True to their naming conventions-“Copperhead,” “Diamondback,” and “Krait”-they’ve brought out the DeathAdder, an 1800 dpi optical mouse based on an infrared sensor. Complementing the mouse is the Tarantula, a keyboard that when judiciously used should result in many deaths. While gaming, of course…
Day 1
The Tarantula is much larger than conventional keyboards, and has numerous nifty shortcuts including multimedia buttons, though these are a touch too hard. The keys themselves have a nice feel to them-short travel and plenty of feedback, though I personally prefer the softer, less immediate travel of some Logitech keyboards. The DeathAdder has soft keys. They’re large though, which is good, but too soft for my liking (especially while gaming). Still, they’re very comfortable for regular use.
Both the Tarantula and the DeathAdder have a backlit, glowing Razer logo that pulsates-very fetching. The palm rest on the Tarantula is decent. It’s treated with a sweat-resistant matte finish that feels comfortable. The DeathAdder has a similar finish, but feels (and looks!) so much better thanks to a velvety coating.
Day 3
My impressions of the mouse after a couple of hours of Quake 3 on a Razer Mantis Speed mat: precise, quick, but no more so than the 1600 dpi Logitech MX518. What is really significant is the frequency, which determines the accuracy while tracking-and the DeathAdder feels every bit as good as the excellent MX518-even better. The DeathAdder is good for large-handed folks. The comfortable and well-sculpted body feels excellent-especially over prolonged use.
Day 6
The Tarantula comes with a beautifully functional key remover-ultra-utilitarian. The keyboard itself will hog two USB ports, but in turn provides two additional USB ports (1.1, not 2.0). Headphone and microphone cables are provided, meaning your headset can be plugged into the keyboard!
Day 10
Gamers hark: ten backlit macro keys! They are on either side of the keyboard, and are programmable, able to store a multiple-keystroke combination for each profile. Imagine an action game requiring six different keystrokes-each at the proper time to complete a combo attack on an opponent-being bound as a single key-press to one of these macro keys!
Day 13
After wading through the Tarantula’s software menu, I’m a bit boggled. The Logitech G11/G15 duo has a more intuitive menu structure on the whole. I feel the regular keys on the Tarantula are also smaller than what I am used to, and while typing out e-mails, I end up with quite a few typos.
Day 19
I miss sideways scroll with the DeathAdder-a boon for spreadsheets, although the vertical scroll on the wheel is deadly accurate. Incidentally, the DeathAdder is priced at Rs 4,249: with the MX518 at Rs 1,600, and the G5 at Rs 3,200, this one is a little overpriced.
Day 24
Time to bid goodbye to this deadly duo! By now I’ve gotten used to the Tarantula’s smaller keys-a great keyboard for typing, too! I’ll even miss the ultra-comfortable DeathAdder. Bah… my colleagues won’t be quaking in their boots every time I pick up a railgun any more. Still, for anyone but brand freaks and die-hard Razer fans, I’d recommend passing up getting stung and bitten, especially at this price point.