Review: Gigabyte Aivia Neon Wireless Laser 1200 DPI Air Presenter Mouse

Usually nine times out of ten you hear the usual news of “hey here is another gaming mouse”, but how often do you come across a mouse that is geared toward sheer productivity? A few, but not many and now Gigabyte is offering up something that is outside the box of traditional mice as it provides many options that standard gaming mice cannot touch.

When a product is worthy of mention it is sometime given the prestigious reddot design award, and in 2013 the Aivia NEON took home this award as seen in Las Vegas at the 2013 CES show. It is made to be very ergonomic on the hand and allow for hours of use before fatigue set in making for longer periods of usage before the pain kicks in.

Although not a transformer, the NEON can however play a multi-function role that starts out as your normal 2.4GHz wireless laser mouse that has 1200 DPI and is compatible with almost every version of Bad Billy’s Windows software, but no Mac support is to be seen as of yet. If this mouse had Mac capability I could see it being even more integrated into the traveling bushman’s short list of take along products as presentation is where the NEON is really above the rest.

One really cool feature is the Air-Mouse that allows you to move the curser without having to have a mouse pad to do the tracking. This function acts automatically when you remove it from a surface and when you place it back on a surface it changes back into a wireless laser mouse again.

If you have ever been in a room full of people in one of those lovely corporate bored rooms, that’s right I said bored not board because I was always bored shitless in any meeting room I have ever been forced to attend, LOL. The point is, a laser pointer always seems to come in handy whether it’s to make reference to something on a screen during a presentation, highlight a certain area in the room or to just blind that asshole Bob from accounting.

I am just saying having a laser pointer is really cool and can be very handy in the right situation. Another nice thing about the Laser Pointer is that it does have to be attached to the PC to function and works on its own. It does give a warning about not pointing the laser directly at someone’s eye, but screw Bob he ate my lunch out the community refrigerator and Mom made meatloaf.

There are some additional features that become available after you install the Aivia software such as the Aivia Painter that can be used after air-mouse mode is activated. For those who love to surf the web GIGABYTE’s Free-Scrolling Technology facilitates webpage browsing and boosts efficiency. Easily move your webpage or file up and down, left and right by pressing the free-scroll function key.

Usually charging your mouse involves plugging into a cable and then into your PC, but the Aivia NEON offers a unique “Touch and Charge system. The Neon is equipped with a high density Li-ion battery for long lasting continued use. Recharging the battery is quick and easy, simply open the battery cover and attach to the USB nano-receiver. An indicator light will start to blink to show that the battery is charging. Not the reinvention of the wheel, but still a cool new feature on the NEON.

As far as when the unit is charged there are indicator lights on the mouse that tell you the status of your charge and whether the mouse is on. The following color denotes what is going on with your charge: Power On: The Blue Light blinks for 5 seconds, Low Battery: red Light blinks for 5 seconds, When it is charging the blue light shows a continues blinking blue and when it is fully charged the NEON shows a Solid blue light.

The NEON is also very small and easy to carry with you in your pocket or for the ladies in your purse and attaches to your system via a dongle that plugs into your USB port. Installation of the product is a total no-brainer achievement as all you do is plug it in run the software package and then you are ready to rock and roll. Everything that you would need to use the product comes inside the box making setup an effortless task. The Aivia NEON mouse will function as a stand-alone mouse without installing the drivers, but many of the advanced features will not.

If you are looking for a gaming mouse, although the Aivia NEON would probably work just fine it is actually so much more to the right user group who can make use of the features and use them in their daily work life. The right tool for the right job and the right tool in the hand of someone who knows how to use it can be a very effective thing to have at one disposal, and the fact that the NEON takes the place of multiple items in its unique design makes it stand out amongst other products.

At the end of my day I actually completely changed my mind about this product as at first I was thinking like a gamer, but when a friend suggested I change my perspective I looked at the Aivia NEON in a whole new light. With all its features and options as well as not even needing a surface to work on the NEON is a solid Editors Choice for a productivity mouse that goes beyond where other mice have gone before. Thanks for reading Tech Of Tomorrow where your opinion always counts and we want to hear what you have to say in the comments below.