Razer Mamba wireless gaming mouse hands-on
By Darren Murph 
posted March 20th 2009 3:02PM
posted March 20th 2009 3:02PM
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posted March 20th 2009 3:02PM
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I don't know about their other stuff, but Razer sure makes a damn good mouse.
It is not about design, it is about making a beter mouse so that you are able to organize and more efficiently browse for PRON.
I don't know. I couldn't really "see it". So is this how we're going to play it now Engadget? Annoy us all with these ill focussed, shallow dept of field shots. If your going to do this please, please use it sparingly and compose the object properly so that no part of it is out of focus. Perhaps a switch to a dedicated macro lens (with ring) is in order? Who is taking these shots now anyways? Oooh, we get it. She's new and she's hot (that would be the only adaptable excuse ;^)...
Acceptable
"It is not about design"
Too right, it's all about marketing. Razer have used marketing BS like this suitcase stunt to successfully convince morons that their mice are something special and are better than other mice. Of course a lot of "professional" gamers that are sponsored by Razer don't actually use Razer mice. Everyone likely saw the Razer Cypher special edition mouse which sold on eBay for $501. What mouse does Cypher use? A 400dpi MS wheel mouse.
I pity anyone who pays Razer's ridiculous prices some pretty blue LEDs and a load of marketing crap like Razer Synapse (TM), Glowpipe (TM), Always-On (TM), 1000Hz Ultrapolling (TM), and OMG 3200dpi Razer Precision (TM). Razer know that if you take away their marketing there's little left so they frantically trademark everything possible. How the hell can you trademark "Always-On"?
I disagree, I have found a significant difference in smoothness between my Logitech G5 and run-of-the-mill mice. That said, Razer is kinda overdoing the marketing hyperbole here.
Agreed. None of these mice have come anywhere close to matching the greatness and value of the g5. Best purchase I've ever made, and that was like 3 years ago.
Oh please, as if most hardcore gamers wouldn't be willing to spend an extra Jackson or two to get a more comfortable mouse with extra buttons and much better sensitivity... I used to use a piece of shit 800dpi mouse for fps games and, until i got my first Razer Diamondback, i got owned because 1) i couldn't turn fast enough and 2) my aiming was not accurate. The mouse makes a huge difference for gaming, period.
"1) i couldn't turn fast enough"
All games have a sensitivity setting to allow you to turn faster. You don't need a high cpi mouse just to turn fast.
"2) my aiming was not accurate"
Mice don't aim for you. Aim is about skill not having an expensive mouse with blue lights and a cool paint job. Cypher is well known for his amazing aim despite his 400cpi mouse, so clearly there's no need for laser mice with a 4000cpi sensor.
"as if most hardcore gamers wouldn't be willing to spend an extra Jackson or two to get a more comfortable mouse"
I do agree that comfort is important and that's why the Microsoft Wheel Mouse is so popular with many "professional" gamers - it's a simple, comfortable design. Most gaming mice tend to be heavily over engineered in terms of design and only fit well in the hand of a small subset of players while the MS Wheel Mouse works well for most players.
That packaging is sheer ridiculousness. I do look forward to hearing your take on how the mouse feels. Hopefully it lives up to that suitcase and stand.
if its anything like the deathadder it will be fantastic. i absolutely love my deathadder, had it for 9 months now, and i dont think i can ever go back to a normal mouse again. super comfortable, big buttons, and glides across the desk. my only concern with the mamba is the wireless. hopefully razer did a good job with it
I have gone through a few models of the Razor mice and have loved each one. The have all handled quite nicely and been very comfortable for gaming.
Looks a heck of a lot like my humble ol MX518.
That doesn't look anything like the MX518 I have... http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/mice/devices/187&cl=US,EN
It actually reminds me of the Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=042
Not that either of those really matter, I'm all about the precision, not for the gaming aspect, but for the design. I'm too cheap to buy a digital tablet and learn to use it. Wireless is icing on the cake.
