarter is good, because they didn't throw usability out the window.

I checked again the top 50 of Amazon mouse sales. The top 4 were nothing but the usable ergonomic devices. #5 was only mildly lopsided but still probably usable by all humans. Through the remaining 45 of these, the vast majority are ergonomic, and only one of those was an unusable lopsided trackball. Once you go below the top 50, the badly designed lopsided ones start to increase in number. It is no surprising that these bad designs completely fail in sales compared to useful mice.

Actual usable pointing devices do indeed dominate sales.

(* Two of the top 50 devices were not pointers at all, but "jiggler" accessories, so I am not counting these)

Anyway, I am going to support this kickstarter. A usable standard ergonomic pointing device that is VERY portable. What is there not to like?
 
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Kamen Rider Blade

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Yes, I have a "fixation" on good design and usability,,, devices that work with everyone, and a bias against poorly designed, completely unergonomic devices that only work for some and are entirely a "no go" for office environments. That is my POV.
I whole heartedly disagree, I think there are devices perfect for whatever a person wants, that's why there are plenty of Right-Handed only mice in the world, even some Left-Handed mice.
Ambidextrous designs aren't always needed, and it should stay that way.

And from this POV, this kickstarter is good, because they didn't throw usability out the window.
That's your PoV, I think they just wanted a Origami shape that happened to be ambidextrous.

I checked again the top 50 of Amazon mouse sales. The top 4 were nothing but the usable ergonomic devices. #5 was only mildly lopsided but still probably usable by all humans. Through the remaining 45 of these, the vast majority are ergonomic, and only one of those was an unusable lopsided trackball. Once you go below the top 50, the badly designed lopsided ones start to increase in number. It is no surprising that these bad designs completely fail in sales compared to useful mice.
Funny thing, I took a screen shot of the Top 50 mice at this point in time.
hDvueha.jpg

Here are the final stats:
  1. Right-Handed
  2. Ambidextrous
  3. Ambidextrous
  4. Ambidextrous
  5. Right-Handed
  6. Ambidextrous
  7. Ambidextrous
  8. Right-Handed
  9. Right-Handed
  10. Right-Handed
  11. Right-Handed
  12. Ambidextrous
  13. Right-Handed
  14. Ambidextrous
  15. Right-Handed
  16. Ambidextrous
  17. Ambidextrous
  18. Ambidextrous
  19. Right-Handed
  20. Ambidextrous
  21. Right-Handed
  22. Ambidextrous
  23. Right-Handed
  24. Right-Handed
  25. Ambidextrous
  26. Ambidextrous
  27. Right-Handed
  28. N/A
  29. Ambidextrous
  30. N/A
  31. Ambidextrous
  32. Right-Handed
  33. N/A
  34. Right-Handed
  35. Right-Handed
  36. Ambidextrous
  37. Right-Handed
  38. Right-Handed
  39. Ambidextrous
  40. Right-Handed
  41. N/A
  42. Ambidextrous
  43. Right-Handed
  44. N/A
  45. Right-Handed
  46. Ambidextrous
  47. Right-Handed
  48. N/A
  49. Ambidextrous
  50. Right-Handed
23 = Right-Handed
6 = N/A
21 = Ambidextrous

Actual usable pointing devices do indeed dominate sales.
Yes, Right-Handed Mice Outnumber Ambidextrous mice by a bit in the top 50.

5 of the Top 10 are Right-Handed, the other 5 are Ambidextrous.
The #1 seller is Right-Handed.
23 of the Top 50 are Right-Handed Mice
21 of the Top 50 are Ambidextrous
_6 are N/A because they're mouse jigglers.

(* Two of the top 50 devices were not pointers at all, but "jiggler" accessories, so I am not counting these)
I'm not counting those either.

Anyway, I am going to support this kickstarter. A usable standard ergonomic pointing device that is VERY portable. What is there not to like?
You do you, the rest of us "Righties" will enjoy our Right-handed optimized devices.
 
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I whole heartedly disagree, I think there are devices perfect for whatever a person wants, that's why there are plenty of Right-Handed only mice in the world, even some Left-Handed mice.
Ambidextrous designs aren't always needed, and it should stay that way.


That's your PoV, I think they just wanted a Origami shape that happened to be ambidextrous.


