4564 i-ROCKS is an interesting company relatively new on the scene in North America (although it has been engaged in manufacture and export in computer peripherals for over 13 years), marketing a line of innovative and attractive computer peripherals and accessories, including several products specifically supporting the Mac. Last month I reviewed here the i-ROCKS backlit USB keyboard, which I like a lot, and not just for the cool key-illumination feature. It's one of all the nicest keyboards I've ever used in terms of key-action and comfort, as well as low-light visibility.

This time around I'm checking out the i-ROCKS Optical Mouse and iMini Crystal 4-port USB Hub.

i-ROCKS Optical Mouse

The first thing that will impress you about the i-ROCKS Optical Mouse is its eye-candy, sort of retro styling. It comes in your choice of five colors, all with a wide, sculpted band of chrome skirting the mouse body and a chrome bezel circumscribing the scroll wheel aperture.

I'm a child of the 1950s, and I like chrome, as long as it is tastefully applied, as it is in this case. It looks classy with any of the i-ROCKS mouse colors, which have a rich-looking "hairline" texture, but I think it works best with the blue, white, or red models.

However, as cool-looking as the white mouse is, I expect that it would become grubby pretty fast, and one of the darker hues will be more practical.

Our test unit was the red one, and while I personally would have preferred blue, it's an arrestingly attractive-looking rodent.

It's also a relatively small one, as this photo of it beside my MacMice Mouse (which is about the same size as an Apple Mouse) illustrates. The compact size along with its astonishingly light weight make i-ROCKS Mouse an ideal choice to take along in a laptop case or backpack.

The i-ROCKS Optical Mouse also has a generous four-foot long cord that can comfortably extend around the back of an iBook or 12-inch PowerBook to reach the left-side USB port for right-handed users, unlike the chintzy short cord that Apple insists on using with its mice.

The i-ROCKS mouse is a three-button unit with scroll wheel, the third button function controlled by clicking the scroll wheel. The main left and right button clicks are actually activated by flexing the respective sides of the top of the mouse body, similarly to the way the MacMice Mouse works, and the "buttons" operate with a pleasingly light, positive action. I was less impressed with the feel of the scroll wheel, which is a bit stiffer and with more detent resistance than I prefer. The scroll wheel button click is also too stiff, but I rarely use a third button anyway, so but that was not a big deal for me.

This feather-light mouse glides effortlessly across the mouse pad, and I found that it tracks positively and accurately with its 800 dpi resolution. The Mouse supports both Windows and the Mac OS, and comes bundled with a floppy disk, of all things, containing Windows driver software and a USB - PS2 interface adapter, both of which Mac users can ignore. The basic left/right click and scroll wheel functions are supported by drivers built into OS X, so it's a true plug & play proposition for Mac users. However, if you want more sophisticated programming support, you will need to get the Alessandro Levi Montalcini's shareware mouse driver utility USB Overdrive:
http://www.usboverdrive.com/

Aside from the above-mentioned criticisms of the scroll wheel action, I found nothing to be the complain about with the i-ROCKS Optical Mouse. It's smaller than I am partial to for regular production use, but that is a personal preference, and some users like using small mice.

IR-7100 Small-size Optical Mouse Features
1. Streamline design with hair-
line surface treatment.
2. Plug and play simplicity.
3. 800dpi resolution offers twice
the accuracy of typical mouse
movement.
4. Optical functionality accurate
on most of surfaces.
5. Ergonomic contour for comfortable
use.

Colors:
Black
Blue
Red
Silver
Mac White

Perhaps best of all is the price - an easy-to-take $9.99.

For more information, visit:
http://www.i-rocksusa.com/products/ir7100.html

___

iMini Crystal 4-port USB Hub

As with the i-ROCKS Optical Mouse (and indeed all i-ROCKS products), the iMini Crystal 4-port USB Hub is very attractive in appearance, indeed in this case the most aesthetically stunning USB hub I've encountered.

With its white under clear plastic with silver accents livery and white USB cord, the Crystal Hub harmonizes beautifully with the white and/or aluminum styling of all recent year Macs, desktop or laptop. However, its compact dimensions and light weight make it particularly well suited for carrying on the road with a laptop computer. It even comes with a little soft fabric drawstring pouch to protect the crystal finish what it's carried in your laptop case or backpack.

The iMini Crystal 4-port Hub supports both USB 2.0 and USB 1.1, and works with Macs running OS 8.6 or higher and OS 10.1 or later, as well as with Windows machines. Small enough (83x33x13 mm) to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand or vest pocket, and weighing almost nothing, the delightfully pretty iMini Crystal Hub proved to be a robust performer as well. It supports both bus-powered and self-powered modes, and comes bundled with a 5-volt AC power adapter. However, I found that it worked fine in bus-powered mode with a keyboard, two mice, and an external trackpad connected to my PowerBook.

Data transfer rates of up to USB 2.0's nominal 480 Mbps are supported, as are over-current detection and individual power control on each port.

This is one nifty little USB Hub, and the only shortcoming I noted is that there are no LED indicator lights on the hub the to inform you whether it is powered up or not or the ports are active.

IR-4300-Mac USB Hub Features
1. Exquisite crystal design appears
a delicate beauty.
2. Small and compact size; easy to
carry anywhere.
3. High-speed transfer rate up to
480 Mbps on each port.
4. Truly plug and play; hot
swappable.
5. Overcurrent protection on each
port.

Package Content
1. USB 2.0 4 port Hub.
2. USB 2.0 cable.
3. User's manual.
4. AC/DC switching power adapter.

The i-Rocks Crystal USB Hub for Mac sells for a very reasonable $16.99.

For more information, visit:
http://www.i-rocksusa.com/products/ir4300m.html
or
http://www.i-rocksusa.com/mac.html

Charles W. Moore

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