14 DAY TRIAL // Mice have been making great strides towards operating successfully on any sort of surface, which is a big change from how they couldn't do anything but annoy you when placed on an even slightly reflective surface, like lacquered wood. You know, the type that most desks use.
Still, the effectiveness of the laser/optical sensor still depends on the surface you put the mouse on, which is why mousepads still sell just fine.
Well, that and the fact that mousepads are the perfect way to make a statement. They can boast the theme of your favorite game or eSports team, or just add a cool color theme to your bedroom.
ASUS has just unveiled a mousepad, called ROG GM50. Yes, the ROG stands for Republic of Gamers, the brand which ASUS only straps to its highest-end hardware and peripheral accessories.
The mousepad measures 380 x 280 mm / 15 x 11 inches and has a thickness of 3.5 mm / 0.13 inches, about the same as a headphone jack. Less if you also count the rubber/plastic that always dresses the headphones/speaker connectors.
The mousepad also has blunt corners, which preserve its shape better than for other pads. There's also a mouse cord untangling band on the upper left corner.
Really, the only thing missing here is a wrist rest made of a sponge-like material or some sort of wrapped up gel.
Then again, this is a gaming mousepad, and many gamers, especially professionals, have lower than maximum sensitivity settings for the cursor speed, in order to enhance precision. The tradeoff is that they need to swipe the mouse in wide arcs pretty often.
A writs rest would have been counterintuitive for that, since it would try to keep the person's hand in one place instead.
Players of FPS (fist-person shooter) and RTS (real-time strategy) titles will appreciate the ASUS ROG GM50 mousepad most (product page here). Sales haven't started yet though. Shipments will only begin near the end of September, in most major markets.
Here is the exact list of countries that will receive it: UK, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, Netherlands, Nordic countries, Italy, France, Portugal, Poland, Spain and the Czech Rep. The rest of the world should eventually get some shipments as well. Unfortunately, the price was not specified anywhere.
The mousepad ships with a red wristband you can use to profess your ownership of ASUS ROG hardware wherever you go. May or may not help your image during LAN parties.
