Trackball mice may seem like niche hardware, but there’s clearly a dedicated market for them, at least in Japan. MediaGene’s GIZMART and Kopek Japan saw overwhelming success with previous crowdfunding campaigns for enthusiast trackball devices, revealing a strong demand among Japanese users. That momentum eventually led to a deeper collaboration with Keychron, resulting in the creation of the Keychron T1 HE.
In addition to the high demand, the official press release says that the overwhelming success of the Keychron Nape Pro played a major role in bringing the project to life. After releasing several keyboards, the Keychron T1 HE will be the company’s first-ever trackball mouse and will go on crowdfunding in Japan on 1 June.
Design-wise, the Keychron T1 HE features an ergonomic egg-shaped body with the trackball positioned on the left side of the mouse. The company says the mouse was designed to be easy to use even for first-time trackball users, while its distinctive shape helps users “find their ideal grip”. Meanwhile, according to the specification, the mouse uses a 34mm trackball.
What makes the Keychron T1 HE standout is a unique mechanism that allows users to reposition the trackball itself, including its height, to their liking. They can find the position controls for the ball on the bottom of the peripheral.
The mouse features a total of six buttons, all of which users can customise through the browser-based Keychron Launcher, including the scroll wheel click. Moreover, the mouse will remember the changes made to it, as it features an on-device memory.
While on the topic of buttons, the left and right clicks feature the MagOptic Switch, Keychron’s new magnetic switches. The company claims that both buttons have a lifespan of up to 100 million clicks while also reducing “chattering” sounds.
For the magnet side of the switch, Keychron notes that users can change the actuation point and “support the rapid trigger”, the latter of which “resets the key the moment you release your finger”. Users can tweak the new switch via the Keychron Launcher.
Inside, it comes with a 600mAh battery which the company claims can last up to 122 hours of continuous use. For connectivity, the mouse offers the standard wired connection, 2.4GHz, and Bluetooth connection to up to three different devices.
The Keychron T1 HE comes in black, white, and a “Skeleton” colourway. GIZMART exclusively offers the Skeleton version, which features a semi-translucent white finish. Once it hits the market, the mouse will have a standard price of JPY8,800 (~RM219). However, the distributor, Kopek Japan, is offering an early bird and a super early bird discount on the product, which drops the price to JPY7,480 (~RM186) and JPY7,744 (~RM193), respectively.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the mouse appears to be a Japan-exclusive release, so it is unclear whether it will become available internationally, if at all. It’s also worth noting that the three companies also plans to release a split keyboard in the future, although details remain limited. According to the document, the crowdfunding campaign for the keyboard is expected to be announced around mid-June.
Source: PR TIMES Japan, CoSTORY)
