Microsoft shrinks Sidewinder Mouse; now here's Sidewinder X3

Okay gamers, Microsoft heard you whining about how too-big and too-expensive its fancy BlueTrack laser Sidewinder X8 mouse is, answering your calls with the Sidewinder X3. While it still has facilities for macros galore — and enough room for eight buttons — it's a few orders of magnitude smaller, fitting even the wimpiest gamer's hand.

And hey you, lefty! The baby's ambidextrous, so either hand will do — even that southpaw of yours. But can it frag with the best of them? How's 2,000 dpi sound to you? Although that's half the 4,000-dpi rez of its X8 big bro, it's still the same as the original Sidewinder. That should do it. Oh, and the other thing that's small about it: Its price, just shy of $40 and probably heading lower as soon as it ships next month.

Here's another view: