SteelSeries has launched what it claims to be the "world's first modular gaming mouse with OLED display and tactile alerts". The Rival 700 gaming mouse, first seen at CES in January, was up for order on the US site yesterday (at $99) but has already sold out. It will be launched in Asia and Europe in the next few weeks.
There are a number of key features that sets the SteelSeries Rival 700 gaming mouse out from the crowd:
- Tactile alerts
- OLED display
- Customisation of both the device's hardware and software
The tactile engine in the SteelSeries Rival 700 is more useful than it first sounds to be. It has been designed to be fully customisable with various vibration patterns, feedback durations, triggers and more. A compelling use of the technology is highlighted by Jonathan ‘LodA’ Berg, Professional Dota 2 player currently playing for team Alliance; "To have my Rival 700 notify me when my cooldowns are up is a total game changer," he explained.
Users can tailor the tactile alerts to provide a sensation that feels like a heartbeat when low on HP, or tie tactile alerts to other game metrics like ammo, mana, disables, headshots, and stuns etc.
SteelSeries touts the left side mounted OLED display as both a useful gaming aid and as a source of mouse appearance customisation. In terms of usefulness the display can provide in-game stats, and when you are changing mouse settings the display lets you see the CPI, lift off distance, profile selected and so on.
For appearances the OLED display can be used for GIF animation logo display and for complementing the customisable SteelSeries Prism RGB illumination. As usual with SteelSeries, the full depth of tech parameter and appearance customisation takes place inside the SteelSeries Engine 3 software on your PC.
Now we have covered all the frills, let us consider the more basic specifications of the Rival 700. This is a right handed ergonomic mouse with seven buttons in total. The left and right main switches are reinforced and rated for 30 million clicks. The optical sensor fitted is a PixArt PMW3360 with CPI from 100 to 16000, 300 IPS tracking speed, 50g acceleration, and 1000Hz polling rate. This sensor is swappable. Measurements of the Rival 700 are; 125 x 68 x 42mm, it weighs 135g.
Buyers receive both a 3ft rubber cable for notebook gaming, and a 6ft braided nylon cable for desktop use. One faceplate design is provided in the box but buyers are encouraged to design and 3D print their own with various colours/textures etc based upon the downloadable 3D files.
