Ever looked at a ballpoint pen and dock at a bank or a post office and thought “this would make a great alternative for a computer mouse”? Probably not, but that may have been what inspired Prestige International to produce the Penclic Mouse B2: an ergonomic alternative to desktop mice created with the prevention of RSI in mind.
The cursor is controlled with the laser pointer on the bottom of the Penclic’s base, rather than the pen as one may assume. The pen is attached to the base by a swivelling ball, which allows the user to freely glide the base across any surface. The Penclic is certainly very responsive, mousepad or no, and its sensitivity levels can be adjusted to match your preferences in the settings.
The pen's design is ergonomic, comfortable, and easy to use, but it takes some getting used to. Users may need to adjust the button layout, which is: left, right and middle click, as well as forward and back browser buttons. There’s also a scroll wheel on the base; convenient for browsing, but the scrolling speed is lacking.
Set up is quick and painless. Once the AAA rechargeable battery is ready, open up Device Discovery on your computer and connect it. No extra software installation is required. When the LED lights up green, you’re good to go.
It’s hard to find fault in this product. The Penclic' price tag is considerably high, but justified by its intuitive, ergonomic design and responsive functionality. If you’ve used a Wacom pen, the Penclic won’t feel too foreign to you. But then, you're probably happy with your graphics tablet, or your ergonomic mouse, both of which offer more advanced functionality than the Penclic. Furthermore, some users may not be interested in spending time adjusting to its unfamiliar design. It’s a solid piece of hardware, but unless you’re concerned about RSI, you may be better off sticking to the mouse you're already using.
This product is easy to recommend to those concerned about/suffering from RSI. Users interested in functionality, however, should instead consider a gaming mouse or graphics tablet.