Eight years ago, Razer introduced its first travel mouse, the Orochi. Back then, there was nothing else like it, and the device was an instant hit. It was a single high-precision mouse with options for wireless pairing to any Bluetooth laptop or plugged in with a wired USB cable. These features of portability and low latency reliability were unheard of back in 2009.
Today, On Aug. 16, 2017, Razer announced its latest mouse offering, the Atheris. According to the company, it will offer long-lasting battery life as well as lag-free wireless gaming.
They proceeded to claim that two AA batteries would get you through 350 hours usage time, which is very impressive.
The Atheris, up close
With Razer’s claim on great battery and gaming performance, it is interesting to see what other features the device has to offer. Compared to the Orochi, which only had 60 hours of battery life, the Atheris is definitely a standout. Similar to the Lancehead, Razer’s high-end version of the Wireless Mouse, the Atheris will also have Adaptive Frequency Technology or AFT. This would enable the device to keep a strong and stable wireless connection.
For the Atheris, it will feature an AFT 2.4GHz tiny wireless dongle which fits perfectly into the mouse when not in use.
Naturally, this option would you low latency. If you lose the dongle, you can still use the mouse over Bluetooth LE. Also, it has a 7200 DPI optical sensor with a lightweight of 66 grams. More specifically, the Atheris boasts ambidextrous thumb buttons. Unfortunately, it does not have the programmable RGB lighting. At this point, further reviews would have to confirm its claims on performance or even ergonomics.
A smaller version of the Lancehead?
Ahead of its competitors, the Razer Lancehead has become popular across the desktop PC gaming space. The Atheris, on the other hand, focuses on notebook users and owners. As mentioned, the former claims to pack gaming-grade performance in a mobile-friendly form.
The Lancehead and Atheris both have the special internal compartment for the USB dongle as well as the AFT.
According to Razer, AFT works to provide lag-free data transmission from the mouse to the system. The new mouse could easily look like a miniature version of the Lancehead in appearance. However, there are distinct differences between the two.
The Lancehead has a longer shape, and the Chroma-based RGB LED illumination. Their hardware is different, too. The Atheris only has the five programmable hyper-response buttons, which complicates the ambidextrous claim. Images of the product show the two main buttons, a mouse wheel with a button behind it, and two buttons on the left side above a rubberized grip. Unlike the Lancehead, the side buttons on the Atheris are not movable to the right side. The former allows left-handed users to use their ring finger to use the side buttons instead of their thumb.
