Cherry's MW 8 is the perfect portable mouse for small hands

If you've heard of Cherry, the German peripheral manufacturer, in all likelihood it's been in the context of its excellent MX switches for mechanical keyboards. Now the switch pioneer is turning their attention to high end pointers, and the MW 8 Advanced is an excellent example of the company's commitment to premium industrial design.

At first blush, the MW 8 doesn't read like the traditional field represented in our best gaming mouse roundup. For one, it eschews a ridiculous resolution for a more modest Pixart sensor that tops out at 3,200 CPI. The aesthetics and build quality are also more distinguished than the usual matte black, RGB lit, hard plastic gaming mice we've become accustomed to. The MW 8 features a brushed aluminum top plate ringed with a silvery chrome accent bar and aluminum thumb buttons, contrasted beautifully by grey Voronoi cell rubber pads on the side panels.

It's also significantly smaller than the traditional bulky gaming mouse. While I generally prefer larger mice, players with smaller hands will surely appreciate the compact, rounded design of the MW 8. If anything, it recalls the mini-mice and laptop mice that used to be so ubiquitous but seem to have receded in the current era of mega-rodents. While it's not as tiny as many of those mice of yesteryear, it's certainly small enough to easily pack up with your laptop and take with you on the go, a use case buoyed by its wireless design.

The MW 8 can be connected either through 2.4 GHz wireless by way of the included USB dongle (which tucks magnetically and seamlessly into the bottom of the unit when not in use) or via Bluetooth. This means, as the marketing copy is eager to reinforce, that the MW 8 can be used with a laptop via Bluetooth and another PC via the dongle, and instantly swapped between machines by flicking a switch on the bottom.

Regardless of how you pair it with your machine, its an elegant little mouse, with some surprising heft concentrated mostly at the rear. If you've been looking for a tonic for the brawny gaming mice currently flooding the market, and especially if you've got smaller hands or frequently take your mouse on the go, the MW 8 is a lovely option.

Alan's been a journalist for over a decade, covering news, games, and hardware. He loves new technology, Formula 1 race cars, and the glitter of C-beams in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. Find him @chapelzero on Twitter for lengthy conversation about CRPGs of the early 90s and to debate the merits of the serial comma.