Corsair MM1000 review: A wireless charging mousepad with strings attached - mannbrose2001

At a Glance

Expert's Paygrad

Pros

It does so charge your receiving set mouse sans-wires, as promised
Attractive and well-collective

Cons

Still have to consciously think over about charging your pussyfoot nightly
Might as well buy a severalize mousepad and Qi charging plate for less money

Our Verdict

Barbary pirate's MM1000 is a clean mousepad, only not exactly the Lapp revolution in wireless charging that Logitech's Powerplay mouse mat achieved parting summer. Blame the Qi standard.

The day is finally here, and the challengers to Logitech's revolutionary Powerplay wireless charging mousepad system rich person arrived. First up is Corsair's MM1000 (currently $80 connected Amazon), which really was announced before Logitech showed off Powerplay last year. All the same, Logitech released its wireless charging mousepad retinue death summertime, while Corsair's MM1000 took until 2018.

I've spent the last some weeks using both the MM1000 and Corsair's Black Congress of Racial Equality mouse—the only cardinal currently designed to work with the new-sprung mousepad. We've reviewed the Dark Core mouse likewise, but for right away let's plunk in and take a look at the MM1000.

Not even one RGB light

I'm surprised information technology's not RGB. That was my first idea. Logitech refrained from putting RGB ribbon lighting on its Powerplay mousepad last summer, but but then, Logitech never released an RGB mousepad.

Barbary pirate's RGB-laden MM800 followed hot on the heels of Razer's original RGB Firefly mousepad, though. I thought for sure the MM1000 would feature full RGB lighting. I mean, it's Corsair. Barbary pirate loves RGB LEDs.

Simply no. The MM1000 is actually even more restrained than Logitech's Powerplay mousepad (about $100 on Amazon) which had an RGB logotype in the height right tree. The only light on the MM1000 is a single K indicator in the top left that flashes if the shiner is charging. It's more operational than decorative, meaning the only ornamentation to speak of is a black-on-evil pattern in the impressible along the top edge. It's probably the most minimalist design Corsair's put out in years, and a huge contrast with the flashy K95 RGB Platinum keyboard we reviewed recently.

It's a great mousepad though, as far as mousepads go under. I'm historically pretty incertain active mousepads, but the MM1000 is sunnily dry. Information technology has a surprising weight to it, and feels like it's built to be thrown around, chucked into a wardrobe and pulled back unstylish a yr later, subjected to a thousand every day abuses. I'm happy about that, given that the Razer Pyrophorus noctiluca always felt like it could snatch in half, and Logitech's Powerplay mousepad felt similarly fragile. The MM1000 is a tank in comparison.

The only downside is there's only one surface option: A slightly textured hard plastic, similar to the original MM800 and other middle-tier Corsair models. That way fans of cloth mousepads are out of luck, at least for now. The MM800 had a cloth version, so maybe a fabric MM1000 will eventually come forth—or peradventur it's a restriction of Corsair's charging method, and cloth isn't executable.

Anyway, the MM1000 is basically a black rectangle, like all other mousepad in existence. Not much to embody said for aesthetics.

Charging ready-made (form-of) simple

And that's close-grained, because you're buying the MM1000 for strange reasons. Namely: It promises wireless charging without the need for wires. Does it deliver? Yes, absolutely—but with quite a few more caveats than Logitech's Powerplay setup.

What you call for to know first is that, despite doing essentially the same thing, the MM1000 and Powerplay are whole other systems.

Powerplay is the name of a proprietary charging system devised by Logitech. Powerplay projects a charging field crosswise the entire 13 x 14-inch mouse mat, thus no matter to where you place the mouse it's e'er steam-powered—and non just powered, but trickle-charging too. When the computer mouse International Relations and Security Network't engaged, Powerplay charges at a rate of 7 Beaver State 8 pct per hour, simply even while moving around you'll placid accrue 1 to 2 percent per 60 minutes. As long as the mouse is on the mousepad, it should never dip below 85 percent ever.

It's seamless, and in the nearly six months I've been using Powerplay directly I've never formerly had to flirt with charging my G903. Powerplay completely changed how I think nearly wireless mice.

Corsair's MM1000 is…non quite a as dainty. Sure, you'll never deman to worry about plugging a cord into the Barbary pirate Dark Core computer mouse—merely you'll still need to flirt with charging it every night or two, and therein lies the dispute.

See, Corsair uses the open-reference Qi charging standard. You mightiness've come into contact with Qi if, for example, you've ever wirelessly charged your phone. It's the same technology. The job: Qi has a very limited tramp. That part should also be usual to anyone who's wirelessly charged their telephone earlier. It's not exit to cover an total mouse mat, Beaver State even one-half a mousepad.

Instead, Qi covers a flyspeck zone in the clear-outside corner of the MM1000. Barbary pirate's helpfully highlighted this zone with a round. That's the only site where your mouse charges, and it only charges as long equally information technology's sitting still.

That substance whenever you're using the mouse, it's discharging as normal. To its credit, the Acheronian Nucleus mouse lasts 20 or more hours on battery, which is more than enough for symmetrical completely-day use.

At the end of the day you want to consciously think about charging though—taking the mouse, putting it in the top-proper corner, orienting it in good order, and checking to make sure the greenness indicator light is flash. Qi is so slow that information technology basically requires an overnight charge. If you don't remember to start it and so the Dark Substance mouse is nonexempt to die on you the next daytime.

And if you behave run down of bombardment? Well, your Dark Core mouse is back to the dark ages. Fourth dimension to catch up the included MicroUSB cablegram and plug the mouse into your computer, the same way you would've done with any identification number of wireless mice before. Much for your crenelated mousepad.

There is one interesting side effect from the use of the Qi standard, which is course that you can charge your phone from the same hotspot. Corsair also includes an adapter, so phones without constitutional radio charging can still plug in and charge that style. That's cool I guess, if you want to leave your phone filter-charging wirelessly while using your mouse.

Bottom line

"You can turn on your phone too!" International Relations and Security Network't a freehanded enough draw to beginning the MM1000's downsides, and to make up honest the whole proposal is a bit perplexing. Given that the MM1000 just uses a built-in Qi courser, I'm toilsome-ironed to explain why you couldn't pass off Amazon River, buy a standalone Qi pad from any number of retailers for $15-$30, and then charge the Dark Core black eye forth that instead. Sure, you'd fall back out on the mouse mat, but you'd recover $50 in the process—and reach almost the unvaried direct effect. Put some of that $50 in savings toward the mousepad of your choice, and you're favorable. Hell, you could buy Corsair's own RGB-festooned MM800, a standalone Qi charger, and the Depressing Core mouse and just be out an extra $20 operating theatre thus.

Information technology's a bit frustrating. On paper, the MM1000 and Logitech's Powerplay system of rules sound identical. In practice though the deuce are anything but. Powerplay is a completely new way to think about wireless mice. The MM1000 is just a new way to charge one.