The Test
I still
haven't found a better way to test a mousing surface than to start playing
a first person shooter game. Games like Quake III and Unreal Tournament
require a lot of movement of the mouse and also the occasional difficult
shot. I was quite impressed with the
surface of the Icemat. I even tried an optical mouse and had no problems
at all. Icemat doesn't recommend you use this pad with an optical mouse
but considering how well the smoked glass worked with the mouse I'd say
you'd be safe buying this pad for that use.
One area where the Icemat falls
short is with its rubber feet. In order to keep the clear look of the pad
it has some very small clear feet attached to it. It is not unusual to find
yourself adjusting the pad every so often as it has a tendency to slide
away from you. Another problem with their selection of rubber feet is that
they have a rounded shape and not a flat bottom. That makes for less surface
contacting the desk surface. The Ratpadz unit features more rubber feet
at the front edge of the pad and one dead center on the pad and they are
not only larger but flat. I think the Icemat would really benefit from the
larger feet that the Ratpadz uses. Click on the picture above to see a closeup
of these rubber feet.
Conclusions
I
really like the idea of using glass as a mousing surface. The weight of
a glass pad makes it more stable than the plastic surfaces that I've tried
before. The edge of the pad has a tendency to get annoying after a while
as your palm will let you know that the edge has not been rolled as well
as it could have been. That is actually a minor quibble. The biggest problem
that I had with the unit was the aforementioned rubber feet. I hope that
the Icemat folks switch over to a better rubber foot and add a couple more
for more stability.
All in all I'd say this is a great
pad that deserves your attention. You certainly won't have to worry that
everyone will have the same pad as you if you buy this unit.
Victor
Oshiro 14 March, 2001