If you look at the actual functional shape, it's very similar to the 518. Which is itself very similar to the Laser Mouse 5000, which is itself a laser version of the standard old Intellimouse Pro.
All of which I've owned, by the way.
I currently have the MX518. Great mouse and very underrated to the G5 or other logitechs.
If you look at the actual functional shape, it looks a lot like every other mouse on the planet with thumb buttons...
reminds me of the sidewinder form the frontal shot. infact im using a sidewinder right now. i cant believe it didnt go that popular, its a great mouse.
The gallery shots look nice, but "stop down" the aperture and give us some more depth of field on some of these shots. It seems like a lot of the product was out of focus in many of the shots because of such a shallow depth of field. Just a thought, keep on keepin on Engadget you guys are great. =]
I agree, Just because you purchased a spiffy new f1.4 lens doesn't mean that the other apertures don't work. At the very least the entire mouse needs to be in focus. f/2.8 would probably do the trick... then again, why not just shoot it w/o the blur at all. I'd like to see all the other stuff laying around at engadget HQ.
I thought it was impressive that there were several dozen photos. You don't realkly see this many shots for.... anything.
lol and a little bit more sharpness and extra lighting couldn't hurt. A bit too warm looking too. Sigh.
Meh. The copperhead I owned I ended up giving away because it would not track smoothly and it would spaz out all of the time. I'll stick to the low tech optical mice.
Awesome can't wait for the review I always love a new mouse review.
@Jon no it doesn't
I decided to splurge on the Razer Mako 2.1 system. The reviews were right, these things are amazing if you've got the cash. Very impressed with Razer's quality. I'm glad to see that they're tonight down their designs a bit.
Oops. Meant "toning down."
I got the copperhead razer mouse for a while now and its the best mouse ive had too bad i hate the wireless mouse its leggy hope razer made a good one
Razer is marketing it as "lag free." Lets hope they're telling the truth.
A wireless mouse will never be able to compete with a wired mouse. There will always be a slight delay with wireless.
It does either, so its best of both worlds!
You guys do realize the Mamba can function as both a wired AND a wireless? You aren't losing anything.
Wireless and Games, don't go together.
Agreed, I use my G5 for gaming http://www.reviewzine.com/images/computer/logitech-g5-mouse.jpg
and my MX Revolution for browsing/document reading/etc http://www.lyricalmedia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/logitech.jpg
Xbox 360, PS3, Wii...
My thoughts exactly.
Maybe 3 years ago. Where have you been.
Yeah guys, I think you are stuck in the past with that wireless logic. If we can game against people on the consoles using wireless connections vs other people's wired connections (which I do often on the PS3) then we can use a wireless mouse at 2 feet away without it causing a debilitating lag.
OMG, it wired as well!!
You can chose between the two!
I play games on my wireless MX Revolution every day, I've never noticed any lag compared to my wired mouse.
It's not the lag for me, it's that the feeling of the cord helps me orient which way is precisely up. I would never trade in my trusty 518 for anything without a cord. Besides, most wireless mice I've used weighed too much from the batteries.
Good with Bluetooth for laptops, bad for gaming at your desktop. At least to me.
Can you turn that blue LED off? I'm sick of devices these days that must light up!
"Can you turn that blue LED off? I'm sick of devices these days that must light up!"
Yes. All razer mice can have the LEDs turned off through the software.
yes you can, assuming they are using the same software as all their other mice. you can turn on and off the wheel and the logo.
Good question. That blue light is *ugh*.
Looks like the perfect recession antidote.
(P.S. TREX, I'm pretty sure it's wired and wireless).
Can we have some pictures in focus please ?
Picture spam!
Looks like someone stole Batman's mouse :)
Anyone else concerned about wireless and gaming? I love my Copperhead. It'd be a hard sell for me to plunk down serious change for a wireless mouse for gaming.
It does look slick, blue light and all.
Can I just go ahead and put my name down on this one for the giveaway that is coming?
I've gamed with a wireless mouse for four years. Never had an issue. In fact, I recently bought a wired mouse to test this theory and it tracked far worse.