Buffalo introduces d-pad-equipped mouse

While it likely won't replace your gamepad anytime soon, Buffalo's latest optical mouse here should at least bring some of that familiar video game flavor to your more mundane, scrolling-related computing tasks -- although you'll have to decide for yourself if that's an improvement or not. Apart from its newfound four-way action, however, the mouse is about as garden variety as they come, with an 800 dpi resolution and, well, two buttons and a cord. On the upside, it does come in your choice of silver or black, and it won't put much of a hurt on your wallet, demanding just 3,320 Yen (about $28) when it streets in Japan next month.

[Via Impress]

[akintz @ Feb 28th 2007 3:18PM]

Many mice already do the left and right movement... I think MS just calls it 4-way scrolling. Of course, those mice don't have a nifty dpad to do it - you have to tilt the scroll wheel left and right (which isn't very comfortable, in my experiences with one).

So this might tap into a little niche for people that love that feature.

[Joe Smith @ Feb 28th 2007 3:24PM]

there's also the mighty mouse (ball) and revolution (two wheels)

[Ceralor @ Feb 28th 2007 9:14PM]

Except the revolution has only one wheel. The other one is a rocker.

[scott @ Feb 28th 2007 3:24PM]

MMMMMmmmmm, if this were used properly in a First Person Shooter, you could strafe with the d-pad and aim with the mouse.

The d-pad has so much more potential than just scrolling. It seems ready for gaming, it just needs a higher dpi and some LED's.

[Pedro @ Feb 28th 2007 3:38PM]

> you could strafe with the d-pad

With a finger off your 'triggers'? I think not.

[Ed @ Feb 28th 2007 3:40PM]

I want to see the dpad moved to the left side of the mouse, to be used by the thumb. It'd be more useful than the two thumb buttons some mice currently have.

And then keep the scroll wheel.

[Richard @ Feb 28th 2007 3:40PM]

So why is it called a "D-pad?"

[Zadillo @ Feb 28th 2007 3:43PM]

D-pad is short for "directional pad" (thank you wikipedia...:) I've always wondered that myself, never thought to look it up).

[Bucket @ Feb 28th 2007 4:04PM]

Looks pretty sweet. I'd buy one.

[cyberfrog @ Feb 28th 2007 4:31PM]

hahah, put two buttons near the base and i'd use it to play nes emulated games!

[cuby @ Feb 28th 2007 4:48PM]

doesn't nintendo have a fiercely-defended patent on this style of d-pad? is that not why the playstation had to resort to their verkakte button-style pad?

[Discosis @ Mar 1st 2007 5:18AM]

To my knowledge, yes indeed Nintendo holds a patent on the d-pad and fiercely defends it.

However, I'm not sure if that patent applies to the design of the d-pad or the concept itself. Nintendo's d-pads are all (in font-speak, for lack of a better description, sorry) "sans-serifed" while this d-pad clearly has what you could call serifs on the prongs, perhaps in an attempt to get around the patent?

(Or, perhaps Nintendo's d-pad patent is about to expire...?)

[Tim @ Feb 28th 2007 7:08PM]

That's possibly the worst placement of a D-pad I've seen in ages. Kudos for trying to make the mouse more versatile, but it's near-useless in that position.

[luke @ Feb 28th 2007 7:34PM]

will they put a ball there instead of a d-pad. a ball would allow the user to pan in any direction and not limit to the up/down of a wheel, or microsoft's stupid tilt wheel. only ms would think of that, use a sphere!

[sredlums @ Feb 28th 2007 8:09PM]

I like it.

Not only because it will be, I guess, a bit easier to operate then the sideways-tilting-scrollwheel I am currently using, but because, I hope, it will keep 'scrolling' as long as you push the button.
I scroll a lot, but hate the fact that I have to keep scrolling until I reach the part of the page I want to see.
Instead, I would just like to hold the wheel/button/whatever until I reach that part of the page, and then let go so it stops.

Am I the only one bothered by the repeated scrolling-movement your finger has to do?

By the way, I like the idea of puting it at the side near the thumb!

[adrianj @ Mar 1st 2007 12:47AM]

I have a logitech MX510 that has scroll buttons. It's kinda nifty, but I still use the wheel cuz I like the clickity clickity clack feeling. My girlfriend thinks it's pretty cool though.

[PeteC @ Mar 1st 2007 5:33AM]

I fthat worked to pixel shift things I think ti might actually be very impressive. The amount of times I've been trying to align something only to push slightly too far up, left, then right, then down a bit until finally getting an object exactly where I wanted it, I'd love to be able to use the mouse to get it roughly to the right place and then tap it into the exact place I want it. That would save me lots of time I reckon on some projects.