The Zowie AM it seems then is a solid performer for its price range, I’ve been using the mouse for the best part of a week now and while it isn’t going to drag me away from my current gaming mouse, I was very happy with its performance throughout all of my tests.
Zowie clearly listen to a lot of feedback from their fans, it’s also clear that they extensively research their products to suit the needs of Gamers and that’s not something that happens a lot in a specialist mouse that is priced under £50. While this may not have a billion features as you might find on other gaming mice, with just the basics in terms of navigation buttons present and a DPI switch that is on the underside of the mouse, it does provide enough to suit the needs of most gamers, as well as the needs of those who use their computer extensively for tasks other than gaming. In short it’s comfortable, accurate and it has all the common features you would expect from a quality mouse.
The real merit here of course is the ambidextrous features and while it may not sound much to make a mouse that works well in both your left and right hand, it is rare, at least from my own personal experience, that they feel balanced and practical. The trick here is the layout of the side buttons and the added ability to disable either side without the need for software. Many times before I’ve had ambidextrous mice where I would keep accidentally hitting the navigation buttons on the side opposite to my thumb, but maybe that is just me. The mouse is also symmetrical and that often makes ergonomics a bit hit and miss, fortunately I didn’t have any long term comfort problems with this mouse.
While there may be better mice on the market for this price range, it would only be as a matter of preference. There is a lot of choice on the market these days but not a lot of choice for the ambidextrous user and when it comes to the Zowie AM I struggle to think of any other product that offers the same high quality feel, build quality and rock solid performance in this category for around the same price. I highly recommend you check out the AM, even if you’re not ambidextrous, which is why I’m happy to award it with our eTeknix Editor’s Choice Award.
Hmm… Not bad, but for me personally I reckon there’s not much out there to touch Roccat’s Kone XTD & Pure at the moment. It’s all subjective though.