Orbit Trackball with Scroll Ring

I've had the trackball for about a month now. I bought it to replace the wireless Mighty Mouse that came with my Mac 'cause it ate batteries like no tomorrow. VERY, VERY pleased with the trackball. It took me about a week to figure out how to comfortably use it as I had exclusively using a Wacom tablet in place of the mouse, before deciding to get some sort of mouse. The software: To start off, for those reading reviews of those complaining about the program, you CAN plug and play it. You don't actually need the program for the trackball to work. The mouse adjustments that you can make in the System Preferences will still work for the trackball. However, in order to access the additional features, you will need to download the software. It's a very easy process, just go to the website, download and install it (the instructions come in the packet). The icon will show up in your System Preferences window under the Other header. I don't know where it appears for Windows as I've only transferred the trackball between our Macs. In the trackball program, you can adjust the usual features (scroll speed, click speed, etc) and also the left/right combo click which you can set to do stuff like go back or forward. The program also allows you to choose which direction to have the scroll ring turn to go up or down. The default is set to clockwise for scrolling down. The buttons: overall, they're pretty standard in function. However, I do find that sometimes in certain programs like a Flash game, it won't always want to click on the first try, so I wouldn't recommend this for gaming purposes for games where you do need an immediate response. All other uses, I haven't really noticed any problems. I love the option of being able to set the dual click to do something :) As a first time trackball user, something else I also had to remember to do was take my fingers off the ball before clicking as I often catch myself nudging the ball when I click and then missing the spot I wanted to click. Same goes for the scroll wheel. I seem to subconsciously fiddle with that too. Trackball: No issues with it at all. It took some getting used to with adjusting from a mouse or my tablet and I found myself trying to click on the ball itself a number of times. *lol* But no fault of the device. The scroll ring: So far, I haven't experienced any of the major problems that have been complained about so far. Up till about a week ago, I hadn't gotten around to looking into the trackball's software and once I did, it made a huge world of difference with how smoothly the ring scrolled. It felt a little slow, previously to the point where it sort of staggered sometimes. I love how I can now just give the ring a quick flick with a finger and I'll be back at the top of a web page. I've actually caught myself trying to do that with a scroll wheel on a mouse at work and wondering why it just inched up instead of flying up where I wanted it! Keeping in mind of the complaints though, I have been careful with the wheel and trying not to use it when I don't feel I really need to, as not to potentially abuse it to death as I really like it. So if I'm scrolling to skim an article or search it for something, I'll use the scroll bar on the browser, which with the trackball is pretty effortless. Extras: It includes a wrist rest that you can attach to the end of the base. I didn't bother with it as my desk has a built in one. Size of whole unit: it's a decent size for me. My hand length is about 7 inches and the size of the unit allows me to perch my fingertips on the ball and comfortably roll forward to the middle joint of my fingers if I want to do one long continuous drag. I've play tested some older trackballs in stores many years ago when the majority seemed to be a lot larger, so this works fairly well. Advice: if you find yourself needing to clean your trackball, don't use Clorox wipes. It leaves a sticky residues that slows down the ball's spin. I just pulled out the ball and washed it with hand soap and water, wiped out the dust in the holder, dried off everything and stuck it back in. User troubleshooting: If you find that your hand is more tired using the trackball than a regular mouse, try adjusting your chair height. This can make a very big difference. If you have an arm rest on your chair, take advantage of it and adjust your chair height to make the rest level with your trackball.

I've been an avid trackball user since the 1990s and have used quite a few of them. I've been trying to replace my favorite discontinued model for years, and of the many I've tried I would say this is the best. Pros: Overall feel is very nice in my hand. It was broken-in within minutes (by this I mean the ease of rolling the ball in it's socket; there is typically a bit of drag or stiffness with most of the trackballs I've tried. This usually gets better over a few days' use). The scroll ring also feels nice. I would call the build quality mid-grade. It doesn't feel high end, but it also doesn't feel like junk. The wrist-rest is just a tiny bit lesser quality plastic, and I didn't expect to use it, but after trying it out it really does improve overall comfort of use. The software is simple, although there is room for improvement. Another pro for me is the ball being in the index-finger position. I really dislike models with the ball in the thumb position, but that is really a matter of personal preference. Cons: Not enough cons to impact overall rating. I would like more buttons, although that is probably a limitation of being a low-cost model, as the more expensive Kensingtons do have more. The ability to chord (press both buttons simultaneously to function as a third button) would be nice. I don't know if that is a limitation of the software, hardware, or both. The scroll ring is a tiny bit too sensitive for my liking. In summary, this is an excellent trackball for the price, and is significantly better than more expensive trackballs I have tried (I got this one for $17 during a Black Friday sale). I wish I bought a few of these at that price, because it seems like once a model becomes discontinued, the after market prices get crazy. For example, my all-time favorite is the Microsoft Trackball Explorer, which was perfect in every way. Long discontinued, they can still be found on Ebay for several hundred dollars. I may give one of the higher end Kensington models a try. I briefly tested one in a store years ago and didn't like the ergonomics, so the only reason I tried this one was because it was insanely cheap. I'm very glad I did.

2.5 Months into ownership review Things I love about this mouse: - The trackball makes maneuvering 3 screens incredibly easy - Switching from mouse to keyboard is so much easier to transition to for some reason. Not sure why but it feels faster and easier - The hand's resting position is comfortable even for all day use. As a cubicle worker, this was a must. - The resting position also makes it very easy to reach each button, and use the track ball at the same time Things I don't love about this mouse: - The trackball needs to be cleaned regularly. More specifically the little nodules that hold the trackball in place do. They get clogged with oils and dust from your hands, which can impact the trackball's smoothness. I have to clean those off every few days or the trackball loses all fluidity - Sometimes "disconnects" so you have to unplug it and plug it back in. Not super annoying, but annoying nonetheless All-in-all I do really like this mouse, but there were some things I hadn't thought of before I bought it. Wouldn't stop me from buying it again though. Likely has better applications than what I'm using it for, but if nothing else, no one else in the office has one, which is fun.

I have Kensington trackballs for over 20 years and own several Orbits. They work well the fit and scroll ring are perfect for my applications. and best yet along with my ergo split keyboard it keeps people from using my computer. These are easy trackball units to use and they are durable and easy to clean.

Great replacement for my mouse, less space needed on my desktop. Takes a little use to adapt to the changeover, but a delight to use, the orb moves very smoothly, it’s easy to highlight and select text, and the scroll ring makes it easy to scroll up or down documents and webpages too. So pleased also that it arrived (from the US) four days early. Excellent service!

Superb product and worth of money. I would like thanks Kensington for this trackball.it’s amazing,attractive,precise.ergonomic and very soothing to my finger. Now I can take full control of my laptop with finger controls. Before this I was suffering wrist fatigue vague pain and discomfort from using Logitech mouse.Thank to this Kensington trackball now my wrist worries is gone. Bye Bye mouse.

Perfect workmate!

Es el primer trackball que tengo y es muy cómodo y fundamental la rueda de scroll para una buena experiencia, con una mano muy pequeña quizá sea un poco grande, pero la mía para ser hombre es pequeña y me va bien.

Great to use for both hands. Very useful wheel to scroll The removable Little wrist extension ramp means there is no need to use extra padding and supports the wrist