Basic option

Belkin Retractable Comfort Mouse

This light, comfortable, budget mouse does feel a little cheap in certain respects, with a loose and shaky scroll wheel that's nowhere near as sturdy as the others. It performs fine, but doesn't fill us with confidence about its longevity. The Belkin's retractable cable can be lengthened or shortened to suit your working area, and feels fairly durable. The Comfort Mouse isn't going to revolutionise how you work. However for a pittance, you can't really ask for much more, plus the fact that it's USB rather than Bluetooth means no subsequent battery costs.

Love: Low price, retractable USB cable

Hate: Dodgy scroll wheel, not wireless

Rs 699

Personalised performance

Logitech Performance Mouse M950

An exceedingly customisable device, this mighty mouse is built like a tank and should take years of hammering. The scroll wheel is fantastic. You can press a button to let it run on after you let go or go notch by notch and it's the comfiest on test, with a separate thumb space. You can charge it from both the mains or your computer via USB. Mac owners have to install Logitech's software to make this work, and it's not cheap. But it is the best of a strong bunch on offer here.

Love: Great build quality, customisable

Hate: Slightly pricey, extra software required for Mac users

Rs 6,995

Professionally adaptible

Kensington SlimBlade

This portable wireless mouse comes with a tiny receiver that plugs into your laptop. Its scroll wheel is sturdy, and if you press it left or right you can scroll sideways as well as up and down. It's so responsive you can actually use it on your trouser leg as opposed to a desktop or train table – it's ideal for presentations, as a result. You'll need some strength to move the stubborn on/off switch on the back, and it takes two AAs – lasting six months – rather than having a rechargeable cell. Overall performance is very solid for the price, however.

Love: Solid and versatile scroll wheel, very responsive

Hate: Power button isn't user friendly

Rs 2,799

Looks aren't everything

Microsoft Arc Touch

This unusually attractive mouse is curved for use, but you can also snap it flat to power down, so it fits better in your bag. It comes with a tiny receiver too, and lasts for six months on a pair of AA batteries, according to Microsoft, but it's otherwise slightly disappointing. The buttons are tough to depress, making clicking more of an effort than it should be, and the scroll pad between them is hard to find with your fingers. With speed dependent on how hard you push, making it work seems based more on luck than skill.

Love: Folds flat, long battery life

Hate: Stiff buttons, uncomfortable to use

Rs 3,600

Traveller's choice

Swiftpoint Mouse

You hold this tiny wireless mouse like a pen. With the wheel on the side you use your middle finger to scroll; right click is below the left button and you can also hold the left button and scroll to zoom in, which is very handy. Once you get used to it, the compact size is great if you're travelling; the palm rest of your laptop is a big enough flat surface to use it. It has a rechargeable battery built in and lasts three weeks between charges. It also cleverly docks magnetically on a tiny USB receiver to power up.

Love: Absolutely tiny, great zooming function

Hate: Unusual form takes a little getting used to

Rs 3,600

<<< Also consider

Apple Magic trackpad

A MacBook-style trackpad that connects via Bluetooth. Set it to right click with a two-fingered press or a prod of the bottom right corner. Brush three fingers across to navigate web pages, pinch to zoom and rotate pics with a twist. It's intuitive, but a handy addition rather than a replacement for your full-time mouse.

Rs 4,000

This material is translated or reproduced from T3 magazine and is the copyright of or licensed to Future Publishing Limited, a Future plc group company, UK 2011. Used under license. All rights reserved

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