Day One: Razer

Razer has a longstanding tradition of developing peripherals specifically designed to give gamers the edge in competitive gaming. From mice and keyboards to headsets and controllers, Razer has to be given credit for providing a good degree of support to the gaming world which has gone to lend it legitimacy during its early formative years. Razer has been a sponsor of both individual gaming events as well as professional leagues like the CPL.

We met the president of Razer, Robert Krakoff, first thing Thursday morning to take a gander at their newest product announcements, the Mamba gaming mouse and the Carcharias gaming headset.

Razer Mamba Wireless Mouse

The Mamba gaming mouse is the first wireless mouse ever for Razer, who has traditionally stuck with wired mice due to their low latency and inability to suffer signal dropouts. According to Razer, the Mamba has spent almost 8 years in development, as they worked on everything from button placement and shape to the removable cable and charge station.

Charging on the base station

Razer Mamba Wireless Gaming Mouse
Type	Wired/Wireless
LCD	Battery Life/DPI Setting
Feet-type	Teflon
DPI	5600DPI
Polling Rate	1000Mhz
Response Time	1Ms
Available/Price	Feb. 2009; $129

The Mamba looks similar to the DeathAdder mouse released previously by Razer, although it has an additional 2 buttons next to the left button that controls the swappable DPI settings. The mouse cable is completely detachable and can charge the battery pack when plugged in. Razer says the Mamba works over fast wireless, which should alleviate any signal dropouts or interference that plague regular wireless mice. The Mamba also has enough on-board memory to save up to 5 gaming profiles directly on the mouse, allowing users to hook it up to any rig and still maintain their personalizations.

The weight is surprisingly low for a wireless mouse and the cable detached with ease. The charging base looks more like a glowing statue meant to pay homage to a gaming deity than a power station for a gaming mouse. This added to the air of importance Razer is emphasizing with the Mamba. Razer looks to take a direct shot across Logitech’s bow with the Mamba, as the G7 is currently the only other gaming oriented wireless mouse on the market.

The other big product released by Razer this week is the Carcharias gaming headset. The Carcharias not only makes spell-checking incredibly fun, but is also designed around comfort during those long gaming sessions thanks to its foam-padded ear cups. The Carcharias is adjustable in just about every way imaginable, including the ambidextrous microphone and headband.

Razer Carcharias headset

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset
Frequency Response	Headphone: 20-20,000Hz Microphone:50-16,000Hz
Impedence	32 at 1kHz
Sensitivity (@1kHz, 1V/Pa)	102 ± 4dB at 1 kHzMax
Input Power	200mW
Headphone Drivers	40mm, with neodymium magnets
Mic pick-up pattern	Unidirectional
Available/Price	Jan. 2009; $79

The Carcharias features a sheathed cable to prevent snags, as well as a unidirectional microphone. A lot of thought seems to have gone into the mic as it can not only be reversed for southpaws, but the plastic casing bent to bring it farther or closer to the mouth for optimal recording. Also, Razer realized that the last thing gamers want to hear over ventrilo is background noise so the microphone features a hole solely on the inside of the boom. So now when your 6Ghz overclocked Core i10 Duo III starts cranking out enough heat to melt the polar ice caps, you can be rest assured that turning on an extra room fan isn’t going to annoy your clan mates.

Razer also announced they are currently developing an upgraded version of the Carcharias called the Megalodon. The Megalodon ‘s physical design is almost exactly like the Carcharias, except that it features 7.2 surround sound and an upgraded control pod that allows the user full control over audio settings. The specifications of the Megalodon haven’t been finalized yet, but the prototype we saw was pretty impressive and we look forward to its release later this year.

Razer Meglodon Concept