I saw something recently on Instagram that compared items from the past with modern society today and posed the question: when did everything lose style and character? Everything is indeed so clean, white and boring now. It was refreshing then, when I unboxed EPOMAKER’s ‘NEX Lite Mouse’ and saw a splash of colour and even more delighted that it brought back obnoxiously bright RGB lighting.
Peeling back the packaging, neatly organised inside, you will find: a braided, 1 metre long USB-C to USB-A cable for charging or wired options, a charging station for the mouse to sit upon, a pair of comfy griptapes and 1 set of spare underside skates. I like mice that come with decorative and extra parts; very considerate.
With the review model coming in a cute pastel blue (also available in pink, black and white), this medium arched mouse is perfect for palm and claw grips in particular, as it nestles so nicely and comfortably into your hand. Not the lightest mouse on the market, for the solidness of the build it is still a nimble 65 grams and easily skirts across a mouse pad with ease.
More suited for right-handed gamers, on the left side are two thumb buttons; in the middle, your usual scroll wheel and two finger buttons are located topside. Uniquely, in the centre near the scroll wheel is a smart display covered in transparent blue plastic.
Underneath, you will find a DPI button to switch on the fly, your connectivity switch and your two charging pin sockets looking like a snake bite. Once the griptapes are on, a pretty standard shell starts to look really cool, especially sitting on its dock.
Connectivity-wise, this mouse is tri-modal compatible across a range of devices. Available to be usedd that this budget mouse also comes with a charging docking station. It has been a long time since I have reviewed a mouse with a dock, and for the life of me, I forgot how cool they are and now wonder why they aren’t more popular
They really add a more stylish flair to storing your mouse and keeping it charged at the same time, especially for someone who is a clean freak but also always forgets to charge devices. Speaking of charging, the battery seems decent, with about 5 days of on-and-off gaming and typing only running it down to 27% charge without a single docking.
Also coming in pastel blue, the wedge-shaped charging station is quite outstanding in appearance. With RGB lighting and a touch-point feature underneath, it glows, making it a standout on any set-up that can be changed and customised to your own satisfaction.
On the face of the dock is a mini smart display too that shows your current polling rate, DPI, connectivity mode and charge percentage. This information syncs with both the mouse display and the dock, making for a great way to track your logistics without having to boot up and dick around with any software. I love efficiency; EPOMAKER are keeping it simple but smart.
Not the highest DPI mouse, with 12,000 dots at most, the PAW3311 Sensor does have 35g of acceleration and 300 IPS, average, but in comparison to the USD $35.99 price, that is an impressive display. Is it the most agile gaming mouse for elite esports? No, but does it get the job done? Absolutely, if you are a more casual gamer.
Compatible with the web-based software, ‘EPOMAKER Hub’, I was considerably impressed by the amount of customisation for such a simple mouse. Here you can map your 5 buttons, the colour and the DPI amount for the onboard mouse and lighting. Macros too were included, which I didn’t expect, a must for some of the busier typers. Most importantly, there were somewhat adjustable performance settings.
In this tab, you have access to polling rates, movement correction, debounce and battery-saving options. The software, while not the most appealing in style, was simple enough to use and pretty straightforward, with phrases describing what buttons turn on; a nice little feature.
My 12-year-old nephew was eyeing the NEX Lite off on my desk, drawn to the colour and docking station like a moth to a flame, which had me thinking. Upon reflection (and a perfect culmination for my review), it may not be EPOMAKER’s goal, but this is actually a perfect mouse for developing and budding gamers and the casual home office set-up.
It’s quirky just enough in a range of colours, tech just enough to be efficient, light enough to be accurate, and definitely cheap enough to be accessible. While it might not be the most sophisticated mouse, performing well enough and looking cool is always a great thing in my eyes.
