ROCCAT Studios, a Germany-based manufacturer of professional PC gaming devices and equipment – has revealed the full details of its expansion into the US market. Already a legendary brand for legions of pro gamers in Europe and Asia, ROCCAT™ enters the US gaming peripherals market with some of the world’s most advanced gaming engineering.  Beginning in mid-February Amazon will begin shipping ROCCAT’s internationally acclaimed lineup of innovative  gaming keyboards, mice, headsets and additional accessories.

Today PCWizKid has a chance to give you a first look at the Roccat Gaming Mouse KONE[+] and the ISKU Keyboard.

Kone[+] Max Customization Gaming Mouse - The revolutionary 6000dpi Pro-Aim Laser Sensor, in conjunction with its 10.5 megapixel resolution and 1000Hz polling rate, offers maximum precision, even transmitting lightning fast mouse movements with up to 30Gs of acceleration and with speeds of up to 200ips (5.08m/s) without loss or lag. Building off of the original Kone’s highly touted ambidextrious hybrid shell, the mouse wheel features new, distinctive notch positions that are perfect for gaming, and the wider design makes it easier to control. Thanks to the Easy-Shift[+]™ button, all the buttons – including the mouse wheel – can be assigned two functions doubling the effective amount of macros or functions.  Four multicolor LEDs, together with the enhanced lightpipes and configurable effects, can illuminate, alternate or pulsate in more than four different colors at the same time. You can configure your button assignments, including macros, DPI settings, the sensor sensitivity level and your lighting settings too, and save them to any one of 5 profiles on the 576kB of onboard memory. This allows you to customize your mouse to suit individual games. Predefined macro presets for the top 20 PC games as well as several office apps make it even easier to customize the mouse – plus the new Loop Function now makes it possible to loop macros indefinitely.  Lastly, a weight system comprising 4 x 5g weights is included, allowing you to customize the weight in four stages to suit your preferences.  Available in mid-February for $79.99.  www.roccat.org/koneplus

Specifications

• Pro-Aim Laser Sensor R2 with up to 6000dpi
• 1000Hz polling rate
  
• 1ms response time
• 11750fps, 10.5megapixel
• 30G acceleration
• 3.8-5m/s (150-200ips)
• 16-bit data channel
• Tracking & Distance Control Unit
• 72MHz TurboCore processor
• 576kB onboard memory
• 2m USB cable

Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard – Combining the world’s smartest gaming engineering with jaw-dropping design, the ROCCAT™ Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard hands you the power to own any game.  Exclusive ROCCAT™ Talk© protocol allows the Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard and the ROCCAT™ Kone[+] high-performance gaming mouse to talk to each other – giving you a powerful set bonus that lets you execute mouse macros quickly and easily right from your keyboard.  Easy-Aim technology is perfect for when your game demands precise marksmanship in sniper mode.  Simply press and hold a single keyboard key and Easy-Aim will instantly optimize the DPI setting on your Kone[+]. This two-handed custom marksmanship is the simplest and most convenient way ever to achieve pinpoint sniping accuracy.  Available in mid-February for $89.99   www.roccat.org/isku/

Specifications

• Illuminated keyboard with 123 keys
• Enhanced anti-ghosting capability
• 3 programmable Thumbster Keys (T1-T3)
• 5 programmable Macro Keys (M1-M5)
• 20 additional Macro Keys (Easy Zone)
• 5 Profile-Status LEDs
• 3 Status LEDs (Caps Lock, Easy Shift[+]™, Num Lock)
• 1000Hz polling rate, 1ms response time
• 2m USB cable
• Dimensions: 24.7cm x 50.9cm

System Requirements
Windows® XP, Windows Vista® 32/64-bit, Windows® 7 32/64-bit
Internet connection (for driver installation) ,USB 2.0 port

Package Contains
ROCCAT™ Isku – Illuminated Gaming Keyboard
Isku Driver CD  
Quick Install Guide
ROCCAT™ ID Card

Video Review

Conclusion

Although there are many gaming keyboards these days with macro capabilities the ISKU macro keys, customisable media keys and the Easy Shift really stands out from the rest. With five profiles, five macro keys and eight media keys and Roccat Easy Shift you've already got 130 possible macros to keep you busy and setup for all your games!  As mentioned the style looks great and has more customisatio options than you can hope for.  The fact that the KONE[+] and ISKU combo talk to each other , activating macros from the ISKU to your mouse for example is awesome.  The KONE[+] had razor sharp accuracy and aiming accuracy is excellent.  As mentioned in the video review, the KONE[+] mouse offers a tons of features a gamer needs such as customizable weights, high sensitivity and high precision laser technology and customizable buttons.  The 6000 DPI laser also performed flawlessly on a variety of surfaces including direct on black or white tables and a mouse pad.  Very impressive indeed, the only thing I would want to see improved would be the ISKU keys, the font on them is a bit bulky and the blue backlit LED on them is a little dark for my tastes even when at full.  Other than that, this is a great start for Roccat with PCWizKid and the US market, defenitely recommended.