We here at the Tech Advantage write a lot about gaming. But an equally important aspect of your life is your job. Although gaming mice can also be great office mice, they may be meant for a fingertip/claw grip, when a palm grip is the most ergonomic for working long hours, or you just don't want your mouse at work to look really overstated (for example, the Mad Catz R.A.T.).
Today, we're covering some of the best mice for productivity. Some of these might lapse into the gaming category, but they will all be practical and won't make you that guy who uses a gaming mouse in the office. Our criteria are: rechargeable (with one exceptions), wireless (with one exception), and ergonomic. These are all traits that some of the top mice share. Enjoy!
Best Overall - $100
If you're a mouse enthusiast, you probably knew this was coming; the best overall mouse, cost not heavily considered, is the Logitech MX Master 3. This is an absolutely superb mouse in all categories. The scroll wheel is extremely precise but smooth, the scrolling side buttons can both be pressed easily or scroll either way, and the sensor is capable of up to 4000 DPI and can scan on any surface, including glass, allowing you to work in almost any environment (this impressive sensor is called the Darkfield sensor). Additionally, the ergonomics are extremely fine-tuned; your hand will be comfortable indefinitely while using this mouse, unless you require something more extreme such as a vertical mouse. This mouse has 9 reprogrammable buttons. One of the most notable ones is thumb rest button; compress it hard enough on that little tab and a click will register. The fact that the button won't compress from the weight of your thumb but will compress with very little effort is another example of Logitech's beautiful design in making this mouse. Additionally, with this mouse, and with many other Logitech mice, you can assign a hotkey to switch between devices. This means you can have the USB dongle in one device and be paired with others with Bluetooth, and work on either but be connected to both. You can even drag files from one device directly into the other. Yet another neat feature about this mouse is the gestures. While holding the thumb rest button down, you can swipe one of four directions to perform gestures similar to the ones performed on a trackpad. And lastly, this mouse has an incredible 70 day battery life, and is rechargeable via USB-C for a 1 minute to 3 hour ratio. That means for each minute you charge this mouse, the mouse gains 3 hours' use of battery life.
Long-Lasting - $35
If you're going to be using a mouse day after day after day, you'd need it to withstand the test of time. The Logitech M705 is a wireless mouse that lasts 3 years on one battery charge. Yes, you read that right. Once you put the battery in, you're probably never taking it out. This mouse has a nice ergonomic shape, with an indent for your thumb and gentle slopes for your ring and pinky finger to rest as well. It also comes with a great feature for going through long documents: a mode switcher between scroll wheel and flywheel. Unfortunately, it uses a laser sensor, to conserve energy. While this may not make a difference to some, it makes your mouse considerably less accurate than an optical sensor and would thus be a bad choice for graphic design. However, if you just need a normal mouse and value longevity, reliability, and ease of use, this mouse is for you.
Precise and Zippy - $45
There are some people who love a higher sensitivity. After all, more sensitivity = less hand movement = less hand pain, right? Well, if you're one of those people, then the Razer Mamba Wireless might be for you. It packs a 16,000 DPI optical sensor, a gaming sensor meant for maximum accuracy. Most mouse report their location to the computer around 150 times per second. This means its report rate would be 150hz. The Razer Mamba Wireless' report rate is 1000hz, because its a gaming mouse. This makes your movements much more accurate. You can also use the mouse at a lower DPI and still experience ridiculously good precision. The Razer Mamba wireless has a 50 hour battery life (much energy is spent powering the sensor), a great shape for long working hours, and is rechargeable with micro-USB. And if you're into that sort of thing, there is lighting in the logo and around the scroll wheel. At the office, you can just set the lighting to white so you can find it in the dark.
Powerful Portability - $60
Although there are many good small form-factor mice, the Logitech MX Anywhere 2S really knocks it out of the park. It offers many of the same great features that the Master 3 does; 70 day battery life with USB-C charging, ability to switch between multiple devices with a click of a button, and unlockable scroll wheel. It also shares the same Darkfield 4000 DPI sensor that scans on any surface. It also has a super small form factor that will make it extremely easy to carry around. The areas where it's beaten by the MX Master 3 are in ergonomics, lack of buttons, and lack of gestures.
Versatile - $75
The last mouse we've recommended is actually an extremely popular gaming mouse. This is the Razer Naga Trinity. As you can see in the above picture, there are three different side plates (hence the name "trinity") that clip into the mouse easily. These are super useful for different tasks. Macros, or hotkeys, can be put to great use in productivity. Let's say you're a graphic editor, and you really don't want to always be selecting tools from the toolbar. You can assign your most used tools to buttons on the side of your mouse for easy access. And what this mouse also brings to the table is customizability. You can use the 7-button panel for normal work tasks (assign them to switch tabs, perform commands instantly, etc). But, if you're doing graphical editing, you'll want as many hotkeys as possible. However, if you're just using your mouse normally, you want to stop hitting those keys accidentally, and use the first panel. The reason this mouse is wired is because of the superior customizability; but if you want a mouse with those mounds of buttons, wirelessness, and rechargeability, go with the UtechSmart Venus Pro. That mouse has a 70 hour battery life, an incredibly accurate sensor, and a convenient spot to store the USB dongle.
Why we recommend Logitech
You might have noticed that a lot of the choices we offered were from Logitech. There are a few primary reasons we've done that. Firstly, and most importantly, Logitech has a solution to one of the most prevalent and annoying problems in wireless mice: you lose the USB dongle and have to throw away the mouse. Logitech actually sells separate USB unifying receivers, so if you ever lose yours, you can painlessly link the mouse with a new receiver. Secondly, Logitech's warranty policy is two years. As well as that being confidence-inspiring, it also means any mouse you buy from they is guaranteed to last you a good while. And lastly, Logitech is such a well-known company that many third-party companies have taken to building cases fro Logitech's products. For example, on Amazon, you can find a handy travel case for either the MX Master 3 or the MX Anywhere 2S quite easily.
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