If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

A mousepad isn’t usually a very interesting thing; it’s just something you use and might have cute kittens on. Unless you’re a gamer and like spending hundreds of dollars to get better headshots, of course.

But, despite being another dreaded convergence gadget, the Roll-up Mouse Pad With Speaker + Hub actually seems like a good idea. Aside from the ovbious USB ports, a set of functional speakers - even not the best - are handy for playback from a portable player, and since all this wraps up in a small package can only make it better.

It’s far from an ideal solution for music lovers or the ultimate USB hub, but it could be a simple solution for people who travel a lot.

How much under $29.99?
A little: $22 on Gadget4All.com.

Via bookofjoe

OMG a shark is eating a guy’s hand! Yes… and no. It’s a shark and it’s a guy’s hand, but no one’s getting digested. The USB Warming Mouse Pad looks silly, but it’s a potential saviour for those of us with bad circulation (or who just work in offices casually known as “igloos”).

In case you’ve never noticed, in a cold room the hand on the mouse freezes first. So the idea of putting my mouse inside something to keep my hand warm is oh so pleasant… Just imagine coming to work in the winter and putting both hands inside it.

The only issue I can see is… claustrophobia. Sort of. A cover over the mouse pad means less freedom of movement, which might be uncomfortable for some. But as long as that’s not an issue, this is a great idea and many people will be happy to hear about it.

How much under $29.99?
A little: $22 on USBGeek.com.

Via BoingBoing

A mouse trap for a mouse… Makes perfect sense. So why not a Mousetrap mousepad for a computer mouse?
(If you can get more “mouse” in a sentence, you get a prize.)

I always love a nice pad on my desk, it’s a way of decorating it with useful items, and this is one of the best I’ve seen.

It looks very realistic, at least in the photo, but it won’t harm your pointing device. (Unless you bang it against the pad and the desk underneath, of course.) You can use it as a warning to colleagues (”My mouse, my desk, do not touch”), but I think they will be too intrigued not to check it out.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $12 on ShopModi.com.

Via Chip Chick

I don’t usually cover things from Thanko for one reason: I don’t know Japanese, I can’t read the product description, it’s weird writing about something based on some pictures and a bad automatic translation.

But the MouseStage is too cool an idea to ignore. Everyone who’s ever used a laptop knows that the numpad is gone. I don’t usually miss it… usually. Yeah, you can turn it on, but you cannot use your normal (letter) keys and the numbers at the same time, which can be extremely annoying if you’ve got to do some figure crunching. This mousepad has an embedded numpad; just connect it to an USB port and you can use it.

I don’t know what you think, but to me this is an awesome idea, which saves you time and space. Too bad I don’t live in Japan.

How much under $29.99?
A little: ~$25 on Thanko.jp.

Via EverythingUSB

I am sure that with a little more self-control I could manage to set a daily schedule and actually follow it, but… right now, it’s not happening. Once in a while, someone asks me why I haven’t done task X I promised to do by yesterday, at which time I go “err… did I promise?”. I tried writing things down, but I lost the notes.

I need a Tear Away Planner Mousepad. It’s brilliant. The pad is basically a stack of planner sheets, each for one week, so whenever you get an e-mail or receive a phone call, you only have to shove your mouse aside and write it down. And how messy can you be to actually lose your mousepad? Chances are this planner will always be handy and you just have to glace down to see that you have a report due in half and hour and panic appropriately.

You can even set future plans: This Weekend, Next Week or, for the less likely, Snowball in Hell. Just don’t let the boss see that the big project that’s supposed to be ready next month is filed under that last heading…

How much under $29.99?
A lot: $9.99 on ThinkGeek.com.

If you liked the circuitboard coasters, you’ll probably love the Circuitboard Mouse Mat. It’s made out of actual discarded circuitboard, which would’ve ended up in a landfill otherwise, so you might be doing a little something for the planet by buying one of these.

(Is manufacturing & shipping one of these less harmful than throwing it away? I hope so. Reusing things is a very good thing in my book, anyway.)

Becase they use real circuitboards, each mouse pad will be unique.

But there’s one thing you should be advised about: these pads are not optical mouse-friendly. If you really want to get one, you might have to dig out your old ball mouse.

How much under $29.99?
Some: ~$16 on Red5.co.uk.

Via Coolest Gadgets