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I've been noticing that increasingly mice seem to be coming as wireless mice with USB RF dongles. Why are manufacturers emphasizing proprietary dongles instead of USB wired or Bluetooth?

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In my experience, Bluetooth devices do not always remember the pairing. On the other hand, USB RF dongles work reliably for me. But perhaps it's just me. – netvope Dec 30 '11 at 1:13

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1 Answer

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Number one factor is simply convenience.

People like going wireless, you could re-post this question and ask, why are people using wireless internet more these days? Same answer.

Its convenient to go wireless, and most people don't consider a battery in these devices to be a problem, as most come with charging cradles or offer easy charge methods.

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It's convenient for the manufacturer because they don't have to print manuals and support how to pair the mice with Bluetooth on every other OS. – micke Dec 29 '11 at 22:40
Dongles are not, have never been, and will never be, convenient. – CyberSkull Dec 30 '11 at 0:56
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Bluetooth interfaces are not common hardware on many consumer computers. Therefor, USB is far more convenient as it is more common. – iglvzx Dec 30 '11 at 1:27
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Dongles are far more convenient than wires. – afrazier Dec 30 '11 at 1:54
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Correct, people are not concerned with the USB interface; they just want to get rid of yet another messy cable to the desktop or laptop computer. – icelava Dec 30 '11 at 2:07
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