Though not nearly as innovative and original as it was a few years ago, Gyration is still churning out its gyroscopic ‘air mice' and associated wireless keyboards, with this year's edition coming in the form of the Air Mouse Go Plus.

For those who haven't seen this mouse/pointer hybrid before, think of it as a Wii remote for a computer. For those who have, you'll be forgiven for observing that not much has changed with this new design. It adopts the same layout as the previous ‘Pro' model but now offers a 30m range as standard, with the rest of the improvements focused around accuracy and improvements to the supplied software.

Supplied in the box is a charging dock, 2.4GHz wireless receiver and software CD, which is essential for unlocking the full functionality of the device. After a short and straightforward setup, a quick tour of the controls on the Air Mouse reveals conventional left and right buttons, a scroll wheel and a range of custom controls designed to improve functionality in ‘air mode'.

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It's worth mentioning here that it can be used on a surface as a straightforward mouse, though the elongated design means it isn't nearly as comfortable as most of today's more ergonomic offerings.

Pick it up, though, and it fits the hand far better, with the index finger curling around underneath the body to access the trigger button, which needs to be held down to move the mouse cursor on screen. A central button on the top is also used to invoke ‘swiping' movements, which can be configured to, for example, switch back and forth between slides on a presentation or music tracks on a playlist by waving left or right.

There are two custom controls either side of this that are configurable for specific actions as well, and generally placement of these controls is well thought out, making it fairly comfortable to operate.

The bulk of the device's versatility comes via the supplied GyroTools software, where each of the buttons and swipe directions can be allocated to a specific action. It's also possible to tie actions to hotspots on the screen, namely one of the four corners or sides of a display, in which case hovering the mouse cursor over this area invokes the action.

Various degrees of sensitivity can be adjusted to help avoid inadvertently executing a command, and there's a wide range of tools available covering everything from media player and Powerpoint controls to Internet browsing and MCE application.

Once configured, specific controls arrangements can be saved under a profile to quickly switch between appropriate settings for Internet, media, presentation or general Windows usage.

Of course, this range of versatility would be wasted if the mouse didn't perform in a real world environment, and we have good and bad things to say in this area. On one hand we were impressed by how responsive the mouse is and how accurately it can recognise specific movements, though it predictably does take a bit of getting used to.

On the flipside, we were still left a little sceptical about Gyration's claims to appeal to a wider market that includes games, standard Windows use and surfing the Internet. It's fair to say that any application that requires you to be close enough to a screen to read text or operate the keyboard is still far easier with a standard mouse, which limits the Air Mouse's appeal to traditional presentations and Media Center use.

It is certainly flexible and responsive enough to be of benefit in these environments, though, and if maintaining a distance from the screen and still being able to operate a mouse cursor and other controls is a requirement, this is a tidy way to go about it.

Gyration hasn't introduced anything particularly new with the Air Mouse Go Plus, but with a 30 metre range, series of custom controls and smooth, responsive operation, this is certainly a fast and convenient alternative to conventional controls in the right environment.