Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2013
Having owned the same Intellimouse for YEARS (the white model with the back and forward buttons on either side of the mouse) and watching it finally start to deteriorate, I was worried when I started looking at some of the higher-priced mice out there. Having used quite a few mice on a temporary basis, none really seemed to feel as nice as the Intellimouse I had come to love. I've never been a fan of the Logitech mice, so I was avoiding those models, and a lot of the mice marketed to gamers either looked ridiculous with too many lights, weights, and bloated drivers; or seemed to have reliability problems (really? for mice in the >$60 range??).
Having scoured the net for a few days (looking at Steelseries' and Razer's mid-size mice), I came upon a review of another Zowie mouse. I immediately appreciated the understated looks and functionality of the mouse; the packaging was simple and straightforward, the design of the product didn't cater to marketing gimmicks like obscene DPI and laser sensors, and the drivers for the product were... NONEXISTENT! I saw this as a big plus as I didn't want to have to deal with some crappy program sitting in my system tray and making the learning curve unnecessarily steep.
Now that I've owned and used this mouse, I can say I REALLY like the look and the finish on it. It has a 'matte' feel that is really easy and comfortable to grab. The actual size of the mouse is smaller than the Intellimouse, which at first had me really worried (I hate using tiny mice like the HP one I use at work), but has proven to be a near-perfect size. The side buttons are a lot easier to distinguish between than other mice that have two buttons on the same side without looking and/or training. All buttons are really easy to click, easier than the Intellimouse, but aren't easy enough as to make unintentional clicking a problem.
The sensor on the mouse seems really nice, I am not a huge gamer but I feel like I'm more accurate in games like CS with this mouse than I was with the Intellimouse. The DPI button is on the bottom, which some reviewers were complaining about but first of all, I don't wanna be changing my DPI all the time, it just seems unnecessary to me. Though if you really want to change it very quickly, the mouse is the perfect size and shape to just pick up and tap the button with. I HAVE noticed the low lift-off distance in CS-- I'm used to picking the mouse up a lot to make fast movements and I can tell that with this mouse, picking it up and resetting it to the middle of the pad can be done a lot more discreetly and precisely than with the Intellimouse.
Overall, I haven't been playing a lot of PC games, but wanted a mouse that would allow me to do so while still functioning as a reliable general-use mouse when not gaming. So far, so good.
The only thing that I still prefer on my Intellimouse is the scroll-wheel. Though this mouse's scroll-wheel is solid feeling, and clicky enough to index reliably, it almost requires too much force to scroll when browsing the web, etc. I know it will break in, my Intellimouse certainly did, so I'm not worried about it (and even now it's really not an issue, just something to get used to). I'd recommend the mouse if you prefer understated looks, full functionality, and just simple, reliable operation.
It's still pretty new to me, so I will try to update again as I get more used to it.
UPDATE 12/31/2015
This mouse had worked great for light general use and gaming for almost 2 1/2 years. Call me crazy, but paying $60 for a mouse with minimal buttons and features, I expected a lot more from the build quality. The mouse wheel button now double and triple, sometimes quadruple clicks with a single light press now, and it seems to be getting worse. If I press down hard it seems to help, but doesn't guarantee the mitigation of this problem. I have had MS Intellimouse last easily six years without issues for a significantly lower cost. In light of this, I cannot recommend this mouse. This is such a basic feature of any mouse.With the money saved from not developing over-the-top drivers and software, adding LEDs and extra buttons, I expected Zowie would provide a more solid basic product. I was wrong, and I'm very disappointed. Now I'm in the market for a mouse that will last at least a few years.... good luck if you end up with this. It was great for the short time it worked right.
