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View Full Version : Mouse pads? A thing of the past.



virgo
12-22-2010, 12:39 AM
Just curious how many people out there use mouse pads these days. I've got a client looking at mouse pads as a serious promotion tool, I'm trying to convince them it's not a popular item these days - am I wrong?

It's my observation we're all working mobile these days, laptops don't need mouse pads, and in fact even the mice for sale these days don't need them!

If this is a promotional tool, it's going to get put in draw (or a bin) and forgot about, not a great idea!

Think perhaps they've had their heyday, which is a shame because they were a great way of having your business right there on a potential clients desk!

What are your thoughts?

KristineS
12-22-2010, 12:25 PM
We sell blank mousepads for sublimation and we sell quite a few of them. I think a lot of businesses still use desktop computers and still use mousepads. It really depends on what the target market is I guess. Also, what the subject is. For a restaurant, putting your menu on a mousepad and getting it to the receptionist at local businesses might be a good idea. If you're the computer repair guy, mousepads would be a nice promotional tool.

You just have to know your market.

vangogh
12-22-2010, 12:27 PM
I use a laptop so not only no mouse pad, but no mouse. On the other hand I know people with laptops who still like using a mouse. I can't say I see them pulling out a mousepad all that often though. Most desktops I see will have a mousepad next to it, however they generally aren't in need of a freebie to promote someone. There are so many mouse pads around that it seems anyone can easily find one with an image they like or promoting their favorite sports team. It's unlikely a promo mouse pad from some company is going to replace that.

My gut is telling me a mouse pad isn't the best promotional item at the moment. Sounds like it's what you're thinking too.

cbscreative
12-22-2010, 02:29 PM
I wouldn't be too quick to recommend them as a promotional tool either, but I still use them on all the desktop computers we have. Like you said, they're usually not needed with optical mice, but I still prefer to have them on the desk. In an office setting, I think they still may have some value. With the laptop, definitely not. Even though I have an cordless optical mouse for the laptop, I never use a mouse pad with it, nor would I want the burden of carrying one. For the most part, the cordless mouse only gets used in a coffee shop or presentation situation when a table top is present. When using the laptop as its namesake on the lap, a standard mouse becomes a hindrance.

I suspect age may be an issue on this one. Those using computers back in the 90's probably still like mouse pads. Younger people might not use them as much. However, I just asked my 16 year old son who is taking computer graphics classes at a tech skill center if the classroom had mouse pads. His answer was yes. Not every station has a mouse pad, but most do. That one sample may or may not be consistent with the majority, but it's worth noting.

Steve B
12-22-2010, 03:24 PM
Since mouse pads don't really wear out, if you decide to give one away it has to be a nice one so it will motivate people to replace their current one. I use a mousepad and it happens to be from a promotion from a Home Show. It was a little bigger than my previous one so I like it. I've had the same one for 4 years. Now, here's the funny part. I actually needed this company's phone number 2 or 3 times and I Googled it (even though it was right there on my mousepad). After a while, you don't even look at it anymore.

Harold Mansfield
12-22-2010, 03:45 PM
If you can get them cheap and a little bigger than most promotional mouse pads then it's not a horrible idea. Personally I have a few that I have accumulated over the years but I don't use one anymore. I think only the mice with the roller ball even need one anymore unless you have a glass desk.
I think you have a better shot that business people still use coffee mugs on their desk (even as a pen holder), than mouse pads. I love a nice coffee mug.

Paper Shredder Clay
12-22-2010, 04:34 PM
Don't know why it didn't post my reply. I use a mousepad with my MacBook Pro, but I agree that the demand for mousepads is quickly fading.

Business Attorney
12-22-2010, 06:11 PM
It's my observation we're all working mobile these days, laptops don't need mouse pads, and in fact even the mice for sale these days don't need them!

I think "we're all working mobile these days" is a huge overstatement. It depends on who your target is. In my experience, few people who work in a standard office environment work on a laptop, and those who do treat it more like a desktop computer when they are in the office. I don't use my laptop at all in my office. One of my partners does use his laptop, but he docks it and uses a full size keyboard and mouse when he is in his office.

