Asus VivoMouse: a Frankenstein computer peripheral

ASUS VivoMouse, side view

Asus love doing a bit of work on hybrids, normally with laptop computers and tablet computers, but with the VivoMouse it is turning its Frankenstein ways to computer peripherals. In this instance, the humble computer mouse.

While it doesn’t look very much like a mouse in the picture above – and nor the picture below truthfully – it, umm, is. It’s a little like that description of the mullet haircut – ‘business in the front, party at the back’. In the case of the VivoMouse, it’s the business shape of the mouse grip down one end, and party time with a circular touchpad at the other end.



ASUS VivoMouse, top view

What it looks like you’d end up doing is to bypass pushing the mouse around, and instead position it so as to only use the touchpad. Which begs the question why on earth didn’t Asus just make it a touchpad? And for a little design craziness, make it in the shape of a rhombus?

But, if this interests you, and you might want one, here’s the specs. The Asus VivoMouse is wireless, runs on two AA batteries, and works with the Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems. In fact it has full Windows 8 gesture support.

It has a partner in crime, the Asus VivoPC, pictured below. It’s a 190 mm square and  56.2 mm high computer, with 2 x DDR3 SO-DIMM slots (max. 16GB) for storage, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, 3.5/2.5 inch SATA 6.0Gb/s HDD/SSD support, and Integrated SonicMaster speakers. Ports? There’s 2 x USB3.0, 4 x USB2.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x VGA, 3 x audio jacks,1 x SPDIF Out, and 1 x LAN (RJ45). The top of the VivoPC slides open for access to the hard drive bay and memory slots.

Both the VivoMouse and VivoPC are due for a release in the third quarter of 2013. No pricing has been announced.

ASUS VivoPC, front and back views