Difference between optical and mechanical mouse?

Answer 1

A mechanical mouse has a ball & rollers on the bottom which moves the pointer. An optical mouse has a light instead, and you don't even need a mouse pad to use it.

Answer 2

An optical mouse is a mouse which uses an optical sensor to detect movement, as opposed to a mechanical mouse which does this mechanically.

A wireless mouse is a mouse which uses wireless technology in order to avoid having to be tethered to the computer by a wire. This is usually done through RF (radio-frequency) or bluetooth (a specific standardized type of RF) technology, but may also use IR (infra-red) technology.

It is possible (and quite common) for a mouse to be both wireless and optical.

Answer 3

There is no big difference in the way they work really. They both use a light beam to track movement over the surface.

The difference is that optical mouse uses LED (a diode) that emits the light and achieves sensitivity of 400 to 800 dots per inch (dpi).

Laser mouse uses a laser beam and is much more sensitive - it "sees" 2000 dots per inch, which can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on your needs.

Also, laser mouse can read on almost every surface you can imagine, while optical mouse can have issues on shiny or black surfaces.

I would say laser mouse's precision im comparison to optical is about the same of the optical mouse's precision to plain old mouse with a ball.

Laser mouses are much more expensive.

Answer 4

An optical mouse uses an LED light and a sensor to track movement on the surface it's placed on, while a mechanical mouse uses a rubber ball and physical rollers to detect movement. Optical mice are generally more precise and have higher dpi (dots per inch) sensitivity compared to mechanical mice. Additionally, optical mice do not require a mouse pad for smooth tracking, while mechanical mice often do.

Answer 5

A mechanical mouse (or "ball mouse") tracks the users input by sensing the movements of a ball which rolls on the desktop surface. This is done using a pair of small wheels at a 90 degree angle from each other which contact the mouse and are moved by the mouses movements. These movements are translated electrical signals by servos and then transmitted to the computer.

An optical mouse tracks the users input by taking optical data from the desktop surface. This may consist of an optical sensor similar to the ones used in digital cameras, or may use laser diodes to detect tiny physical features of the desktop surface.

Optical mouses generally have less moving parts than mechanical mouses in addition they have much higher sensitivity and are useable on almost any surface. This makes optical mouses much more popular than mechanicals, as a result the use of mechanical mouses is on the decline.

Answer 6

Both the laser and optical mouse are almost similar in their functions and the main difference is that the laser mouse uses laser light while the optical mouse uses LED light. The laser mouse however has a higher tracking speed. It can also work on all surfaces while the optical mouse may have problems working on dark or shiny surfaces.

Answer 7

An optical mouse can be wireless or corded, the same can be said for ball mouses. 'Optical' just refers to how it detects mouse movement.

Where as a wireless is cord/wire less.

Answer 8

A mechanical mouse uses a rolling ball under it and a laser mouse uses a light and a sensor.

Answer 9

optical is where you look at the mouse and laser is when you get lasered if you look at it.

Answer 10

Difference between optic and mechanical mouse?