Funny thing, I took a screen shot of the Top 50 mice at this point in time.
hDvueha.jpg

Here are the final stats:
  1. Right-Handed
  2. Ambidextrous
  3. Ambidextrous
  4. Ambidextrous
  5. Right-Handed
  6. Ambidextrous
  7. Ambidextrous
  8. Right-Handed
  9. Right-Handed
  10. Right-Handed
  11. Right-Handed
  12. Ambidextrous
  13. Right-Handed
  14. Ambidextrous
  15. Right-Handed
  16. Ambidextrous
  17. Ambidextrous
  18. Ambidextrous
  19. Right-Handed
  20. Ambidextrous
  21. Right-Handed
  22. Ambidextrous
  23. Right-Handed
  24. Right-Handed
  25. Ambidextrous
  26. Ambidextrous
  27. Right-Handed
  28. N/A
  29. Ambidextrous
  30. N/A
  31. Ambidextrous
  32. Right-Handed
  33. N/A
  34. Right-Handed
  35. Right-Handed
  36. Ambidextrous
  37. Right-Handed
  38. Right-Handed
  39. Ambidextrous
  40. Right-Handed
  41. N/A
  42. Ambidextrous
  43. Right-Handed
  44. N/A
  45. Right-Handed
  46. Ambidextrous
  47. Right-Handed
  48. N/A
  49. Ambidextrous
  50. Right-Handed
23 = Right-Handed
6 = N/A
21 = Ambidextrous


Yes, Right-Handed Mice Outnumber Ambidextrous mice by a bit in the top 50.

5 of the Top 10 are Right-Handed, the other 5 are Ambidextrous.
The #1 seller is Right-Handed.
23 of the Top 50 are Right-Handed Mice
21 of the Top 50 are Ambidextrous
_6 are N/A because they're mouse jigglers.


I'm not counting those either.


You do you, the rest of us "Righties" will enjoy our Right-handed optimized devices.


I chose the very first listing I found of Amazon best selling devices, in which the good mice strongly outnumber the bad ones. I'm not going to keep going through multiple pages (which is apparently what you did )and cherry picking to find one to prove the false claim that people prefer unusable lopsided unergonomic pointing devices. Because even when one does that, once you go into offices and workplaces and even look on sales shelves, the human-usable ambidextrous devices prevail.

The badly-designed ones hardly sell it all, and the human-usable ambidextrous ones still totally dominate in the real world when it comes to use and sales.

Although a few prefer badly designed painful devices, the vast majority of "righties" and "lefties* are very happy to use symmetrical ergonomic pointing devices.

And with this, I will leave you on your hill in your imaginary world where people actually love to use bad on ergonomic devices and where such dominate sales, and wonder why you have this weird obsession with watching people to use painful bad pointing devices which they don't want to use except in very small numbers.
 

Kamen Rider Blade

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I chose the very first listing I found of Amazon best selling devices, in which the good mice strongly outnumber the bad ones. I'm not going to keep going through multiple pages (which is apparently what you did )and cherry picking to find one to prove the false claim that people prefer unusable lopsided unergonomic pointing devices. Because even when one does that, once you go into offices and workplaces and even look on sales shelves, the human-usable ambidextrous devices prevail.
I choose to look at more than the first section of the first page, I looked at a FAR larger data set then you did.

Multiple pages, 50 listings is "Multiple Pages"? That was one page, literally, it was the FIRST page.

Reality is, Right-handed designs dominate the world, Ambidextrous is nice, but not required, that's why they have a place in design.

Also, it's simpler to design a Amibdextrous design because you only have to design half the outter shell, and mirror it.

But that's it. Many people still buy Rightie or Leftie only designs because it's optimized for their body structure.

It's called optimization to the person, not to your design parameters.

That's why you see every company have a diverse line-up to sell to every possible requirement, including specialized requirements.

The badly-designed ones hardly sell it all, and the human-usable ambidextrous ones still totally dominate in the real world when it comes to use and sales.
BS, you just won't admit that Specialty designs have a place.
You only need to look at product lines and see how many specialty designs. exist.
K3cnhs1.jpg
Razer has one of the highest volumes of sales for Gaming Mice.
Literally 10/40 options are Ambidextrous.
30/40 are Non-Ambidextrous and specialized designs.

If the world was actually following your design view point, everything would be Ambidextrous, reality proves you're wrong on a very fundamental level.

Specialized designs sell really well, infact, more than enough to justify all the expense of creating plenty of variants and specialty designs just for them.

Although a few prefer badly designed painful devices, the vast majority of "righties" and "lefties* are very happy to use symmetrical ergonomic pointing devices.
They use it because they like the device, not necessarily because it's Ambidextrous. Ambidextrous is just a small optional check box.
Physical design and Ergonomics matter more.

And it's not just a few, it's the majority. Specialty designs dominate the VAST majority of sales.

And with this, I will leave you on your hill in your imaginary world where people actually love to use bad on ergonomic devices and where such dominate sales, and wonder why you have this weird obsession with watching people to use painful bad pointing devices which they don't want to use except in very small numbers.
I'll leave you in your la-la land fantasy world of Ambidextrous everything. The reality is Specialty designs sell well, well enough that they are the larger market.

You have a very myopic view of the entire world and real world sales data & companies product lines back me up.

If Ambidextrous was the best seller, it would be the ONLY option on the market.

But reality proves that specialty options sell well, more than well enough that Ambidextrous has a place, but it isn't the dominent force that you think it is.