bluetooth laptop + bluetooth mouse

[Tostada]

I don't really know much about bluetooth.

If I get a laptop with built-in bluetooth, then I go get a bluetooth mouse like the MX900, will I be able to just charge up the mouse and throw it in the bag with the laptop without any problems?

I mean, the MX900 comes with its own USB cradle charger thingy. This isn't some sort of proprietary bluetooth adapter, is it? Will I be able to directly use the mouse with the laptop without hooking up Logitech's own bluetooth adapter?

From a comment on Newegg:

This is a great mouse. I am using a 15 inch PowerBook and OS X detected the mouse as soon as I turned it on. I just use the base to recharge the batteries. It is very responsive and comfortable. Bluetooth is fantastic. I feel sorry for all of you Windows users who have to fart around with configuring stuff.

Any experience trying this with a Windows laptop?

 

[Tostada]

And if the MX900 works fine with the laptop (say an Inspirion 9200 with internal bluetooth) what happens if other laptops are around? I mean, if I turn on the mouse and my laptop detects it, what if I'm in a coffee shop with wi-fi and there are 5 other laptops there with bluetooth? Are they all going to get a little popup that says, "Windows has detected new hardware" or something?

 

[Tostada]

Also, does bluetooth use much power? I always see people complaining about using wi-fi reducing their battery life. Will using a bluetooth mouse make things much worse?

 

[mcveigh]

don't know if it will work but bluetooth uses a lot less power

 

[vegetation]

Originally posted by: Tostada
Also, does bluetooth use much power? I always see people complaining about using wi-fi reducing their battery life. Will using a bluetooth mouse make things much worse?

You lose about 5-10 minutes of battery life on a typical pentium-m system that averages 3-4 hours.

 

[deejayshakur]

Originally posted by: Tostada
And if the MX900 works fine with the laptop (say an Inspirion 9200 with internal bluetooth) what happens if other laptops are around? I mean, if I turn on the mouse and my laptop detects it, what if I'm in a coffee shop with wi-fi and there are 5 other laptops there with bluetooth? Are they all going to get a little popup that says, "Windows has detected new hardware" or something?

as long as your mouse is not in 'discoverable' mode, you're fine and those laptops cannot detect it. if you want to use your mouse on your desktop, you'll have to re-pair the mouse with the new computer. in any case, the connections are pretty secure.

on a similar note, bluejacking is a term for the relatively new phenomenon of bluetooth users setting their phones/pdas/laptops to discoverable mode and another user can beam their info over from their bluetooth-enabled device. do a google search.

me, i've got a jabra bt200, sony ericsson t616, ericsson r520m, and my hp dv1000 all connected via bluetooth which lets me listen to music from my laptop on the headset, take calls on either phone from my headset, backup my address book/calendar on my phones to my laptop, etc etc etc.

 

[Tostada]

OK, so as long as I don't hit the "connect" button my mouse won't be hijacking other people's computers.

deejayshakur: Sounds pretty nice ... as long as you don't irradiate your testicles with all that RF flying around

 

[dark79]

Originally posted by: Tostada
OK, so as long as I don't hit the "connect" button my mouse won't be hijacking other people's computers.

deejayshakur: Sounds pretty nice ... as long as you don't irradiate your testicles with all that RF flying around

Even if you hit the connect button and another bluetooth enabled laptop was around, they'd have to respond to the prompt asking if they wanted to pair your mouse with their laptop. And of course, that won't happen unless they're in discoverable mode. So I don't think you have anything to worry about.

As for the MX900 working with your laptop... I say your chances are very good. I don't think Logitech bundled them with proprietary drivers like others *cough* Microsoft *cough* And even if they did, there's still ways around them (which I had to do for stupidly buying the MS Bluetooth mouse a while back).