SilverStone Raven RVM01B Mouse

Conclusion:

This is SilverStone's first attempt at making a laser mouse and we must say we are quite pleased. SilverStone relied upon KYE System Corp, Philips, and Freescale in creating this mouse, but they have still managed to end up with a rather unique mouse that has 11 buttons (albeit not all working within Linux), a carbon fiber palm rest, and even a small OLED display.

The SilverStone Raven RVM01B is a bit large, but we felt that it was comfortable to use and ergonomically fit but it's not ambidextrous. Our only complaint about the design is having the DPI change button next to the user's thumb. More than once this button was accidentally clicked and it's just a nuisance then having to hit it another three times in order to restore the previous DPI value.

After using this mouse for several weeks, we have ended up liking it quite a bit. It worked fine with Ubuntu and the Linux 2.6.24 kernel and the only issues we encountered were with the extra buttons. Also left out is any support for the programmable profiles and independent X/Y DPI adjustments on Linux. This though could be reverse-engineered and made into a third-party utility similar to RazerTool on Linux or Lomoco. With no proprietary SilverStone parts either, it shouldn't be too much of a challenge. It would also be interesting to override the OLED display on this mouse.

SilverStone's Raven RVM01B laser mouse is currently selling for about $80 USD, which is expensive and about the same price as the 4000 DPI Razer Lachesis. However, the build quality for this first SilverStone mouse is great and is something we have become to know and expect from this brand. Topping off the mouse is an OLED display and carbon fiber palm rest. If the price of the Raven doesn't deter you, this is a mouse worth purchasing and is a product we're definitely pleased with for its build quality, design, and it working well on Linux aside from some of the extra buttons and special features -- this though could be corrected with some simple reverse-engineering or SilverStone (or KYE/Philips/Freescale collectively) providing the needed programming specifications.