If you want to invest in a new mouse or you’re just interested about how mice function then this will be a good read. I cover the way optical and laser technology works and I compare the two in order to find out which one’s better.

The optical mice’s recognition boomed in the late 1990s when it began being delivered as an extra feature to a lot of personal computer systems. The optical technology became progressively more favored among users because it made working with the mouse much easier than with the traditional ball mouse. Since then obtaining a regular ball mouse has become somewhat of a challenge.

But how does the optical technology really work?

The optical mouse is provided with a light emitting diode (LED) and photodiodes which the mouse utilizes in order to track motion relative to a plane i.e. a desk top or a mouse pad.

In essence, optical mice are supplied with an optoelectronic sensor (a small low-resolution video camera) which takes successive images of the surface on which the mouse operates. The images of the surface that the sensor takes are captured in continuous succession and compared with each other in order to find out how far the mouse has moved.

present-day optical mice work on most surfaces. Some exceptions are glass, mirror and other specular surfaces.

The color of the light emitting diode (LED) of the optical mouse is normally red merely because red diodes are cheaper but it is not uncommon to come across blue light emitting diodes nonetheless.

Dissimilar to ball mice optical mice don’t compass any moving parts which leaves almost no room for mechanical malfunctions and optical mice are more durable.

The light emitting diode (LED) of battery-powered wireless optical mice only glows steadily when motion is tracked down. The rest of the time it flashes intermittently in order to save energy.

But what’s the difference between the optical mouse and the laser mouse?

Instead of using a light emitting diode (LED) the laser mouse is armed an infrared laser diode. The small infrared laser the mouse is supplied with principally increases the resolution of the image made by the mouse. The laser enables around twenty times increased surface tracking ability than typical optical mouse technology.

Glass laser mice (a.k.a. glaser mice) can also be operated on mirror or transparent and translucent surfaces.

Because the laser diode, that the mouse employs, emits infrared light it’s regularly invisible for the naked eye.

So which one is better? The optical or the laser mouse?

When answering this inquiry we should consider the dpi (dots per inch) each technology is able to track.

On the one hand ,the common range for the optical mouse starts from 400 to around 800 dpi.

On the other hand, the range of the laser mouse is often above 2000 dpi. The capability of laser technology to detect such high dpi makes the laser mouse much more precise and accurate when compared to an optical mouse. That added sensitivity is why most professional graphic designers and gamers favor the laser mouse over the optical mouse.

In conclusion, laser mouse technology is arguably the sophisticated one. I say arguably because some users find the additional sensitivity a little distracting while simply checking their email or browsing the Web.