If
you were to ask the question "how do you control your PC?"
pretty much the majority of answers will be along the lines of
"with my mouse". As such, mice have been designed and
redesigned for changing markets, new features and of course to
try and appeal to the individual in all of us. It's the fascination
to have something a little different from the rest that has extended
to mouse surfacing as well. It may be a simple image imprinted
onto the mousemat, differing shapes, textures and materials, or
as has been seen in both the modding community and now retail
companies, differing designs featuring some kind of illumination.
However
I think that this review item certainly tries to appeal to more
than just one user base with its differing colour cycling which
is a little different, especially from a manufacturer. What am
I talking about? The
Flexiglow FX GamePad.
Features
7
Colours options in one pad choices
Eight function is automatic cycle through the seven colours
Incredible lit up bubble effect
Gaming enthusiast approved mousing surface
Terrific night time illumination – ideal for LAN parties
Specifications
Low
power consumption LED lights
USB Cable 1.8m
Slick mousing surface that works well with both Ball and Optical
Mice
The
FlexiGlow FX GamePad comes in a clear plastic shell type package
with all the usual PR info displayed, and partially the pad
itself. Opening the package you are presented with the pad itself
and attached 1.8m USB lead for power, as well as a small packet
with two spare feet which I thought was a great touch by Flexiglow.
Sure, the chances of losing a foot are minimal but the thought
was their and it could happen.
The
surface of the pad itself is a textured black plastic which
works well for both ball and optical mice so a good choice their.
Bottom right of the face of the pad we have an FX Game Pad logo
and top middle is a FlexiGlow logo. Next to this is the button
for cycling the colour options.
The
rear of the pad shows off where the colours come from. The base
of the pad is a clear, bubbled plastic with the center area housing
the LEDs for colour; three LEDs in each of the four corners of
the black circle aiming to the four corners of the pad. Despite
the fact there are only those tiny 3mm LEDs, three of each in
each corner, they do a terrific job of lighting up the base, even
in broad daylight. I've had to (unfortunately) colour edit some
of the photos below because my camera wouldn't pick up the colours
to well, but the colours are very good in real life.
You
can get 7 colours from the pad ranging from Green, Red, Blue,
Yellow (red and green), Purple (red and blue), Aqua (blue and
green), and finally RGB/All/White. All of these are cycled through
by pressing the button. When you power the pad (plug it in)
the pad will go through a light show testing all of the colours
smoothly, and then one after the other quickly before finally
stopping all lighting. You can then press the button to go to
green, again for off, again for red, again for off... wash rinse
repeat. This will get you through the 7 colour options, although
there is an 8th option which will slowly and smoothly cycle
from one colour to the next in about 4 seconds continuously.
In
Use
This
is a very subjective part of the review but hopefully I'll be
able to include enough information to help you make your own minds
up. To test the pad I've been using it in both every day normal
tasks such as web browsing or just clicking icons etc., as well
as an intense few days of nonstop gaming (woe is me). Games of
choice have ranged from Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy to Call of Duty
(specifically the last level). What I've been looking for here
is to see the difference in the feel of accuracy both from my
own sensory feedback as well as how I felt it affected my gaming
and general use.
Weapons
of Choice here have been the Intellimouse Explorer V3.0 and
the Rotokiller RTR-720 rotary ball mouse. In comparison I've
used a cheap laminated mat (ugh), and the desktop surface itself
as well as the Steelpad4S. The precision was determined in the
following ways:
1)
Sniping in Call of Duty
2) Sabre attacks in Jedi Academy
3) Pixel by Pixel drawing in Photoshop
4) Moving the mouse from lower left of screen to close a window
I've
said it before and I will say it again, the laminated standard
pad is awful; full stop. It's too small, drags on the mouse feet
to much and frankly ruins my gaming and any precision work in
Photoshop.
The
desktops big bonus for optical mice is simply space. When it comes
to gaming and graphic work, having a low sensitivity and lots
of room can be a real boon. However not everyone can say the same
thing about their desktop surface, it all depends on what you
have (mines pine woodgrain for reference). It is also pretty bad
for the ball mice, since they can’t get a good grip on the
surface and you often end up slipping/skipping.
The
Steelpad 4S reduces the overall size the desktop has, but has
almost perfect precision and grip with both ball and optical mice.
It's noisy but all of the cons are something you can get used
too.
The
FlexiGlow FX GamePad has a moderately small area for mousing in
this day and age although the overall size of it (including the
clear base) makes you think it is bigger. The surface itself is
textured nicely and works very well in graphic programs, general
day to day use, and even gaming... if you can get past the highly
irritating placement of the colour changing button. Putting the
button on the surface of the pad itself was a big mistake as any
movement of the mouse (by even those with high sensitivity) towards
the top right will invariably find you catching the button. You
mouse will either come to a dead stop, your hand will slip, the
mouse will turn on the spot, you mouse will be lifted from the
surface and you will lose traction.
You
get the idea.
I
also suspect that after a time, this little rubber button will
be accidentally removed by continually knocking it with the mouse.
What I would have liked to have seen is the button for the colour
cycling on the USB lead as near to the pad as possible, or at
least off of the pad itself.
Final
Words
FlexiGlow
have created a visually appealing pad (assuming you like flashy
lights) and have made the correct choice of giving you, the end
user a choice in the colouring you might want. Not many companies
give you this flexibility, as you are usually restricted to one
colour and that colour is more often than not blue. Even when
unlit the pad is appealing for its clear bubbled base alone. Flexiglow
even go so far as to include spare feet for the pad, just incase.
Power
for the pad is obtained via a 1.8m USB lead so you should have
a generous amount of leeway for positioning your pad. The colours
on the pad are terrific; when you cycle to red, it IS red. Blue
IS blue, etc. And all of this can be changed from the push of
one button.
The
surface of the pad is standard size but works very well with both
optical and ball mice so it is a shame that with a pad which has
obviously been thought through before being brought to market,
and indeed was delayed for a redesign, they chose the surface
of the pad to place the colour cycling button. This is the pads
major flaw, and for me personally was frustrating enough to delay
the review itself, as I often became too irritated using it to
give the pad a ‘fair chance’.
If
the button was relocated to somewhere off the mousing area, preferably
onto the wiring, perhaps increase the size a little as well, Flexiglow
would have a real winner on their hands. But as it stands right
now, that button placement kills off one quarter of the pads usage
(the top right).
Update
No
sooner had I finished this review than Flexiglow contacted us
with updated info and pictures. Take a look below.
On
the left is the orginal button, on the right is current style
of the button (albeit retail units are in matching black rather
than the clear silicon). This should be pretty much perfect
as a light touch from a finger will trigger the colour cycling
but the movement of the mouse won't. If you're looking for a
new mouse pad, and want something a bit flashy, I don't think
you'll find another pad that can offer as many combinations
of colour as this one.
Pros:
USB Power - not rocket science. Has an off function as well as
being lit, 7 colours to choose from - not restricted to one or
blue. One touch button to choose colour/function. Colour cycling
mode for that disco effect! Very good colours displayed - no off
colours; red IS red. Good surface for both ball and optical mice.
Cons:
Could be bigger.
Bottom
Line: Flexiglow have done almost everything right with
this pad, you have multiple colours, an off function and a great
surface. You can grab this mousepad over at Directron
(US) and at Maplin
(UK).
If
you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
