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Living in an apartment without a phone line can be annoying to those of us who enjoy our internet usage. Fear not, however, for to the rescue comes the mobile phone companies. Produced by Chinese company Huawei and marketed by various mobile providers throughout Europe, the HSDPA data modem provides steady broadband in any location where a phone signal can be established. As dreamy as that option may sound it does have its few drawbacks. First of all is the price in relation to what you’re getting. Depending on which service provider you choose the price can range from €20-30 per month, which is under a contract of between 6 months and a year. Not only this, but the modem itself must be paid for separately, and can cost as much as €120, although it has decreased in recent times.

What exactly are you getting for your money? The HSDPA data modem is advertised as having speeds of “up to” 3.6 megabits per second, which varies depending on your service provider. 3 Mobile, for example, have practically never reached this kind of download speed, whereas O2 and Vodafone are roughly equal averaging anything from 1mb to 3.4mb on a good day. One thing which is not advertised is the upload speed, which is essentially nothing. The “D” in HSDPA stands for download, indicating what that particular modem is for. There is also a HSUPA model with superior upload speeds that must be purchased separately from Huawei itself. 3 mobile managed an average 60kbps upload, with O2 and Vodafone managing a more reasonable 3-400kbps.

As for the inner workings of the system, the modem is controlled by a SIM card, the likes of which you’d find in any mobile phone. It also works like any other SIM and can be used in phones with its own phone number and PIN code. With the software included you can send text messages from it like a normal phone, seemingly for free. (I have yet to receive a bill for my new O2 modem but I never had any extra charge on the 3 contract)

The Modem is packaged with 2 USB2.0 cables, a short, standard one and a longer cable with 2 connections to provide extra power (I find this to be the only way of getting a strong signal sometimes), a small Velcro patch for sticking it to your laptop on the move, and the obligatory informational booklets.

Installation of the device is very simple and requires no installation CD. All files are stored on the modem and are run when first connected.

Overall, it’s not the best broadband option around, but if you need it on the go for business on the bus or (like me) you don’t have a phoneline and can’t get the “antenna broadband” it is definitely a suitable alternative. Although pricey it’s far from ridiculously expensive and if you’re any good at e-commerce it will pay for itself

I first saw this when I was randomly linked to it on youtube, the video I saw had no audio, and no actual explanation of what this thing was. So naturally I decided to search eBay and buy one.

I paid £5.98 for it and that included free delivery from Hong Kong to the UK. I opened the envelope to find a simple standard vacuum formed wrapper, and paid no attention to the cardboard insert and just removed the mouse ready to plug it in.

When I actually glanced at the insert I was surprised by what I saw. It’s been along time since I’ve bought a mouse, but I’m sure the boxes never have this much detail. The insert explains the life span of all moving components as well as the product overall, as well as the usual stuff promising ergonomic comfort and so forth. The device also boasts 1200dpi resolution “the fastest mouse in the world”.

The box also boasts to be compatible with pretty much every OS known to mankind, with the exception of Windows 3.1 much to my dismay…

The Product

What you see is what you get, a nice standard black finish with a hard wearing durable shell. Its cable is approx 1 m in length and provides a great deal of length for you to manoeuvre with.

In terms of ergonomics, the device appears to be right handed only, although does although the standards options of reversing the clickable button functions. The buttons themselves are nicely placed centered by a mechanical wheel that almost everybody will be familiar with.

On the main body you will find a pack away Velcro/elastic ring, which I found most comfortable on my index finger sitting between the top and central bend in my finger. This allowed my thumb easy access to the control buttons and wheel. Its also practical to grip the mouse as you would a pen or pencil, which allows a great deal or freedom when navigating your screen.

Plugging In

As it is USB, you get the standard plug and play options, and automatic driver installations, this takes a matter of seconds, and as you would expect it registers as a human interface device.  From an operational stand point, the mouse works great.

Experienced computer users will have no trouble picking this up and using straight away. People new to computers and technology might need a few moments to get their bearings with the mouse, but its pretty straight forward.

In terms of surfaces, the optical laser seems to work on most opaque surfaces. Its handy in  that I can slouch back in my office chair and use the arm of my chair as my mouse mat. You can of course do this with a conventional mouse but this is obviously not as bulky.

Weighing It Up

Summing it up

Overall I like the finger  mouse, it’s such a simply adaptation of an everyday item. As mentioned in the ‘Cons’  it does have some notable downsides, since with a conventional mouse you never pick up a cup or scratch your face with it in your hand, you never find yourself blinded by the laser, but this, with the strap in use,  is stuck to your index finger. It does have a fail-safe dimmer like a normal mouse when lifted from its surface, but the dim makes little if any difference. Another issue picked up on, is the clunkiness of it. If like me you can touch type and type fast, it can be a problem, the mouse adds weight to your index finger, which means typing is noticeably slowed down.

On the positive side, the practical applications and noticable, although I would probably limit my use down to powerpoint presentations. Taking the price into account, it is a very welcomed addition to my peripheral box, and despite the downfalls I would still recommend the finger mouse to other people.