Date: September 30th, 2003
Article by: Nathan Glentworth
(Owner, Head Editor & Hardware Reviewer)
Product was donated by: Steelpad.com
PRODUCT PERFORMANCE
Now seeing that I was mostly mousing right on my desktop
with no pad at all, I was having some problems moving the mouse from
time to time. The mouse feet would drag on the desk's surface and any
precision movement was almost impossible. If I left the workstation
for the night, when I came back in the morning, the mouse would be literally
stuck to the desktop and only with moderate effort would it break loose.
Kinda sad, but you get used to it.
After the mousepad was installed, I couldn't believe how
easily the mouse moved. Not only did it move with ease but I could literally
place my middle finger lightly on top of the mouse and move it around
the full extent of the pad. With everything setup properly, I opened
UT2K3 and started a two hour gaming binge and I tell ya, gaming hasn't
ever been this fluid for me. Headshot frequency went up, shot precision
increased and bullet dodging was a breeze. Other than gaming, even my
everyday website work experience ws more enjoyable now that I didn't
have to fight with the mouse with every move.
CONCLUSIONS & AFTERTHOUGHTS
Being one of the most under appreciated desktop components,
a good mousepad is the key to efficient mousing while gaming or even
everyday work. The mouse is the most used input peripheral in this day
and age and it just makes sense to use a decent mousepad to make everyday
mousing easier.
The SteelPad 4S mousepad reviewed would be a high quality
alternative to a $0.99 bargain bin mouse pad or even worse, the desktop
in my case. But with the good, comes the bad. Although this is a nice
gaming surface, the ~US$45.00 pricetag plus shipping is down right crazy
for even a top of the line product. At the moment, purchasing this particular
mousepad can only be done through the company's website (linked at the
top of the page) which is located in Europe.
My thoughts on the key to this product's success would
be to somehow get the price down to even the US$20-25 dollar range and
it will do very well in North America. Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent
top quality mousepad, but it's not worth the pricetag by a longshot.
Pros:
- Excellent Quality & Workmanship
- Gaming and Computer Work is Noticeably Easier
- Very Rigid
Cons:
- Very Expensive for a Mousepad
- Limited Availability
If you have any questions or comments on this mousepad,
please post them in our forums HERE.
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