Introduction

Maybe you can't build a better mousetrap, but Flexiglow has managed to improve on the mousepad idea with their new Illuminated Fx Game Pad, provided by Maxdy.  It combines a slick (but not too slick) hard plastic gaming surface with a stylish lighted border.  Not a lot of benchmarks to run on this piece of hardware, but it's a functional item so I'll give it a look.

 

Overview

The usable portion of the Gamepad measures 9.5" x 7.5" (240mm x 187mm) for a total area of  about 71 square inches (448 cm² ).  The corners are rounded off, so the actual usable area is somewhat smaller.  The surface texture is a slick plastic that feels a lot like UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) plastic, a common material similar to that used in plastic cutting boards for the kitchen.  It seems to be pretty durable.  The border is constructed of a centimeter-thick transparent plastic material that feels very solid.  It is very hard, and has good optical qualities.  There looks to be a fair amount of trapped gas bubbles within the border, giving the LED illumination a way to scatter and diffuse. The top edges are rounded off, making a smooth transition to the desktop when your hand is resting on it.

What makes this pad interesting is the illumination.  It draws power from a USB port to power it's twelve(!) LED's embedded in the plastic base.  There is a small rubber button that is located on the top portion of the pad near the cord exit.  When power is applied, the button controls the lighting function.  When pressed and released, the lights rotate through the possible combinations.  There are four groups of LED's arranged at the corners of the pad, and each cluster consists of a red, green and blue LED.  With the three primary colors and mixing, you get these combinations, plus a rotating mode in which the lights cycle through the colors.

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