We are up to no good again. This time in our laboratories a very unique product got shipped. A gaming mouse full of movie references from the company name and all he way to the features and even the motto: This is the James Donkey 007 Pro – a modular gaming mouse with up to 54 possible psychical combinations ! But besides the bling and modularity, is it any good ? Let’s find out.
First, about James Donkey
They are a professional manufacturer focused on gaming peripherals from mice, keyboards, headsets and mouse pads. Since founded in 2014, in Shenzhen, they combined the latest technology with sleek and ergonomic design. Their motto is to focus on the best ratio regarding original design, performance at an affordable price.
Price when reviewed
From Amazon.co.uk – £ 59.99
From Amazon.com – $ 62.99
* Don’t forget about the full video review as well !
Presentation and Specifications
The James Donkey 007 Pro is a 8200 DPI high precision programmable laser gaming mouse, with up to 54 unique configurations, 8 programmable buttons, 6 programmable user profiles, 10 customizing LED color options and that is uses Omron micro switches.
The main attraction here is the modular nature. Because of this it won the design reddot award in 2014 and numerous IF Creative mentions.
Now for the complete specs:
To point out the fact that only the empty body has 100 grams. When you start to add all the desired parts, it may have up to 145g. Which sounds big and heavy but it is not. Then the lighting options depend as well on the installed parts.
Now let’s finally see it !
Visual inspection
The James Donkey 007 Pro gaming mouse comes in a very simple black box. On the bottom left side we see a visual representation of a mouse and on the right top side, there is the motto: “Natural Born Player”. Just from the this picture alone we counted 3 movie references – James Bond obviously, then that it looks like a transformer robot and then the motto I presume, comes from the “Natural born killers” movie. Movie buff or not, they are very obvious.
On the main side we have a yellow sticker with a cute donkey. This is the company logo. And that’s it for outer packaging because James Donkey did and outstanding job regarding the unboxing experience because this is all about the inside.
Now, opening it up, the first layer is a quick guide which also contains a description of all the parts supplied.
Underneath this, we have a product warranty card; most of it in Chinese…
Finally, after the last protective foam layer is out of the way, we notice excellent cutouts that nest perfectly all the individual parts.
And, ladies and gentlemen, here is the James Donkey 007 Pro modular gaming mouse in all of its user tailored dissembled glory !
I strongly suggest to watch the video review, these pictures don’t do it justice.
So, it comes with 11 different pieces for a maximum up to 54 possible outcomes, depending on your needs. We have 3 left wings, 3 right wings, 3 bottom shells and 2 base plates.
Two of the left wings have a configurable button and one bottom shell has the illuminated logo.
Then you have two base plates because one has plastic pads and the other has aluminium ones thus to choose your tractability for different surfaces.
Ok. How do they work? Well, everything that is removable is attached by the magic of magnets. An elegant and a simple solution. Three for each wing and shells and four for the base plates.
Then the connection to the lights and buttons for the shells and wings are made via these 6 or 8 contact pins on each of the 3 sides of the mouse.
A completed version of the JK 007 mouse, after my own vision, will look like this. It has a very organic shape despite its sharp angles. Also it is very comfortable to use and you can rest your whole palm on it.
Not taking into consideration the extra button from the left wing, we have 7 fixed one on the mouse: the classical right – left clinks, the middle wheel, back and forward buttons and two DPI selection keys.
As you may have noticed so far, the mouse is so red, that it can make a Ferrari blush ! 🙂
And these are not Photoshoped pictures. Other color options include lime green, white, black, gold and blue.
To complete the exterior, here we have:
– 2x DPI selection buttons
– 1x LED status strip for the current selected DPI level
– 6x Triangle LEDs to display the current mode that you are in
– 4x Zones with white LED lights that indicate the ON status of the mouse – 2 in the front and 2 at the back.
They are very subtle and you hardly notice them – they are not that bright as in these (over-exposed) pictures.
And no mouse is complete without a tail. A very sturdy nylon braided 1.8 meter USB cable.
Shall we put it action?
Thank you.
Testing
With products like this the best tests, besides the specific ones, is to implement them as daily drivers. So we did just that; we hoked it up to our testing PC and after a few days of usage and gaming we had a complete picture. Ah and all the video editing was done 100% on the Donkey.
Hardware used.
– CPU: Intel i7 4790k
– CPU Cooler: Cryorig C7
– Motherboard: ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Impact VII Z97 mITX
– SSD: Samsung M.2 950 Pro 512 GB MLC NVMe
– RAM: 16 GB (2x 8 GB) DDR3 Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracers 1600 Mhz CL8 LED
– Video card: MSI GTX 980Ti 6G Twin Frozr V Gaming
– Case: DAN A4 SFX V1.0 mITX
– PSU: Corsair SF600 SFX 600W
– Monitor/TV: Samsung UE32F5000 LED 32″ 1080p
– Monitor/TV stand: G-VO 32”-55” Universal Tabletop
– Desk: Piranha PC7bg Barbel Compact Toughened Black Glass
– Gaming Chair: Sandberg Commander
– Keyboard: Sandberg Hailstorm Mechanical w/ Outemu Blue Switches
Software used.
