ROCCAT Tyon is a gaming mouse literally bristling with buttons, whilst the Sova keyboard could be just the ticket for livingroom PC gaming.
ROCCAT Tyon is a gaming mouse literally bristling with buttons, whilst the Sova keyboard could be just the ticket for livingroom PC gaming.
During Computex last week the Tyon gaming mouse was revealed to the gaming public, with manufacturers ROCCAT hailing it as ‘the next step in gaming mouse evolution’. One can never accuse ROCCAT of lacking in innovative thinking, but the Tyon must surely have drained the well dry for at least a little while.
Amongst a host of intriguing design concepts is the 2-way analogue stick ROCCAT have dubbed ‘the X-celerator’. The stick, which is located on mouse shoulder and just above two addition thumb buttons, is billed as a mappable throttle/turn/run input system that surely has to be unique amongst mainstream mice manufacturers and could be an extremely useful alternative to gamepads and joysticks in a selection of titles not ideally suited to mouse control. In-game support for analogue input will be key of course, but we could finally be seeing a mouse capable of a great flight sim experience.
ROCCAT’s Easy-Shift[+] technology returns as expected through a dedicated button placed right at the base of the thumb rest. The awkwardness of Easy-Shift[+] on a mouse using only thumb buttons was a weakness we identified in our reviews of both the Kone XTD and Pure (despite welcoming the tech. as a whole) and so it’s great to see this criticism being grappled with in their latest mouse. If nothing else it will make using Easy-Shift[+] functionality with other mouse buttons far more fluid.
If X-celerator and Easy-Shift[+] buttons are the features most likely to draw you to the Tyon we imagine that the pronounced ‘Dorsal’ button will have the opposite effect. Depending on your mouse grip it trades comfort for one more programmable button that will be difficult to use in tandem with the four flanking the left/right buttons. I’d love to see the testing data which came up with that as an optimal design.
Aesthetic tweaks include a choice of black or white shell and two colour zones – the base and mouse wheel – with full RGB LED lighting. Discounting the various protuberances the Tyon’s dimensions are near identical to the Kone XTD rather than the smaller Pure, a mouse which fits the hand quite well. Complete with 8200dpi laser sensor, tracking control unit, 72MHz ARM processor and 512KB on-board memory; the only feature which it may lack is customisable weight distribution.
Technical Specifications
– Pro-Aim Laser Sensor R3 with up to 8200dpi
– 1000Hz polling rate
– 1ms response time
– 12000fps, 10.8megapixel
– 30G acceleration
– 3.8m/s (150ips)
– 16-bit data channel
– 1-5mm Lift off distance
– Tracking & Distance Control Unit
– 72MHz Turbo Core V2 32-bit Arm based MCU
– 576kB onboard memory
– Zero angle snapping/prediction
– 1.8m braided USB cable
– 1000Hz polling rate
– 1ms response time
– 12000fps, 10.8megapixel
– 30G acceleration
– 3.8m/s (150ips)
– 16-bit data channel
– 1-5mm Lift off distance
– Tracking & Distance Control Unit
– 72MHz Turbo Core V2 32-bit Arm based MCU
– 576kB onboard memory
– Zero angle snapping/prediction
– 1.8m braided USB cable
Sadly there is no availability or price yet attached to the Tyon, but ‘quite soon’ and ‘not cheap’ are the most likely. Despite all the eye-popping features build quality will be absolutely key, and should be focussed on in reviews subsequent to release.
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That was not the end to ROCCAT’s new products shown off in this past week as the Sova Mechanical Gaming Keyboard concept also made an appearance. Obviously an early shot at cornering the market in PC gaming from your sofa, the Sova reveal comes ahead of a broad selection of livingroom PCs from the likes of Alienware, GIGABYTE and ZOTAC scheduled for release in tandem with SteamOS later this year and continuing into 2015.
The Sova is more than just a mechanical gaming keyboard on a tray. The light-weight aluminium frame incorporates both a wrist-rest and large mousing area, with a cable-tidying channel at the rear to deal with pesky mouse/other wires. Two foam-filled blocks underneath mould to your legs to for both the comfort and stability a surface needed in longer gaming sessions. A replaceable battery pack hints at the Sova being a wireless gaming hub for both keyboard and mouse, whilst a smartphone bracket allows your android/iOS phone to double as full-colour LCD screen for gaming apps.
ROCCAT Sova /w Attached Smartphone
Gaming with mouse and keyboard in front of a big TV isn’t the most well thought of, but the Sova could be ideal in unlocking the experience for hardcore PC gamers. Sadly there is no availability or price stated as yet, but it’s certainly an product to keep your eyes on.
For more detailed information on both the Tyon and Sova visit ROCCAT.org.
