Razer made its name making keyboards and headsets for people who stay up all night shouting at their mortal CS:Go enemies. But since then, the company’s moved on a little from just PC gamers. Its newest laptop keeps the gaming DNA where it matters, but overall it’s more of a high-end MacBook alternative than a hardcore gaming PC.
The same thing goes for Razer’s new wireless mouse. Look past the gimmicky lightstrip, and you’ll notice that all the things marketed to gamers should actually make it a fantastic wireless mouse for normal people.
Most importantly, it looks like it gets the basics right. The design is ambidextrous, with rubber thumb grips that come out a little on either side, without being huge. It has mechanical switches and a tactile scroll wheel, which based on Razer’s other mice, should provide solid feedback regardless of whether you’re gaming or browsing the internet. It charges via microUSB, and unlike Apple’s fancy wireless mouse, you can continue to use it while it’s charging!
Then there’s the new features. The most important is a new approach to wireless connectivity, using the 2.4GHz standard that’s common to most gaming mice. Razer is promising software that constantly monitors which band the mouse is on, detects any interference, and will constantly switch where necessary to keep latency to a minimum.
Interference from smartphones and laptops is the biggest problem with current wireless mice, so if Razer can pull this off, it might finally persuade gamers to switch to wireless mice. More importantly, it means no more banging your mouse on the table when you’re trying to do something, and the connection inexplicably drops.
Other nicities include programmable buttons which save their settings on the mouse, so your preferences will transfer between different devices. Programmable buttons are traditionally another gamer thing, but having volume controls, a play/pause button and a built-in zoom toggle will genuinely change your internet browsing life.
Price is $140, with shipping in May or June. It’s right at the top end of what anyone’s willing to spend on a mouse, but provided that Razer’s promises pay off, it should be worth it.
