ROCCAT's new Kone Pure mouse streamlines things, while ISKU FX keyboard adds some color (hands-on)
ROCCAT's latest addition to its family of mice is the Kone Pure, toned down to 91 percent the size of the original Kone. Now both smaller and flatter, it's dropped the menu button above the four-direction scroll wheel, and that scroll wheel now goes only up and down. It's a trade-off, but ROCCAT has added a new 'easy shift' side trigger which it hopes will ameliorate that fall in the button-count. This acts as a mouse-based shift function and you can customize how all of the device's other buttons behave when the side-trigger is depressed. ROCCAT also threw in a new FX version of its ISKU keyboard here at Gamescom, adding some customizable color skills and upgraded keys that are far more legible when not backlit -- a common complaint with the original ISKU keyboard. Switching from black to white fittings under the keys has also improved the keys' visibility. Take a tour of both devices in the galleries, then jump after the break for a little more detail -- including a new prototype. %Gallery-162489% %Gallery-162507%
The Kone Pure matches the laser sensor found in the E3-attending Kone XTD, with the same high-end 8,200 DPI capabilities. Likewise, the Kone Pure's Thundercats ROCCAT emblem also blazes through the color gamut, apparently up to 16.8 million of 'em. These can be tied into gaming functionality, while you can also throw in your own personal preference for when you're simply clicking through Google results.
Meanwhile, the layout on ROCCAT's new keyboard remains completely unchanged, with the same medley of macro keys and thumb-accessible buttons still in attendance. The backlit keys can now cycle through a similarly broad 16.8 million shades. But if you like your keyboards mechanical, then ROCCAT's got something good planned for you in 2013. We got to tap away at its new keyboard prototype, which looks like a new ISKU iteration. Hammering away at the keys is understandably a more weightier and satisfying experience, however, and ROCCAT plans to reveal more closer to launch -- including when that will be.
