[Darksaber]

Introduction

I would like XTracPads for supplying the review sample.

The following quotes taken from the XTracPads website give you an idea about the company's mentality and philosophy:

About:
Started in March of 2002 by a group of hard-core PC gamers, our mousing surfaces and accessories have won countless awards. We offer an expanding variety of surfaces and optical mouse pad sizes. Not only are our products used in computer gaming, they are equally efficient for many other applications such as digital animation, desktop publishing and more. The medical, military, gaming, art, scientific and aerospace industries all benefit from the high quality, speed and accuracy found in all XTracPads optical mouse pads. XTracPads is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Thank You:
We thought it was appropriate to have a special page dedicated to everyone that has contributed to the success of our company. Thanks to a higher power for providing inspiration each and every day. To all our customers and loyal fans, XTracPads would not be where we are today without you... "Thank you!" Thank you to our resellers and business partners all over the world. All our friends and affiliates in the review world, thank you for taking your valuable time to give your honest opinions on the products we've sent you for review.

We will take a look at the XTracPads Mad Dotz today.

Features:

• Peal-N-Stick
• Reduce wear of mouse & surface
• Minimize friction

Packaging & Contents

The XTracPads Mad Dotz come packaged in a cardboard envelope. The front clearly states the purpose of the dots, as it may not be apparent right away. You will also know exactly how many you will be getting. The back gives you some strong points of the Mouse Dotz and also mentions the simple application instructions.


There is not much to be found inside the package. You will get a small alcohol wipe and 12 Mad Dotz affixed to a strong plastic sheet. The Dotz are really hard to get off the sheet, which makes the application a bit difficult.

Application

First, the alcohol cloth was unpacked. There is only a single one in the package, which cannot be resealed. The cloth itself is quite small, but should be sufficient for cleaning any mouse feet. It would have been great if two or three of these pads were included as there are Dotz for about three mice. The Mad Dotz were applied to a Logitech MX Revolution which was easily cleaned with the included cloth.


The alcohol diminished quickly, so you will not need to wait a long time until you may apply the Mad Dotz. As mentioned before, peeling the Dotz off the plastic sheet is quite difficult. Pulling them off actually deformed the edges slightly, which means that they will not hold as well on the mouse. Odds are that you will make some of the Mad Dotz unusable, if you are not really careful.


Due to the circular shape of the Mad Dotz, the Logitech MX Revolution requires at least five to cover all the mouse feet.

Performance

The XTracPads Mad Dotz were tested on both cloth and plastic mouse pads. On both surfaces the mouse became much faster as the friction between the mouse feet and both the plastic or cloth pad was greatly diminished. The Mouse was then used for a week to test the continuous performance. With a daily use of around 6 hours the performance noticeably reduced over time. After some time the Mad Dotz actually collected some dust on the edges.


This is due to the slight deformation and curling of the material, as they were peeled off the plastic sheet. If XTracPads could make the application less forceful, the lifetime of the Dotz would greatly be extended. As it stands now, these Mad Dotz may be of limited use for LAN parties or short periods of time. At a price of just under 4 Dollars for 12 of these, the limited lifetime does not hurt that much. I suggest buying the big pack with 36 Mad Dotz right away, as this pack comes at a cheaper price per Mad Dot ratio and you will have enough for a year, even if you go to a lot of LAN parties.

Value and Conclusion

	The XTracPads Pro comes with a price tag of $3.99 US Dollars for 12 pieces in retail packaging as tested or $5.99 US Dollars for 36 in OEM packaging.
	Appropriate price Reduce friction greatly Cling to mouse very well Should last once applied 12 Dotz are enough for multiple mice or applications Simple but effective packaging
	Will not fit on every mouse Hard to peel off plastic sheet Hard to apply - curl up easily
8.0	The XTracPads Mad Dotz work extremely well for about a week, after which the performance difference between the Mad Dotz and the mouse feet are virtually non existent. This may not sound good, but considering the price of under 4 US Dollars the Dotz may be considered parts that will wear out quickly. The price is consistent with a snack you would eat while on a LAN party. Taking that into account the Mad Dotz fulfill their purpose. If XTracPads could simplify the installation, these Dotz would last even longer.