First Impression
For some reason when we review a mouse at GotFrag Hardware, we like to discuss, often in great detail, the box it comes in. For the life of me I can’t think of a practical reason for doing this, although the packaging could play some sort of role in how likely the average joe is to walk through the mouse section of a retail store and choose it over the others. If that is indeed the case, then the Microsoft Habu is the inhabitant of one of the sharper looking mouse packages I have personally ever seen. (Not that the package would ever make me buy a mouse, nor should it for you!)


From the pictures you can see that the Habu clearly inherits its shape from the IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0. The only big difference between the shapes of the two mice is that the front end of the Habu is slightly raised. I actually prefer the shape of the Habu to that of the IME3.0 because the raised buttons seem to allow a quicker reaction time due to the user’s fingers being less relaxed. The science behind mousing posture is one in which I am certainly no expert, but after using this mouse interchangeably with the IME3.0 for quite a while, that is the feeling I got. Aside from that, the buttons themselves are flared out for a more aggressive look that is typical of all Razer mice.


Taking a look at the underside of the mouse, the first thing that struck me were the characteristic Razer mouse feet. While the mouse feet found on most Razer mice are typically smaller than those on the bottom of Logitech and even Microsoft mice, their placement and composition is widely regarded as superior, particularly in the rear. The larger Teflon skate near the back of the mouse is positioned in a manner that handles the extra weight placed on the mouse due to the user’s hand.

From the overall appearance of the mouse, it is very clear that Razer played a major role in the design phase. The two signature design features of the most successful Razer mice are also present in the Habu: Flared buttons and the LED tube. Whether or not the LED tube is a desirable feature is up for debate, but there certainly is some functionality associated with the contoured, flared mouse buttons. Certainly, these mouse buttons are not any more comfortable than normal mouse buttons, nor are they really positioned in any way that aides the user, but they do add a certain element of control to the mouse. For users that use their fingertips to guide the mouse along the surface, the bumps in the button provide a nice surface on which to apply that force while essentially eliminating the possibility of slippage.