Computer ergonomics is a science that keeps getting better and the Switch Mouse concept another attempt to move it forward. The Switch Mouse sits snug in your palm, which lets your shoulder muscles do all the work, taking some strain from your hand muscles.

It also features an integrated pad to keep the heel of your palm comfortably in place while you are not using the mouse. A circular joypad is used for scrolling. So tapping your finger will allow you to scroll up and down and side to side. It can also be adjusted for length which gives you the perfect fit. It’s an interesting idea and may well prove useful.

The wireless Penguin mouse appears to be geared toward those with a love for cartoon Penguins flattened by steamrollers. Now you can live that moment forever and navigate webpages with this somewhat flat and flightless bird. He’s even wearing a scarf.

Whether you love Chilly Willy or Penguins from any of the numerous recent cgi movies, I think you might be pleasantly disturbed to use this day in and day out. The USB Wireless Penguin Mouse comes in black or blue and only costs $20.

Microsoft is getting set to add some new colors to compliment its popular Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000, which is said to currently be the best selling notebook mouse in the United States. These special edition mice will be priced at around $30 each.

Microsoft is coloring its expanded mouse line up red, dark pink, green, brown and khaki. The mice have their own unique color names by the way, just for the record, but they are too cheesy to put in this post (creme brulee?). The mice act much the same as other optical mice do, offering smooth tracking (Microsoft reports 1,000 dpi and 6,000 frames per second) and wireless connectivity to the host computer.

If the typical plastic mouse isn’t doing it for you, why not get some wood? It’s called the Jupiter Mouse because it’s wood-grain swirls resemble the gas giant and the famous red spot. How it actually works is different from the typical mouse as well.

It has built-in tilt sensors, so when you tilt it right, the mouse pointer moves right and when you tilt it left it will do likewise. The mouse pointer speed can also be controlled according to the tilt. You can get yourself in on this wooden mouse action for just shy of $140.

A few weeks ago the heater broke here in part of the office and the women wisely decided to move to a warmer part of the building until it was fixed. Us men however toughed it out for two days until the problem was fixed. It sure would have gone by a lot easier though if we had this USB Infra-Red Warmer Mouse ($23) to keep us going.

The USB Infra-Red Warmer Mouse has an infrared red generator built inside which gradually warms up the mouse surface after being plugged into a USB port. It keeps the temperature at between 40°C ~ 45°C and can be turned off if, for example, your thumb’s skin starts to burn.

Working in a space where others mill around and can see what is on your screen certainly makes it difficult to screw off. That being said, devices like this USB Smart Privacy Mouse, priced at around $20, can certainly help keep your job while at the same time letting you goof around.

There are all kinds of wacky mice out there, and I ain’t talking wacky cartoon mice. Most are not particularly innovative, but the Donya DN-SlimG4 has something new to offer. It looks like a Razor-esque cell phone, and folds up into a neat little square package.

Someone had to do it eventually. The question is why? Because they can, is enough of a reason apparently. They took a simple 800dpi laser mouse with scroll wheel and combined it with a miniature vacuum cleaner. It’s got a power switch on the side for turning the vacuum function on and off. Problem is this mouse needs to be connected to a USB port in order to get enough power to run the motor.

The dust reservoir can be accessed in the back-end of the mouse, but being so small, you would probably need to empty it very often. If you are a real clean freak, this is the mouse for you. You’ll be able to clean your mousepad as you click.

The name “Wow-Pen Joy” doesn’t exactly inspire much confidence in this new fangled mouse. My first impression is that it looks an awful lot like you are giving your desk an ultrasound. I’d be curious to know if it finds anything. Hope they used enough lube. This device is set to be released in North American and Sweden sometime next month, by a Korean company called WOW Technology.

I can almost be sold on the fact that the shape of this thing could provide for a more natural way of using a mouse, but then I figure that over time it would probably just cripple NEW areas of your wrist. For $30, it won’t break the bank for you to find out.