– Windows 10 Pro x64
– Mass Effect Andromeda & DOOM – 30 minute gaming session
– Adobe Premier Pro CC
Included software
It has its own software to give you the capability to fine tune the mouse. And out of the box you have the ability to choose the DPI levels, indicated by the flashing LED line and what mode you are in, seen from the 6 small LED triangles. No RGB but still has some colors for the logo if you choose the wing that has it.
The software you can get from their website because there were problems in the past to get a copy. At least from my searches the one they provide on the website is decent and works. I got it here: link
You can do firmware updates, reprogram any button and fine tune the DPI levels and create custom profiles. Even add car sounds to those. Wicked !
And now get yourself ready for a massive wall of text.
Impressions
First let me show you how we built our mouse. This, of course, is a personal choice and this is the beauty of a modular design like the James Donkey 007 Pro. Let’s explore in more detail all the parts to have a clearer picture.
The Right Wings:
– RG01 – General – Not so much grip to hold the mouse – again, as per my needs.
– RG02 – Hook – That bulge on the end will increase the grip but I think it is in a far away spot to be reached by my last 2 fingers.
– RG03 – Finger Holder – I like this one, perfect cutout for my finger, because I can rest my ring finger and my pinky can grab it in need.
The Left wings:
– LF01 – With the triangular button – Really easy to reach with the thumb but can be clicked accidentally if you will grab the mouse in the upper portion more.
– LF02 – No button is present – Self explanatory and with a nice concavity for your thumb.
– LF03 – With the rectangular button – This is an XXL part, with a massive 90 degrees outside area to rest you entire thumb and plenty room to spare. However the button is now present at the back and you have to reach with your thumb backwards. This is ideal if you don’t like the LF01 (accidental press) or just don’t want to use it that much.
The back shells:
– RR01 – With the illuminated 007 James Donkey branding; plus it has an extension on the left side which will align and match perfectly if you use the LF03.
– RR02 – The standard and compact shape.
– RR03 – This one is the biggest part by length and also has a similar extension/lip like RR01.
The base plates:
– BT01 – The plate with 4 plastic pads
– BT02 – The other plate but with only 3 pads but this time from metal – this is the smoothest by far
So, given my needs, this is my vision regarding the options:
+ RG03 (Finger Holder)
+ LF03 (With the rectangular button)
+ RR01 (The illuminated logo – because this is 2017 and we need our bling)
+ BT02 (With the smoother metal pads)
Let’s continue with the feedback.
In the above configuration, my journey started. The Avago A9800 laser sensor is very precise – I witness better results in my gaming session in both Mass Effect Andromeda and DOOM when compared to my day to day generic optic wireless mouse.
Even through the 007 is a gaming built mouse, because of its fine-tuning capacity, I had great results using in in my editing and production needs. The included video is done in Adobe Premier Pro CC using the James Donkey 007 and I didn’t expect that I will have a better experience. Thus a clear win on all fronts.
Again, these are my personal experiences because with the 11 pieces all the possible combinations are vast and it’s up to everybody to find their sweet spot. Plus, this being a relatively big mouse (I like that) some may find it hard to grasp. But that’s why you have so many option to build the desire total size.
One small drawback it would be that it may become slippery if your hands get sweaty – but this may happen after so many hours, that, until then you must take some breaks.
We love attention to detail and the 007 mouse delivers just that. The material is top notch, fingerprint and scratch resistant and everything fits as it should. Even if you get more aggressive with it it will not squeak or start to fall apart. Would love to see a full metal variant of this – then it will be a true Transformer !
I can’t speak yet for the other color option but the red one I tested gives my desk the perfect contrast and a little touch of personality. The black and red theme go hand in hand.
Conclusion
All in all this is a very fun and interesting peripheral. They tried to cover as many needs as possible and this is the best for now when it comes to a configurable exoskeleton mouse. Hence, I named it the best LEGO mouse out there. Besides the bling traits and cool design, remember, this is a true performer and it has very good quality regarding the construction – a must when tackling something this unique!
The Good:
+ Unique design
+ Great and very precise laser sensor
+ Maximum modularity and user-configurability – up to 54 possible combinations
+ Excellent implementation of magnets – no squeaks, rattling or accidental removals
+ Sturdy build
+ Premium feel
+ Illuminated logo
The Bad:
– Low warranty period of only one year
– The software needs a little more polishing
Glob3trotters “Editor’s Choice” & “Unique” Awards – 4.5 out of 5
A lot of thanks to James Donkey for supplying us with this sexy thing !
