Anker 2.4G Wireless Vertical Mouse Review: Try Ergonomics

This Anker 2.4G Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse review is for anyone curious about vertical mice but wary of paying a lot to find out whether the shape suits them. The Anker A7852 turns the mouse on its side so your hand rests in a handshake position rather than flat on the desk. It adds a 2.4G wireless connection and a handful of practical touches. It is aimed at right-handed Windows users, and it sits in the mid-range part of the market.

This review is based on Anker's published specifications and on what independent expert reviews report. It is not based on hands-on testing.

Design and build: the upright handshake grip

The defining feature is the vertical handshake grip. Instead of pronating your forearm so your palm faces the desk, you hold the mouse as you would to shake someone's hand. Anker says this keeps the wrist and arm in a neutral position. Reviewers praise its comfortable upright posture.

The body is lightweight plastic at 3.4 oz, with a soft, tactile finish. A thumb groove gives your thumb a place to rest. The soft, tactile finish includes a thumb groove for support. The dimensions are 4.72 × 2.7 × 2.94 in / 120 × 62.8 × 74.8 mm. Reviewers praise its compact size.

The finish here is black, and there are five buttons in total.

Features and what they mean day to day

Three DPI levels on the mouse

A button on the mouse cycles through 800, 1200 and 1600 DPI. In practice that gives you a slower, more precise setting for detail work. It also gives you a faster one for covering a large or multi-monitor desktop with less hand movement. Because the switch is a button on the mouse, you change DPI by pressing it. The ceiling is modest, though. More on that in the criticisms below.

Forward and back thumb buttons

The thumb buttons handle forward and back navigation when browsing the web. The mouse has five buttons in total, including the forward and back thumb buttons. For anyone who spends the day in a browser, they are a genuine convenience. There is an important caveat for Mac users, covered below.

2.4G wireless with a receiver that stays with the mouse

Connectivity is 2.4G wireless through a USB receiver. The receiver stores in the bottom of the mouse, so it travels with you and is much less likely to be lost. It is a simple plug-in arrangement. The flip side is that there is no Bluetooth option, so the mouse needs a free USB port.

Power saving

The mouse drops into a power-saving mode after 8 minutes idle, and you wake it by pressing a button. This matters because the mouse runs on 2 AAA batteries, which are not included. The idle mode helps preserve battery life. The mouse takes non-rechargeable AAA batteries that are not included, so factor in buying cells.

Optical tracking and warranty

The optical sensor is described as tracking on a wide range of surfaces. That gives it flexibility in where you can use it. Anker backs the mouse with an 18-month warranty.

Performance, connectivity and power

This is a productivity mouse, and the specs make that clear. Three DPI steps topping out at 1600 DPI are fine for office work, browsing, documents and spreadsheets. They are not intended for fast-twitch gaming, and reviewers flag the 1600 DPI maximum as too low for gamers. If gaming is a priority, a purpose-built gaming mouse is a better fit.

The 2.4G receiver connection is straightforward and works across Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Support is not identical across all three, though. Anker notes that the thumb buttons are not recognized on Mac OS X. For a mouse that advertises forward and back buttons as a feature, that is a significant limitation for Mac owners. Because the mouse has no Bluetooth, it also cannot connect without using up a USB port, which matters on thin laptops with limited ports.

On power, the 8-minute idle timeout and the AAA cells are a trade-off. You get a light, simple mouse without a built-in battery, but you will need spare batteries. The mouse weighs 3.4 oz and runs on 2 AAA batteries, which are not included.

What experts like and what they criticise

The mouse has been reviewed by independent publications. Tom's Guide scores it 4/5 and Digital Camera World also gives it 4/5, and it averages 8/10 across 2 expert reviews. One independent expert guide also recommends it. The site does not show an Amazon star rating for it here, so this verdict rests on expert reports.

Strengths:

• The vertical handshake grip, which keeps the wrist and forearm in a neutral position
• The soft, tactile finish and the thumb groove for support
• The on-mouse button for cycling between 800, 1200 and 1600 DPI
• The USB receiver that stores in the base so it won't get lost
• The auto power-saving mode after 8 minutes idle

Drawbacks:

• It needs 2 AAA batteries, which are not included and not rechargeable
• It offers a 2.4G USB receiver only, with no Bluetooth option
• The maximum of 1600 DPI is too low for gamers
• The thumb buttons don't work on Mac OS X and may be hard for small hands to reach

The thumb button issue has two sides. Mac users lose them entirely, and people with smaller hands may find them awkward even on Windows. If either describes you, a big part of the mouse's appeal is gone.

Who should buy it, and who should skip it

Buy it if:

• You are right-handed and use Windows, and want to see whether a vertical mouse eases the strain of a flat one
• You want a lightweight, compact vertical design
• You mostly browse, write and work in documents, so 1600 DPI is plenty
• You like the idea of a receiver that lives in the mouse

Skip it if:

• You are a gamer who needs high DPI
• You are left-handed, since the design is aimed at right-handed users
• You use a Mac and rely on the thumb buttons
• You have small hands, because the thumb buttons may be hard to reach
• You want Bluetooth, or a rechargeable battery with no spare cells to buy

How it fits in the wider mouse market

The Anker is an affordable way to try a vertical mouse. It is wireless, simple and compact. Its case rests on comfort and simplicity rather than specification headroom. That makes it a reasonable first vertical mouse, and one to judge by whether the upright posture works for you.

Anker 2.4G Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse review: the verdict

The Anker A7852 does one thing clearly: it gives you a vertical handshake grip in a light, compact, wireless package. Reviewers praise the comfortable upright posture and compact size, and it also offers a soft finish with a thumb groove, an on-mouse DPI switch and a receiver that stores in the base. The limitations are just as clear. It needs AAA batteries you have to supply, and it has no Bluetooth. Its 1600 DPI ceiling is too low for gamers, and the thumb buttons don't work on a Mac and may be hard to reach with small hands.

If you are a right-handed Windows user who wants to try ergonomic mousing without a big commitment, it is a sensible choice. If you fall into one of the skip-it groups above, look elsewhere.

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