By: Ben Joubert
October 27, 2017
The other day in one of my classes, the professor was telling us some stories. He just finished one of them, which he did not experience firsthand, but heard of it from a friend. The next story was the same. As he started to tell it, the back door of the classroom burst open. "Lies! Lies!" someone yelled as they entered into the classroom dressed quite strangely. The stranger was carrying a book and some rocks, and judging by the shock on my professor's face when this person entered, this was completely new to him as well. The whole class was sitting in stunned silence watching as the stranger walks to the front of the classroom, while our professor just sits down. The stranger indignantly told the professor who does he think he is teaching us all these lies. The stranger was pacing at the front of the room, picks up a white board marker and writes "Wednesday" on the board. He paces a little longer and writes, "Starting January 2018." He paces again only to write on the board, "6:30 to 9:30 pm." The class noticeably relaxes as they realized this is some sort of plug for a class the stranger, which we now figured out is a professor, is teaching next semester. He then leaves. The professor just tells us it is a good class, and continues teaching as if nothing happened. This was an interesting marketing strategy to get our attention, which ended up working quite well as it kept all of our attention affixed to what was transpiring, and seared the information for next semester's class into our brains. However, some products are so good and have such a good brand behind them, they do not need to do a lot of advertising for their product. In the technology world, Cooler Master has also built up a solid reputation for making good products, and so also do not need to excessively market their product. Today, we have the Cooler Master MasterMouse MM530. Will it be good enough to warrant little to no marketing? Read on to find out!
The Cooler Master MasterMouse MM530 arrived in a rather large shipping box. It arrived all the way from Chino, California via FedEx. They did an excellent job in keeping the shipping box from taking any damage. Usually, even the corners would take some damage, but in this case, the corners did not really take that much damage, which is exceptional. Judging by the outside of the box, I was not worried at all about the contents. Inside of the box, there was more than just the Cooler Master MasterMouse MM530. All the other Cooler Master products we received will be reviewed in the coming weeks by my colleagues here at APH Networks.
The Cooler Master MasterMouse MM530 arrived in a simple retail package. Cooler Master does not clutter the front, instead we only find an image of the mouse, that it has a palm grip, and it has RGB illumination. Otherwise, the name of the mouse is found on the front in bold white letters. This contrasts nicely with the otherwise black background. The top left has the Cooler Master logo and motto found in similar white letters. The front is also a flap attached with Velcro on the right side of the box. Opening the flap reveals the mouse, as well as a few specifications. The left side of the box has the product name and website in multiple different languages listed, while the back has a little more information on the features of the mice in many different languages. The packaging is simple, but communicates the appeal of the mouse effectively.
Before we move on, here are the specifications as obtained from the manufacturer's website:
Specifications
Product Name: MasterMouse MM530
Product Model: SGM-4007-KLLW1
Grip Type: Claw / Palm
Material: Plastic / Rubber
Color: M14 Black
LED Color: 16.7 Million RGB
Sensor: Pixart PMW-3360 Optical
CPI / DPI: 4 Levels (100~12,000dpi)
Tracking Speed: 250 ips / 50 g
Lift Off Distance: < ~2mm / Adjustable
Polling Rate: 1000 Hz / 1 ms
Angle Snapping: On / Off
Mouse acceleration: No
Programmable Profiles: 5
Processor: 32 bit ARM Cortex M0
On-board Memory: 512 KB
Switches, Lifespan Omron: 20 million
Programmable buttons: 7
Body coating: Matte UV Coating
Connector: Gold-plated
Cable Length Flexible Cable: 1.8 Meters
Dimensions (mm/inch): 60.4 x 40.2 x 124.8 mm
2.38 x 1.58 x 4.91 inches
Weight: 132.5 g / 0.29 lbs
Weight (without USB Cable): 99 g / 0.22 lbs
Warranty: 2 years
The packaging is basically the same as most other mice today. The top flap of the retail box opens, and out slides two plastic molds: One large black piece that the mouse wrests in, while the other is a clear plastic piece to hold the mouse in place. Also included in the packaging of the Cooler Master MasterMouse MM530 is a little manual, which covers the button layout, specifications, package contents, and the website URL to download the required software. The packaging is sufficient to keep the product safe during transportation, and there is nothing unnecessary included. Overall, it is clean and simple, just like the retail box.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
