Hori Fighting Stick Mini 3 - any good?

[Stormwatch]

Well, I must say that I am tempted:

Hori Fighting Stick Mini 3 (PS3/PC)



Summary
It's tiny, it's convenient for storing, and it improves your performance by several fold. Immense fun truly comes in small packages. The newest Hori control sticks are smaller than a B5 notebook, but offers the full set of buttons and joysticks of a proper arcade controller. The board even provides a bit of space for the gamer to rest their wrists, thus increasing their stamina. The rapid fire functions are fully intact, the gamer can set it to fire 20 bullets per second or hold down the firing command during their games. Besides shooting and fighting, the controller is also compatible with a vast a array of game genres.

Features
> Official Hori product
> 8 button layout
> Turbo function included (20 times/sec)(Turbo hold)
> 9.8ft cable

I suppose many here would want something more "heavy-duty", but the size is actually a positive point: I want to rest it on my legs (like I used my trusty old Sega Arcade Power Stick for the MD), not on a table. The price (~$50) also sounds quite inviting. Does anyone have any experience with this stick? Any thoughts?

[Zapf]

Most sticks like the TE or hrap are fine for laps.

With the buttons the way they are, I probably would not buy.

[shmuppyLove]

I have an ASCII Super Advantage joystick that I modded for USB that I have used quite a bit in the past, also because it was very compact and fit well on my lap.

But the Super Advantage is not microswitched, which isn't great for shmups, but it didn't bother me too much. It also means it's basically silent, which is good if you're shmupping in the same room as your fianceé.

[Stormwatch]

Found a bit more info and pics on SRK, here and here.