As for mousepads, I don't use one with the optical mouse at my office but I do use one with my laptop at home if I am sitting at a particular computer desk because the finish on the desk seems to confuse the mouse occasionally. And I agree that they are pretty useless when the laptop is actually on your lap.

On the whole, though, I don't think a mousepad is going to get the use it would have before the widespread use of laptops and optical mice.

billbenson
12-22-2010, 07:33 PM
It would be interesting to walk through a large company and see how many pc's have them. I work at a desktop and don't have a laptop. I haven't used a mousepad in years. I suspect a lot will end up in the trash unless its really entertaining.

UFOnaut
12-25-2010, 10:09 AM
Some PC users consider that mouse pad is not necessary for modern optical mouse, this is mistake, mouse pad will perfectly organise working space on a workplace, it helps your mouse to be in good shape always. The mouse has four pads which are intended for reduction of a surface friction that improves sliding and allows to move the mouse with smaller effort and more precisely position the cursor. The surface of a mouse pad has special structure which reduces the friction area, thereby protects pads of a mouse from abrasion.
This is also a good advertising area.

Link Edited**

orion_joel
12-26-2010, 09:19 PM
I still use a mousepad. However i doubt a promo one would really do much for me. I use it primarily because the mouse I have been using is a little touch on the desk I have and the mouse pad seems to smooth out the tracking. Where straight on the desk the mouse seems to jump around all over the place(on the screen that is).

Harold Mansfield
12-27-2010, 03:36 PM
Also trackballs are pretty popular these days. I use one myself and those also don't need a mouse pad since they don't move.

huggytree
12-27-2010, 10:32 PM
i use a mouse pad

both of my computers are laptops, but i dont like that little pad to control the arrow..its too akward for me

i bought my first wireless mouse about a year ago...wow how nice....w/o a mouse pad i would think it would be hard on your hand...i rest my wrist on the pad

gabearnold
01-07-2011, 01:34 PM
I think your client has the concept right. Something on the desk, in front of the client, to always remind them of your company name. Paper pads, mugs, mouse pads, and everything like that make a difference. Right now I have on my desk this little letter opener from a guy that explained this to me. Now mind you, he has THE WORST website ever. If I shared the link to it I would be banned from the forum for posting something too 1998 looking for the web ;)

But he was right about the fact that you need have constant reminders in front of your clients. So if it's not mouse pads, steer them in the right direction with the same concept. The concept is correct.

vangogh
01-07-2011, 02:00 PM
If I shared the link to it I would be banned from the forum for posting something too 1998 looking for the web

Actually the punishment for such a crime would be to send you back in time to 1998 so you'd be forced to see all websites looking the same way. I swear I have a time machine here. Really I do. :)

cbscreative
01-07-2011, 03:01 PM
And you'd have to live Windows 95, the horrible first release of Windows 98, and Y2K all over again! Remember, Windows 98SE didn't come out until 1999 and XP was late 2001.

Harold Mansfield
01-07-2011, 04:27 PM
Let's not forget Windows ME. I remember waiting for an open terminal at COMDEX that year to test it out. MS had a bout 100 computers set up and a huge display taking up 1000's of sq ft of convention space.
That was actually the last I ever heard of it.

maintenanceguy
01-07-2011, 08:44 PM
Hey now ! I liked Windows ME It was easy for my simpleton ways

cbscreative
01-08-2011, 04:50 PM
For being built on DOS, 98SE was actually a good OS, way better than ME. However, ME was fine as long as you bought it on a system and never made any changes to that system. As soon as you upgraded anything, you risked having ME choke and gag.

I'm actually impressed that they were able to take something with all the limitations of DOS and keep patching it up to work for over 20 years. When you consider the changes in technology over that 20 year period, that's an amazing feat.

Dan, just in case you're not aware of it, ME was the last incarnation of 9x, meaning it was the replacement for 98SE, not the new NT like you might think. I've always wondered why MS did that. I'm sure many people must have been confused by the fact that ME and 2000 should have been named the other way around because on their previous naming convention. It doesn't matter much now though, since you rarely see either one any more.

lootebag
08-18-2011, 02:40 PM
Mouse pads really are a thing of the past! Most mouses now have little optical red lasers! That means you don't need one of those pesky pads!