What just happened? Mice have come a long way since the two-button nineties versions with their rubber balls. Genre-specific, high-tech models are all the rage these days, but a YouTube channel has created one that's never been seen before: a mouse that's also a functioning portable computer.
A video from Electronic Grenade explains how the mouse consists of a 3D-printed outer shell containing a 500 mAh battery, a retractable Bluetooth keyboard, and a Raspberry Pi Zero W. There are also several components, including the sensor and motherboard, taken from a regular desktop mouse.
The mouse even features an attached 128 x 128 inch-and-a-half OLED screen, which boasts 16-bit color and very high contrast, according to the maker. "Even though the screen is attached to the mouse, the sensitivity of the mouse makes it not that hard to follow along with what is happening on the screen," Electronic Grenade said.
The Raspberry Pi's 1GHz, single-core CPU and 512MB of RAM means it's not going to break any benchmark records. It can play Minecraft, but stretching the Pi's resources causes the game to freeze after around 15 seconds.
The Rii Bluetooth Wireless Mini keyboard looks like it would be fairly difficult to type with, but Electronic Grenade said it isn't as bad as it seems, though he does call it tricky, and it forces a user's hand into an uncomfortable position.
As it has to pack a lot of hardware, the mouse is a lot bigger than one of the regular peripherals, and it's certainly not very practical to use, but the project is still impressive and shows just what's possible when combining a Raspberry Pi with some imagination.
For a slightly more conventional mouse, check out Cooler Master's MM830, which comes with a built-in D-pad and an OLED display.