New Mice: Razer Mamba and Wow-Pen
1. Wow-Pen Optical Mouse Joy
The shame! We've been avoiding this moment for weeks: we've left the Wow-Pen Optical Mouse Joy sit around without testing it for a while now. But what were we so afraid of? The name says it all: this is a mouse that should fill us with joy.
That said, we really weren't very optimistic about its strange shape and the buttons at the bottom underneath the thumb. So we found all sorts of excuses: "I've only got one USB port left, or two maybe ... but I always keep one spare just in case," or "my desk is too cluttered, I'd never be able to try it out," or even "I just don't have the time."
But the time has come: let's give it a go. The first good point we discovered while using this mouse is that your palm doesn't touch the surface of your desk, but instead remains on the mouse. That's good for your carpal tunnel problems, if you have them. It's less fun for your fingers, though, as it's hard to know where to put them. You need to completely re-learn how to use this mouse. Using it is almost as if you turned your computer screen through 90°, but didn't move your head.
We lasted ... six hours
Honestly, we stuck it out as long as we could, and we even unplugged our usual desktop mice (a Logitech G5 and aSteelSeries Sidewinder Laser) so we weren't tempted to use them. We had to, in the end, because without even realizing, we found our hands reaching out for the Sidewinder.
But it was too much. After six hours of struggling, after taking much longer than we normally would to edit photos, getting thrashed in games and plenty of other frustrating little details in just about every app, we returned to our faithful friends. Not all change is for the best.
PS: to make things worse, this mouse isn't very easy to get hold of online. If, despite our advice, you still want to get your hands on one, you can try looking on Amazon.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Sensor | LED |
| Wired? / Docking Station? | Yes / Not available |
| Battery | Cord |
| Frame Rates | NC |
| Maximum Resolution | 800 dpi |
| Reporting Frequency | 125 hz |
Where to put your fingersWe couldn't decide which situation was better because we went back to a traditional mouse before we could reach a firm conclusion.
| Pluses | Minuses |
|---|---|
|
|
that wow-pen mouse is one weirdass design.
no thankyou
wow two whole mice. and both are a dissapointment
just why
wow two whole mice. and both are a dissapointment
How many mice would you like to see at at time? We bring 'em to you as we get 'em. In a year that will likely include at least a dozen.
I've got the Razer Mamba at home, and if I had the chance to go back in time I definitely wouldn't have purchased it.
It's a great mouse once you get used to it, but I keep having issues with the cursor lagging/locking up occasionally, it's fairly heavy as mentioned and the battery life isn't as great as they say on the website/box. Save your money and get a different mouse IMO, I wish I had
fail mouse
Again ,,, no place for the pinky finger to rest,are these manufacturers naturally dense or are they just working at it ???
i think they look awesome. I'd very much like to give one a try. Looking at the pictures it seems that someone has finally addressed the natural hand shape position and made 2 main mouse buttons on shape and rotation they should be.
Having 2 thumb buttons is definitely a plus.
I cant understand why the reviewer didnt like the mouse and why he kept insisting in referring to himself in plural... He was totally vague in his criticism. I guess I need to try it to understand.
Judging from the pictures alone, I want one!
just noticed it was a 2 mice review. obviously, I was talking about the wow pen mouse.
The WOW mouse seems absurd and impractical but I applaud the manufacturer for trying something new, even if it is a complete failure. You can't have winners without losers!!
How many mice would you like to see at at time? We bring 'em to you as we get 'em. In a year that will likely include at least a dozen.
well you could rate them with some old mice that people already have like the revolution, or a few other razr mice. That way we know how they compare, or better yet throw that stupid mice out of the comparison and just do an indepth article on the mamba. That is the only one anyone really cares about anyway. Or two seperate reviews. One on the dumb one saying its junk, and a second for the mamba. I would just review the mice one at a time when they come in, instead of waiting a month because no one wants to use it.
The fingers on the desk thing isn't uncommon. Have you ever used a G9? It's so small you practically have two fingers on the desk.
I'd like to see how ergonomic the mouse is, though. It doesn't seem to be for gamers.... which would lead me to believe that you went into this review with the wrong expectations.
Ironic, because that's not uncommon of Tom's Hardware. ugh.....
The "i can't rest my whole hand on the mouse" argument isn't a good one for the razor mouse to be honest. The razor mouse is designed for gaming, and twitch gaming at that. If you're playing First Person shooters with your entire hand on the mouse, you're going to get destroyed.
putting your entire hand on the mouse would require you to move your whole hand / arm to move the mouse. Where is using only your fingers you can plant your wrist (I know bad for carpell tunnell) and move the mouse extremely quickly in a short range. This coincides with the DPI settings. you can change quickly between the DPI settings to controll just how far and how much that subtle motion moves you. the higher you set it, the more you turn, the lower you set it, the slower.
So if you're running around the halls of Counterstrike with your pistol out, you can be on high sensitivity so you can whip around looking everywhere. than pull out your sniper, switch to the lowest sensitivity and have incredible accuracy.
"Choosing a mouse is a personal affair.
What glides effortlessly along like greased lightning in one's hand might plod along clumsily like a mule in another's. What opens new realms of performance for one gamer might open new windows of grief for another.
This perceived 'inconsistency' is a source of great puzzlement and chagrin to many gamers today, who often attribute a mouse's less-than-satisfactory performance to manufacturing defects, inherent design flaws, or worse—technological impotence.
And because our hands and playstyles vary in a great many ways, word of mouth and mimicry can only go so far." - Razer Mouse Guide.
Each Razer mouse are designed for a particular mouse usage style. They have researched it and even came up with a guide on how to select a mouse.
http://www2.razerzone.com/MouseGuide/index.html
What is perfect for you might not be for me. I own and have tried all of Razer and Steelseries offerings, and the one that is suited for me is the Razer Lachesis. Mamba and Death Adder comes close but just fall short of perfect comfort.
So, the Mamba is not comfortable for you, but you can't just dismiss it as uncomfortable for all and then brand the Ikari as a 'clear winner'. It's a winner only for you.