This gamepad mouse from Evergreen might be the coolest mouse we’ve seen yet. It’s called The Genius Navigator and hidden inside, you will find a gamepad featuring six buttons, plus Turbo and Clear buttons, and a directional pad.

The 1600/800dpi USB laser mouse weighs 67 grams and is compatible with Windows Vista, XP and 2000. The Genius Navigator will cost you about about $33 USD. I suspect that both the gamepad and mouse don’t work all that well together, but like Peanut butter and chocolate, I do think it’s awesome that they put them together. I’d like to see them take it one step further and put a Nintendo DS in a mouse. That I would buy. Who am I kidding? I would buy this one, too.

Microsoft today launched the Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 and the Wireless Laser Mouse 6000. Both models feature a little bit less rounded look than other recent accessories from Microsoft and use a 30-foot, 2.4GHz wireless connection.

The rechargeable 7000 model is geared more for desktop use with a new horizontal charging cradle that makes it look somewhat like to a sleek snail when docked. It will charge up a single rechargeable AAA battery which gives it up to 3 weeks of use on a single charge. The 7000 has a responsiveness of 1,000 dots per inch and precision of 6,000 frames per second along with 4-way scrolling, Flip-3D and the single-click magnifying tool to zoom in on…well, whatever it is you want to zoom in on. A green indicator light shows the battery level for charging.

We’ve covered our share of mice here at the Brick, but this is perhaps the strangest. As far as mice go, it’s the ultimate in portability. That’s because it’s inflatable. You store it flat and blow it up. Some of you might be familiar with this concept in your women.

It can store flat because all of the electronic circuity is housed on a small flexible board. The body itself is soft plastic. When you need your mouse, just blow it up and attach the USB cable and you’re ready. It might even be the difference between life and death in a hairy water situation. They probably should have went the whole nine yards and included a breathalyzer too since this design obviously required a whole lotta booze to come up with it.

Macally has four new mice it’s launching this week at the annual MacWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco. The new mice have a range of designs and uses all targeting Apple’s Mac computers but can be used with either a Mac or a PC with prices ranging from $19.99 to $29.99. The new mouse lineup from Macally include the Accuglide, Pebble, Pebble Wireless and the Turtle.

The Accuglide has a flat, low-profile design with Opto-mechanical technology giving it a combination of laser sensor and optical sensore advantages. It has 800 dpi and connects via USB, retailing for $19.99. The Pebble is a 5-button USB mouse with a 4-way scroll button and an adjustable laser resolution giving you the option of setting it to 400, 800 or 1600 dpi. The Pebble also retails for $19.99. The Pebble Wireless has the same features as the Pebble but loses the wire in favor of a wireless 2.4GHz RF connection and an additional $10. Lastly, the Turtle seems to get its name from its features. It’s not the most flashy mouse on the market and has a retractable cord that tucks inside the mouse while packed away. The Turtle mouse connects via USB, has 800 dpi and goes for $19.99.

According to IceRage a mouse is hardly just a user input device for you computer, but is also a fashion statement. Because of this the company is debuting two of its new mouse models at CES - the Pocket Mouse and the Ultimate Pocket Mouse - both of which are available this month.

The pocket mouse appears to almost ignore ergonomics in favor of a fashion model-like slender design that comes in colors of blue, pink, green, silver, white and of course the oh-so-slimming black. The Pocket Mouse works well for use with a notebook on the go and comes as either a USB wired (with a retractable cord) for $60 or can be wireless via Bluetooth for another $10. It features 800 dpi tracking, a complete lack of affinity for either hand over the other and is compatible with a PC or Mac.

Logitech has revealed at CES a new keyboard-and-mouse combination which features its well regarded MX Revolution cordless laser mouse and a premium keyboard. It’s called the Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution and it is set to price at around $170.

The Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution features prominently Logitech’s MX Revolution mouse. It sports a special scroll wheel, among other features, which lets users either zip through Web pages and documents or lets them have precision movement through lists and such. It’s joined by a keyboard which has a built-in LCD screen to display information like ime and date, calculator, temperature, Web site favorites, a keystroke counter, e-mail updates and media information, such as band and song titles.