SideWinder X5 is the successor to Microsoft’s gaming mouse SideWinder, which launched last year, but may be more of a sibling than a successor, because Microsoft hasn’t developed new and exciting features but stripped down the old mouse instead. SideWinder X5 has no weight adjustment system, LCD display or removable Teflon feet. Beside these changes, the two SideWinder mice are more or less identical, well except that the mouse wheel is now made from rubber and the whole mouse is a bit darker.
The advantage of the new stripped down SideWinder is the lower price, which is so far uncertain but it will of course be lower than the $35 the original SideWinder mouse costs.
ExtremeTech has tested SideWinder X5 and as long as the price is right, this one may have its buyers. On the other hand, we would mind some fresh thinking from Microsoft’s mouse designers.
