Fujitsu M530 - comfort at 1200DPI *new mouse*

[Phas3L0ck]

From the company that brought us exotic yet innovative systems, Fujitsu has created a uniquely comfortable mouse with a superior optical sensor, and some interesting minor features.
At first I didn't have any interest in mice like this because of the shape and cost of high-end brands, but given the excellent symmetry and previous good experience with Fujitsu tech, I had to try it.
The first thing I notice out of the box is how well balanced it is, weighing in at only about 80 grams. Compared to other mice, it's like a nice office pillow for your hand!

Being a nerd and all, I had to open it up as I do with everything to see what kind of circuitry is involved, and I was very surprised at what I found inside (see images).
All I can say is... wow... you know it's for enthusiasts when they put more engineering effort into the mechanical plastic casing than they do with the circuit board-- or did they?
First of all, I love the design of the shell casing, it's really the best thing I've ever held as far as a mouse.
Second, the circuit board may be small, but don't dismiss quality until you see the flip-side!
The mouse uses a Pixart PAW3606DL-TKDA sensor with a resolution of 1200DPI, allowing at to work on a variety of surfaces and provide smooth motion of the cursor on screen.

One odd feature is the lack of a traditional LED to reflect through the lens for the senor to interpret motion, although I noticed a very slight red blink coming from the sensor area, so it appears that the reference LED is a microscopic one built into the sensor itself. This gives the advantage of eliminating (or reducing) the bright red light from common mice that can be annoying to some or unpleasant in low-light area or places the need to remain relatively dark.

Another odd feature is the scroll wheel. The M530 combines the floating wheel assembly from previous models with a traditional encoder which, instead of being soldered to the PCB, is connected by a small wire harness and plug. As such, most enthusiasts won't be able to upgrade or replace the encoder, but someone with good soldering experience should be able to handle tiny wire and pin attachments.
In terms of feeling, the scroll feels super smooth, but has a mildly annoying rattle when scrolling up due to the non-permanent plastic mounting of the scroll wheel assembly (same problem of the previous models, but not as bad) which should be easy to fix with some spray-on PTFE (Teflon) at the mounting point. (or you could super-glue it-- not recommended.)

Finally, the switches...
The M530 uses Kailh switches for the left and right buttons, but generic square switches for the scroll button and what appears to be a side-scrolling function which is likely meant for moving over huge pictures or spread-out websites. The Kailh switches are pretty loud and a bit hard, but I can't complain since they will prevent accidental mis-clicks.

[Skiiwee29]

<-- Moved to Member Reviews -->

[Phas3L0ck]

This is a little more than just a review, it's a look at the inside with details on the sensor it uses.

 **dust everywhere**