Tt eSPORTS Theron Plus Smart Mouse Review

Introduction

TteSports, the gaming division of legendary manufacturer Thermaltake have been a dominating force at eTeknix many times in the past, winning many awards for their great gaming products. Now we’re happy to see another entry in their product range, the Theron Plus Smart Mouse. Now, there’s something obviously unique about the name, what exactly is a “smart mouse” anyway?

The THERON Plus SMART MOUSE – the classy sheen smart mouse that built with an upgraded AVAGO laser sensor with up to 8200 DPI that consist an additional integrated Bluetooth communications device to sync your mobile device (iOS/Android) with Tt eSPORTS PLUS+, the mobile application that can store gamers’ stats to the Tt eSPORTS PLUS+ Community & Data Management Platform

This mouse incorporates the “Internet of Things” or IOT philosophy, much like the current trend of smart wearables, the mouse tracks your gaming performance data, allowing you to analyze statistics, improve your strategies and more, as well as share this information with your team or fans; this could be a real hit with eSports gamers and their fan bases!

On the basis of the I.o.T. (Internet of Things) concept, users can obtain and share gaming performance data. Additionally, users are capable of analyze statistics records for improved strategies via data management on both PC or mobile devices – anytime anywhere. With Tt eSPORTS’ Plus+ mobile application, you can even review all recorded performance histories on your mobile devices.

As you can see, the Theron Plus is targeted at the eSports community, who are obviously the best ones to benefit from the smart tracking features.

The box opens up, giving us a sneak peak at the mouse design as well as running through some of the major smart features; cloud integration, stat tracking and more.

In the box, you will find a protective pouch, a few product documents and the hard-wired mouse.

The cable features a high quality braiding, a fixed velcro cable tidy and a good quality gold-plated USB connector.

The mouse is really nicely designed, with an oversized body that promotes a comfortable hand resting position. There’s a pair of switches down the left side and their bright red finish provides a nice contrast from the glossy black finish.

Around the back of the mouse, you’ll find a set of LED indicators between the top and left side panel. There’s also a colour customisable LED strip along the bottom left side, the back and the right side of the mouse; well take a closer look at this shortly.

The right side of the mouse features a single switch near the front, handy for deploying extra macros or profile changes.

Both the left and right mouse buttons are heavily recessed with a curved shape; this provides a great finger resting position and should help prevent your fingers from slipping away from the mouse.

There’s a deeply recessed scroll wheel, which features a soft rubber grip coating, a light tactile bump when turned and a fast rotation speed; perfect for making quick and accurate adjustments mid-game.

On the underside of the Theron Plus, you’ll find even more features! There’s two large slip-mats that provide an excellent amount of glide, a profile switch, lock and on-the-fly polling rate adjustments.

The bottom panel can be clipped off, where you’ll find five add-in weights, to help you better tune the mouse performance to your liking.

The included carry pouch is of a good quality and handy for those who need to travel with the mouse; it’ll help keep it free from scratches.

Performance

Installing and configuring the Theron Plus is a two part process. First you need to download and install the desktop software, then you’ll also need the mobile app, which is available for both iOS and Android. Simply install them, sign up, pair the mouse with your phone via Bluetooth and you’re good to go.

The desktop software is pretty straight forward, with every major setting nicely laid out on the first page. Pop-up windows allow you to further configure more advanced settings such as button configurations, macros, lighting and sensor performance.

Sensor performance on the Theron Plus is superb, with virtually no jitter, no issues with angle snapping or acceleration; pretty much what you would want from a gaming mouse.

With a good range of configuration options and great sensor performance, the Theron Plus was hardly going to disappoint in the gaming department. The ergonomics on the mouse are low and wide, certainly beneficial to those who use a palm rest grip, although the glossy finish of the mouse doesn’t offer anything to fingertip grips or lift-off playstyles, as you’ll find the mouse difficult to hold onto.

The switches are responsive, the ergonomics are great and well, it’s as good as the old Theron mouse was. What’s really special is the new smart features, as they’ll help take your gaming to the next level.

As you can see, the Theron Plus app is straightforward enough. I’ve got my mouse paired to the phone, I can pick what type of game I’m about to play and then I can start recording stats. You can even record your GPS location (optional) and have it tag your location; this could be popular for eSports gamers that want to show their location for gaming events.

There’s an advanced settings tab, allowing me to dial in my preferences.

And the layout of the stats is simple enough to understand, showing APM, distance, clicks, overall time and more.

You can then share this information through your profile, or directly share the stats on social media, showing your friends, team, fans or whoever how 1337 your skills are. This would make a great thing to share next to a screenshot of your scoreboard after a successful match.

Playing in League of Legends, Borderlands, SimCity (the new one), TorchLight 2 and a few other games, I found literally nothing I can complain about with this mouse. It’s a great all-round performer; so long as you’re ok with a palm-rest play-style.

Final Thoughts

Price

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, I couldn’t find a UK price for this mouse outside of eBay, although some resellers were letting it go for as little as £42, which is certainly competitive. In the US, the Theron Plus Smart Mouse can be picked up from Newegg for a wallet-friendly $59.99. What is amazing, is that this is the same listed price as the original Theron, so you’re effectively getting all the new features for free!

Overview

I loved the original Theron gaming mouse, but the latest edition improves on it in virtually every way. Despite being the same price, we’ve gone from a 5600 to an 8200 DPI sensor, there’s now an RGB LED lighting colour selector vs the 7 pre-set colours of the old model and there’s the Bluetooth pairing and smart tracking app. Admittedly, these “improvements” don’t make too much difference for most users. The lighting is aesthetically pleasing, but it won’t make you a better gamer, the stat tracking isn’t something your average gamer will need and the difference between 5600 and 8200 DPI is negligible, as they’re booth offer pretty fast tracking. Of course, it’s still nice to have these things regardless.

The Bluetooth pairing is a cool feature, I’m not sure if TteSports are the first to do it this way, but it’s certainly the first time I’ve used a mouse that tracks stats using this method. Personally, I don’t care what my APM is, or how far I’ve moved my mouse while gaming; if anything, it’ll only serve as a reminder that I’m an average skilled gamer. Of course, I can see that eSports communities will love it and being able to see how your own stats compare to the pros could be pretty cool.

Build quality, design and performance are all spot on, although I wouldn’t have expected anything less from this brand. What’s amazing is how well it’s made, how great it looks and how well it performs given its respective price tag; you’ll struggle to find something that competes for less.

Pros

• Consistent sensor performance
• Bluetooth pairing for stat-tracking
• RGB lighting
• Braided cable
• Programmable buttons
• Competitive price
• Weight tuning system

Cons

• Gloss finish makes lift-off playstyles impossible

“The Theron Plus Smart Mouse takes an already great gaming mouse (the original Theron) and makes it better than ever. More features, without pushing up the price tag and that makes this a very attractive mouse for most gamers, even more so for those interested in competitive gaming!”

TteSports Theron Plus Smart Mouse Review

Thank you TteSports for providing us with this sample.