Roccat Kone AIMO Mouse and Kanga Mousepad Review

Introduction

The Roccat Kone has a bit of a reputation around the OC3D offices. It was one of the first products we reviewed from the Hamburg based company and it absolutely blew us away with a spectacular combination of build quality, design intelligence and features aimed squarely at the user, rather than what might look good in some advertising.

We have seen a good selection of variations on the Kone theme, and today we have Roccat's latest take on their flagship mouse in the guise of the Roccat Kone AIMO. Roccat have also included their Kanga cloth mousepad for us to try, but obviously the main event is the Kone. What's AIMO you ask? Let's bring Roccat in to explain.

In the past, RGB lighting has suffered from limited functionality, variety and connectedness; blinking, flashing, distracting lighting that differs little between when a player is idle or gaming.
AIMO* reaches beyond this – it is intelligent, organic, and evolving. What we call Living Light.

AIMO-enhanced gaming peripherals are built around a learning lighting experience, adapting to your play the more you use them, and becoming more dynamic and nuanced as AIMO products combine. AIMO compliments the owner’s needs intuitively, dazzling when desired and taking a backseat when gamers do what they do best. Game.

We're not entirely sure we're any the wiser after that. A lot of buzzwords, few facts. Let's put it to the test and see if things become clearer.

Technical Specifications

Under the hood Roccat have eschewed the usual Avago/PixArt and Omron combination, equipping the Kone AIMO with their own in-house Owl-Eye sensor and switches. It will be interesting to see how these compare to the de facto standards. But mice are all about looking at and using rather than dry specs tables, so let's discover how the Kone stacks up.