Depending on your age, you may or may not remember when mice had rubber balls to track movement. It was horrible, as they would often get clogged and required cleaning. They also benefited from a mouse pad, as the ball would work better on it than on a desk surface.
Nowadays, we have optical and laser mice, which track much better on most desk surfaces. In other words, for the most part, no mouse pad is needed. Gamers, however, still invest in mouse pads (aka mouse mats) as a way to get an edge in competitions. Today, Razer announces the Firefly, which, in my opinion, is the coolest mouse pad ever. Both gamers and non-gamers will want to check this thing out.
Razer explains that the Firefly is "the first hard gaming mouse mat with Razer's Chroma lighting feature. The Chroma feature adds 16.8 million color options and numerous customizable lighting effects to the mouse mat, including reactive, wave and spectrum cycling. Razer Firefly has lighting along its left, right and bottom borders and can sync up with other Chroma enabled Razer devices for virtually limitless color combinations".
Razer shares the following features.
- Micro-textured finish for balanced gameplay
- Optimized surface coating for highly responsive tracking
- Chroma customizable lighting
- Non-slip rubber base
- Razer Synapse enabled (for Chroma customizable lighting)
- Gold-plated, USB connector (to power the Chroma customizable lighting)
- Seven-foot, lightweight, braided fiber cable
- Approximate size: 355 mm / 13.98-in. (Length) x 255 mm / 10.04-in. (Width) x 4 mm / 0.16-in. (Height)
- Approximate weight: 380 g / 0.84 lbs
Yes, this is a hard plastic mouse pad (not a rubber/foam model) that lights up and is powered by USB. Gimmicky? Absolutely. Awesome? You bet! Computer nerds love lights, and this will be a great way to enhance the look of a gaming setup. The fact that the colors can be changed -- to 16.8 million options -- is just glorious overkill, and I love it.
Of course, this is not a product that only exists for its superficial qualities. It should help with gaming too. Hell, it can benefit anyone who needs precise mouse movement, such as artists or designers.
The Razer Firefly will launch next month for $59.99. The color-changing software will require Windows or OS X -- sorry, Linux users. Will you buy it? Tell me in the comments.