Published:
Saturday, March 17th, 2001
Reviewed By:
A10Spot4Me
Introduction:
Allow me to start with the fUnc sUrface 1030. I?m sure many of you are wondering about the spelling. I?m with you; this is the first time I?ve seen this use of caps in a commercial product too, obviously done purely for marketing. It?s very hard to miss that this mouse shows up in an embossed tin, similar to the packaging of the Boomslang 2000. Instead of a round cookie tin like the Boomslang, you are presented with a nice rectangular tin, where everything you need is safely tucked into foam padding. You get the surface 1030 and a cord clip. Oh I think I forgot, this mousepad comes with? are you ready??? An instruction booklet! No, I am not joking with you. No, the people at fUnc Industries and EverGlide don?t think you?re an idiot that doesn?t know how to use a mousepad. The book is actually just basic information (what could you expect) that is written pretty well. Dealing with issues like, how to use the cord clip properly, take care of your new pad, and your mouse.
Features:
Now, let?s take a look at the biggest feature of this mousepad, the reversible surface. Ho ho! If you didn?t get the feeling of this mouse being extravagant before, you probably should now. The sUrface 1030 is basically a two-in-one; you get one side that is rougher and one smoother. Allowing you to have the choice between which feel you prefer your mouse to have in any given situation. You might like the rougher side?s reduced friction for games, and the smoother side for more controlled movements in applications. I have to stand up and applaud for this; when a company allows us to make our own choice is always preferable than when they make it for us. The surface itself is made of a hard, but flexible, plastic laminate, and should stand the test of time.
Another very important feature of the fUnc sUrface 1030 is the included cord clip. To use it you simply slip it into any of the slots found around the rubber base, and clip your mouse cord in it. An added bonus, they put slots all around the pad so you can either use it as a ?long? or ?wide? mousepad, its completely up to you. As far as the cord goes, you do need to make a loop before between your mouse and the clip, this is your slack, so it will need to be long enough to give you free movement around the entire surface? or should I say? sUrface of the pad. Once that is taken care of, you will find you won?t have those annoying tugs as your mouse cord gets snagged behind the desk. The cord clip ends up doing about the same job as the Mouse Bungee; another product offered that is designed to give you the necessary slack, and keep the mouse cord out of your way. This certainly helps the value of the sUrface 1030; the Mouse Bungee alone sells for $14.95.
Performance:
The performance of a ?high-end? mousepad is simply incredible. If you?re wondering how a mousepad can perform, there are really two main criteria that must be met. First, the friction of the pad itself, how easily does the mouse move on the surface of the pad? Second, how well does the pad grip the mouse ball, is there a noticeable increase in accuracy by using a different pad? There are of course other things, such as how easily is it cleaned, how much dirt does it collect, longevity of the pad, etc. You can see that those qualities of the pad really do nothing to effect the performance. However, they are of course important when you must decide which pad to buy, so they are addressed in the conclusion.
The surfaces of the sUrface 1030 really do feel completely different. On the sUrface pad, the rough side allows for quick movement of the mouse with a feel of the mouse gliding. On the smoother side, there is more friction, which allows for more controlled and refined movements. This was very noticeable to me while I was playing SWAT 3 a couple of days ago. SWAT 3 doesn?t seem to have a very good mouse-aiming system, its very rough and twitchy (in my opinion), and I was having a hard time with missed shots. I flipped the pad over to help with the control of my gun sight, and voila! It worked like a charm; it actually helped me to compensate for the games shortcomings. Not something I am in any way used to seeing. Both sides did much, much better in translating the mouse ball?s movement onto the screen, in comparison to the standard mousepad. I do have to say that I did have slightly better results with the smoother side, due to the increased surface area, there is more for the ball to grab onto. You can hopefully see the obvious benefits of a 2-sided mousepad.
The only negative I can find about this mousepad, is the rubber base. It?s completely floppy, and it needs some support. Moving the pad anywhere makes the base flop off the surface, requiring you to reassemble the pad every time you move it. Adding some kind of reinforcement to the base would go a long way. This is not a huge problem, but can be very annoying, especially since incorporating a hardened plastic sheet into the rubber base could easily solve it.
Conclusion:
I could sum up this entire mouse review in one word, ?Wow?. The fUnc sUrface 1030 looks cool, feels cool, improves your mouse performance, and keeps that damn mouse cord out of your way. If that isn?t worth $20, I don?t know what is. Although this isn?t revolutionary innovation, it?s a huge step up from anything available. The value of the pad is very high, you get a lot for the money you spend. As I said, this is like buying 2 mousepads in 1, and the added cord clip effectively does the job of the $15 Mouse Bungee. I did like the packaging of the sUrface 1030 where, unlike the Boomslang?s, it can actually serve a purpose? The sUrface 1030 is not flimsy like the 3M Precise Mousing Surface, or rock-hard like the EverGlide Attack Pad, but somewhere in the middle. It is flexible, and anyone going to a LAN party or taking their mousepad with them on a trip will actually have a use for the extravagant packaging, as it offers excellent protection for your mousepad. This mousepad does what everyone else does times 2, the two-sided surface, the cord clip, and the pad can comfortably be used as a wide or tall mousepad. The fUnc sUrface is without a doubt my mousepad of choice. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a long lasting mousepad that can improve the feel and performance of their mouse. This is the pad sitting on my desk right now, and it?s not going anywhere. If you have $20 in your bank account, you MUST go to EverGlide?s site and buy one of these. One word sums up this pad: Unbelievable.
