3DConnexion's SpaceMouse Pro won't do much to quench your nostalgia for Hickory, Dickory or Dock, but it could make your three dimensional workflow a bit easier. Announced yesterday, this new peripheral boasts a proprietary "six degrees of freedom sensor" for smoother 3D navigation, along with a quintet of QuickView keys, providing instant access to 12 different viewing angles. Compatible with both PCs and Macs, the mouse also features four "intelligent function keys" to control your most frequently used apps, as well as an onscreen display for instant feedback. Designers, engineers and astronauts can grab the SpaceMouse Pro for $300, at the source link below.

3DConnexion has always had a place in our heart for their reasonably priced and smartly designed three dimensional controllers. Now the company is back on the scene with the SpacePilot Pro, which ups the ante -- and the price point -- considerably. This bad boy sports an LCD screen and lots (and lots) of buttons, including controls for various isometric views and navigation settings (pan and zoom, rotation, speed). If that weren't enough, there are function keys for various apps and an applet for checking your MS Outlook mail. Ships with drivers for Windows XP and Vista, Solaris 8 and 10, and Linux -- as always seems to be the case with this company, Mac users are stuck without for the time being. Retails for $499, available now.



[Via The Inquirer]

We've seen the official images, but those itching for a better look at 3DConnexion's new SpaceNavigator 3D mouse for laptops can now get their fix courtesy of Flickr user zeta.phoenix, who has kindly chronicled the traditional unboxing process for us. As you can see above, the peripheral definitely won't take up too much space in your laptop bag, and the just-long-enough USB cable means it likely won't be doing double duty on your desktop (at least without an extension). If that's whet your appetite, you can find plenty more pics where it came from by hitting up the link below.

[Thanks, Jon]

Logitech subsidiary 3Dconnexion managed to impress with its original SpaceNavigator 3D mouse, and it's now shrunk the 3D environment-navigating tool down to laptop size for those that like to dip into their virtual environs of choice while they're on the go. Apart from the size, however, the only significant change appears to be a new cap design that promises "more immersive and natural interactions within 3D applications," with it otherwise offering you the same pressure sensitive controls and ability to fly through spaces while simultaneously zooming and rotating the view as before. Also likely of interest to a number of folks is that the device is now fully supported by Second Life, although you'll probably still want to hang onto your usual mouse if you want to have any chance in your favorite FPS games. Look for this one to set you back $129 when it's released early next month.