Thursday, April 10th 2008
3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator 3D Mouse for Notebooks
Although it looks like an entirely different device, the SpaceNavigator is a fully functional laptop 3D mouse. The latest model weighs 250g, around half the weight of its desktop predecessor and 3Dconnexion, the firm responsible for SpaceNavigator, claims the notebook model is small enough to be used comfortably on aircraft seat tables. The device has two programmable function keys, connects through a USB port, and works with Windows Vista (x86/x64), Windows XP (x86/x64), Windows 2000, Linux (Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 3, SuSE 9.0 or later), Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later. 3Dconnexion's SpaceNavigator for Notebooks is available online now for around £107 (€125/$214). Click here for more information.
Source:
Register Hardware
15 Comments on 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator 3D Mouse for Notebooks
Bought my full-sized desktop SpaceNavigator for like 35 quid, the RRP is 45 (the US gets it for $45 RRP I think, bloody rip-off, but it's definately good), so this is over double the price, for half the weight, and less than half the size. Oh wow, it comes with a carry case! So totally worth it again!
Frankly, for anyone willing to lug about a heavy portable HDD with their laptop, they're going to be just fine carrying something that weighs 500g, rather than 250g. The weight helps it stay put on a desk, and stops you from lifting it every time you zoom out.
Really, all that's been shrunk is the base, as the controller itself looks to be the same size (any smaller and people would not be able to use it)
Forgot to clarify, this is mostly for moving the viewpoint in modelling packages. For example, Sketchup is a pain int he arse for me to use with just a mouse, and I can never remember the shortcuts and modifiers to make the mouse control the viewpoint alone, so the SpaceNavigator doe that for me. Twist it right, it twists the viewpoint to the right; pull it up, I zoom out; tilt it left, the viewpoint moves left. Really helps out.
Also, presenting a 3D model on a projector would see a SpaceNavigator being useful, but the larger one is half the price, just as portable, and the features are the same.
This is what the big one looks like. www.3dconnexion.com/3dmouse/spacepilot.php that is not so portable.
Half the price, slightly larger, same functionality, twice the weight, but still portable.
Yeah, this portable version might not be a great deal.
Oh, and if anybody actually bothered to click through the first link, you would see a link to a handy video showing what it does. Also, a comparison with the full-sized version.