Micropointing Mini-Mouse
Micropointing Mini-MouseCourtesy

Although touch technology is the latest rage, the hardware that goes into making touch devices touchable is expensive – and there are plenty of times when you would rather have a mouse or a joystick, like when playing games. That's why they make products like this! And even though touch devices, like smartphones, have become much more popular of late, most of the world is still behind the curve, using the mouse-based “four way rocker” for input, and is likely to stay that way.

Even in the era of iPhones and their Android imitators, there is still a big market for phones using the rocker. But while still useful, the four-way rocker is quickly becoming outmoded – because it's too big, says Ailon Tamir of Micropointing, an Israeli startup that is building a better mouse for the smaller devices that manufacturers are constantly developing. “ There is a great deal of competition for space on the device surface, which of course is very limited,” says Tamir. “And the old-fashioned rocker style mouse used by most devices today, which measures 35 millimeters squared, just takes up too much room.”

More than touchscreens, says Tamir, customers want small and convenient – and his mini-mouse is just the thing for ever-shrinking devices of all types. Micropointing's solution is perfect for these smaller devices; using a combination of advanced software algorithms and innovative design, Micropointing has managed to shrink the cellphone rocker considerably – to as small as a square millimeter! “It could be used in handheld devices such as smartphones, navigating systems, and notebook PCs – anywhere space, is at a premium,” says Tamir.

Not only space – but cost, too, says Tamir. “Instead of costing more, our mouse device is cheaper than the standard 35 mm mice out there now – about a third cheaper, with far less power consumption.” Meaning that more people in the third-world countries where device manufacturers are largely selling non-touch phones these days will be have access to them, while form-factors for laptops that still require mouse input can be further shrunk, making them more attractive – and cheaper.

The Micropointing solution can even go beyond cellphones and laptops; how about, for example, a TV remote control ring that you can use to change channels and volumes with a flick of your thumb? Thanks to Micropointing's technology, lost remotes will be a thing of the past – because you'll be wearing the remote! “It could be used in handheld devices such as smartphones, navigating systems, and notebook PCs – anywhere space, is at a premium,” says Tamir. “We have the only patented one millimeter mini-mouse in the world, and we are far ahead than anyone else in development of this kind of device,” he adds. “Manufacturers need a solution now, and we have that solution. It's like a match made in heaven.”