Sweaty palms are never a good thing, and now a new start-up is taking matters into their own hands with the Zephyr. This gaming mouse has a built-in fan to keep gamers’ hands cool.
There’s a bit of a trend lately for gaming mice to combat sweaty palms by hollowing out the mouse and filling the surface with holes, to improve air flow. The Zephyr adopts the same (vaguely trypophobic) look, but takes a more active approach by sticking a fan in there.
Plus, there’s a button on the bottom that lets users switch between three different fan speeds – presumably, depending on just how hot and sweaty things are getting. It also comes with a "blower" that helps you clean out that otherwise-inaccessible void in the middle.
Other gaming mice, like the Black Element Cyclone, have had fans too, but in that case it was a separate unit that sat up the front. From there, it looked to have blown air across the back of your hand, which doesn’t seem quite as useful.
Besides the fan, the Zephyr also packs a few other features people might come to expect of a gaming mouse. The sensor has a resolution of up to 16,000 DPI, which should make it pretty smooth to drive, and it only takes one button to switch between office mode and game mode.
It’s made with Omron switches which the company says will give it a lifetime of up to 50 million clicks. The whole thing weighs 68 g (2.4 oz) – a fair bit lighter than the average gaming mouse, which can easily tip the scales at over 120 g (4.2 oz).
And finally, the Zephyr is finished in RGB LEDs, which can display seven different lighting effects. Whether you think they’re cool or tacky, it looks like this kind of neon glow is here to stay, especially among streamers and e-sports players.
The Zephyr is being funded on Kickstarter, where it’s already smashed its US$6,500 target more than four times over. Early Bird pledges start at $89 for the mouse, or $169 for a double pack. If all goes to plan, shipping should begin in October.
The Zephyr can be seen in action in the video below.
Source: Kickstarter
