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Early mockup and patent drawings (1994) |
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In 1994, a revolutionary
ergonomic mouse was invented and patented by Jack Lo due to discomfort
he had when using a conventional mouse. His invention was the first mouse to support a hand in a fully
upright handshake position for eliminating the arm twisting required by
ordinary mice. |
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Microsoft rejection letter (1994) |
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Years of
effort in trying to license the invention to several of the largest
mouse companies only resulted in rejections. |
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Another mockup and
Las Vegas
Comdex (2001) |
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A firm
belief in the idea compelled Jack and Ping to exhibit a
slightly more developed
prototype at Comdex 2001 in Las Vegas. The highly enthusiastic public
response encouraged him to manufacture and distribute the mouse himself. |
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Sculpting the first VerticalMouse product (2001) |
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Funded only by his own
savings, Jack had to do everything himself, including creating the
industrial design, package design, web site, brochures, ads, etc. He
went to Asia and found a contract manufacturer to produce the mouse. |
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Engineering stage and
production VerticalMouse (2002) |
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Many months of
collaborative work with the factory culminated in the release of the
first Evoluent VerticalMouse in late 2002. After product introduction,
Jack handled PR, sales and tech support while Ping processed and shipped
the orders. |
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Rave reviews but products
piled up (2002- 2004)
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"exceptional"
Oct 2002 |
"great innovation"
Jan 2003 |
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The
VerticalMouse received many raving press reviews, but sales grew slowly due
to a lack of distribution. The products stored in Jack’s home seemed like an
immovable mountain in the early days. |
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VerticalMouse 2 from
mockup to production (2004) |
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In 2004, Jack designed and released the
Evoluent VerticalMouse 2. It provided improved button response, pointer
response, styling, fit and finish, but it was difficult to produce. |
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Inspecting every mouse
(2002-2006) |
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To ensure the quality of his product and
provide a satisfying experience to users, Jack helped solve production
problems and personally inspected every piece made at the factory. He
continued to answered sales and tech support emails. |
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User comments on the "biomechanic
benefits" of VerticalMouse |
"My proximal
forearm tightness has disappeared completely."
Peter Polack, MD |
User
response to both models far exceeded expectations. Many people said the
VerticalMouse cured their hand, wrist, or arm pain and they will never
go back to ordinary mice. The rate of product return for dissatisfaction
was almost zero. See these user comments
here and
various
product review web sites for additional user comments. |
"In every case,
the user quickly adapted to the design and reported improved comfort
when using the Evoluent mouse."
Scott Branstetter, Environmental Health and Safety Manager |
“The pain
went away completely.”
Laura GoodWin Kabel |
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Continuing product development |
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Jack continues to pursue
his goal of popularizing the VerticalMouse, and hopefully help more
people cure and prevent mouse injuries. He continues to develop more
products with the philosophy that his products must be different from
all the me-too products and provide real benefits. |
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