Review: Saitek Obsidian Wireless Mouse

The Obsidian Wireless Mouse is Saitek's latest foray into the premium input devices market.

Unlike other manufacturers that employ a range of metallic alloys to create high-end equipment, Saitek makes flashy peripherals from cheap materials. To differentiate its products it uses striking design and colourful lights.

The Obsidian has a high optical 1,000dpi resolution and it shows; cursor movements are sharp and accurate. The rails on which the mouse moves are a little rough causing some friction. Another gripe we have is that it occasionally falls into a low-power mode and you must click to wake it up, which frustratingly can take a second or two.

This ambidextrous mouse sports a touch-sensitive scroll-wheel which took some to get used to. The advantages of this type of scroll-wheel quickly become clear: it produces no noise and if you hold a finger on one end of the scroll area it will scroll continuously.

Other features include side buttons, a spare battery and a dock to charge the batteries and place the mouse when not in use.

The mouse has a sleek, low-lying design. It is one of the widest we've ever used. The result is that it is too big for our hands and not entirely comfortable for prolonged periods of time. We lusted for some form of the arched back design found on more standard Microsoft and Logitech mice.

The virtual scroll wheel steals the show by working so excellently. The mouse is stylish, but at £40 should at least be as comfortable as a £10 Dell mouse.

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