Beta tester #11 here.
First, the questionairre:
1. My primary use for a mousepad is: Gaming _X__
2. I participate in LAN Parties__X__Lan Competitions__N__Other________ CLAN Member? ___N___
3. I have tried C4 Mousemat with adhesive_X__ C4 Mounted-on-Mousepad__X__
4. I tested C4, NGen an average of ____6____ hrs per day, ___8____of days
5. Type of Mouse: Mfr__Microsoft__ Model__Explorer 3.0___
6. Mousepad I normally use__Dell Freebie____
7. Initial Reaction to this product_WOW! That's thin. Feels great.____
8. The longer I used C4, NGen, the more my opinion Increased_Y_ Decreased__ Stayed the same___
9. I liked the product more WITH__X__ WITHOUT____ the Teflon Mouse Discs on the mouse feet.
10. Rate C4, NGen for the following with 1 = lowest rating to 10 = highest (best) rating:
Appearance____7________
Speed _____10_______
Responsiveness ______10_______
Smoothness________10____________
Durability/Lifespan__Don't know___
Innovation_______10_________
The fact that C4, NGen is Portable is valuable to me_____Y_____
The fact that C4, NGen can be easily cleaned is valuable to me____Y_____
The fact that C4, NGen is a complete mousepad is valuable to me__Y_____
The fact that C4, NGen is available in large sizes_N__ and custom sizes & shapes is valuable to me__N__
11.Rate the Mousing Surface overall_____9_____Rate the Grip Surface____10_____
12.Improved my Gaming Experience YES____X____NO______
13.I?d be willing to purchase C4, NGen for up to $____10______ per mousepad.
14.I would recommend this product to others? Yes___X____No_______
15.Size preference: 9? x 7__X___; 9? x 8? _____ 9.5? x 11.5?_____LARGE PRO-GAMING Size 16? x 16? ______Largest_18 x 16_____ Custom________
16.Should C4-NGen be released to market?? Yes__Y___No______ REASON:__________________
17. Overall Rating:___10_______________________________________________
I know I have a lot of 10's on this evaluation - I have no experience with other premium mouse pads, except the 3M Precise Mousing Surface, and this one is definitely better than that. This is the best mous pad I've ever used, but as noted, take that for what it's worth - I've always been too cheap to shell out the cash for a Ratzpad, Everglide, etc.
I did buy the original C4, and I like this one a whole lot more.
It was a really tough call on the teflon discs for me. Without them my mouse is definitely slicker, or lower friction. This gives great speed, but I felt like I could move the mouse just a tad too easily - I was worried aobout making accidental movements (though that did not happen in testing). With the discs, I felt that the mouse actually dragged a bit more on the surface, but that gave me better control...or at least it felt like it did - I really noticed no performance difference with or without teflon discs in gaming.
I know teflon discs make a big difference on normal pads and surfaces, but they just didn't seem to give that same sort of improvement on the C4.
I was suprised at how thin the pad is. I have not had any issues with corners lifting or creasing, but it's really only sitting on my desk. Rounding the corners would likely help with that, but I do wonder about traveling with this pad without a case, or something to prevent creasing. A normal mouse pad you can pretty much toss anywhere. For this one, I think I'm going to hang on to the tube it shipped in just in case I take it somewhere.
Initially I thought I'd prefer a thicker pad, but I got used to the thinness very quickly. I can, however, see that the thinness could cause problems for people who have desks with damaged or uneven surfaces. A big, cushy mousepad covers all of that up, this one won't.
The stickiness of the backing is EXCELLENT. This thing ain't moving anywhere! Heh, it was almost a pain to get the placement exactly right because each time I wanted to nudge it here or there the dang thing was stuck to the desk
I don't know how many variations of this pad the market would bear - if many, then you could offer different thicknesses, but if not, I wonder if it would make sense to offer a base for the pad - sandwich a thin piece of foam (like the thickness of the foam on a Dell pad) in between two sheets of the rubber backing. Place the pad on top of that - I don't think it would move at all, and that would be a potential solution to people who need or want a thicker pad. I suppose people might not like the 2 piece solution, but I'm just trying to think of ways to keep from having to have too much variation in the product line.
As many have said, I'm not wild about the color, but it wouldn't prevent me from buying this pad - in fact, I think this will make a good Christmas gift for all of my buddies, so I'll probably be ordering a few around that time.
I expect new and cool colors to come out the following January
Some people have mentioned concerns about longevity - if this product retails for close to what the original C4 sells for, I wouldn't be bothered at all about having to replace mine every 18 months or so. Most regular mousepads look like junk after that amount of time anyway
That's about all I can think of. Please feel free to contact me for any further explanations or questions. Thanks for letting me be part of the beta program, and thanks for making such a cool product.