Mionix Naos 3200 Mouse Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

Those who follow our reviews know that the Mionix Naos 5000 is our mouse of choice, winning over the several models we’ve tested in the last few years. Now the Swedish company has released the Naos 3200, kind of an “economy car,” so to speak. By itself, it’s one of the best mice we’ve tested, exactly because it keeps the strong features of its bigger cousin – essentially the comfortable body design and the easy and efficient configuration software. Being a simpler model, it’s obvious that the Naos 3200 lacks some of the advanced features of the Naos 5000 model. We’ll get to it soon, let’s first take a look at the physical aspects of the mouse.

Figure 1: Upside view

The Naos 3200 uses the same body of the 5000 model. It’s a spread out design, with enough space even for the pinkie. The hand completely rests over the mouse’s body, which is extremely comfortable and ergonomic. Button set up is standard: there are the back/forward buttons above the thumb rest, and you can find the up/down sensitivity buttons below the backlit scroll wheel. Comparing to the Naos 5000, there are no LEDs indicating the current dpi setting on the edge of the thumb rest.

Figure 2: The underside

There are four Teflon feet on the bottom of the mouse, and the middle part houses the 3200 dpi laser cannon surrounded by the Mionix logo. Unlike the Naos 5000, there is no weight adjustment system. Finally, the cloth-wrapped cable ends in a gold-coated USB plug.

Figure 3: Side view

[nextpage title=”Configuring the Naos 3200″]The mouse doesn’t come with a manual or software CD, so the user has to download them from Mionix’s website. It’s a plug-and-play device, but it’s worthwhile to install the very friendly configuration program. It features a sleek and simple interface. Unfortunately, the software doesn’t include the S.Q.A.T. (Surface Quality Analyzer Tool) that comes with the Naos 5000 package.

Figure 4: The configuration software

Reprogramming the Naos 3200 is a breeze. It’s possible to assign new functions to six buttons and the scroll wheel, plus create macros. However, it’s not possible to create several user profiles like, for instance, a job-related profile and one dedicated to a particular game. The user has to configure a single set of buttons and then stick to it, or change everything all over again to a new purpose. You could create up to five different profiles with the Naos 5000, but that’s not the case here.Since the field test with the Naos 5000 went so exceedingly well while playing Modern Warfare 2, we decided to repeat the same configuration with the Naos 3200. For instance, we made the button near the thumb be the equivalent to the E key, which unleashes the “knife stab” in the game, and let the scroll wheel be used to quickly deploy the special weapons (like the claymore mine). We adjusted the three sensitivity levels to our liking, keeping one of them as high as the 3200 dpi maximum and creating some lower options for a more precise response.

Figure 5: Sensitivity configuration

[nextpage title=” Playing with the Naos 3200″]Since it has the same body as the Naos 5000, the 3200 model also features the same fantastic grip and comfortable gaming experience that so impressed us in that particular device. Mionix has been unbeatable so far in those categories. The lack of a weight adjustment system might be a problem, but in our subjective analysis it didn’t bother us while using the mouse for gaming and work. The clicking response of the buttons is precise and the scroll wheel isn’t hard to be pressed. Unfortunately it doesn’t do horizontal scrolling – a feature we look forward to when working with large documents. Some players might not like the somewhat low level of resolution, as the mouse doesn’t go above the 3200 dpi limit. Since we ourselves don’t often go as far as 4000 dpi in our gaming style, it didn’t bother us, but what we really felt bad about was the lack of the capacity to create distinct profiles to serve different purposes like several games and work-related applications. It’s one of the problems of using a mouse with less features. In closing, the performance was great while playing Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield Bad Company 2. We kept the same configuration for both games, but it had to be changed for World of Warcraft. This limitation is something to be seriously considered by those interested in buying the Naos 3200, specially if the user rotates through a large library of games. Even so, even being a bare-bones model, it’s way ahead of competing gaming-grade mice with more features because of the extreme comfortable design and easiness of reprogramming. The Naos 3200 is highly recommended for users who don’t care about that many bells and whistles.[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]The Mionix Naos 3200 mouse specifications include:

• Gaming-grade right-handed laser mouse
• Assignable functions: 7
• Tracking Resolution: up to 3200 dpi (user selectable in 3 stages)
• Tracking speed: 1 m/sec (40 ips)
• Acceleration: 15 G
• 5.8 megapixels/sec image processing
• Approximate size: 5.15 x 3.33 x 1.52 inches (130.84 x 84.72 x 38.67 mm)
• Weight: 5.3 oz/152.2 g (with cable), 3.49 oz/99 g (wihout cable)
• Gold-plated USB connection
• Cloth-wrapped cord
• More information: https://www.mionix.net
• Average price in the US*: USD 45.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.

[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]Strong Points

• Recommended for users that don’t bother with much features
• Truly comfortable and ergonomic design
• Cloth-wrapped cord is a nice finishing touch
• Great configuration software

Weak Points

• Resolution only goes as high as 3200 dpi
• User can’t create different profiles
• Doesn’t have a weight adjustment system
• No horizontal scrolling
• Body design unfit for left-handed people