Trackball Mouse

Originally I dropped a star due to the price but it is a good quality item so on reflection maybe I'm being a bit harsh. I bought a second one later from Amazon warehouse for about half the price and it's a bargain at that price. It works exactly as you'd want it to and the scroll wheel is very good. Overall I found all the functions responsive and accurate. It's comfortable to use, well designed and the ergonomics work well. It sits flat on the desk and whilst bigger than a standard mouse it needs less space because it doesn't move around. I've seen some questions on here so I can report that it works perfectly on my Linux Mint 22 system. No setup required. Just plug in the USB and away you go. No extra drivers needed. I don't use it for gaming so I can't comment on that aspect. I

I have been a diehard mouse user, and badgered by son and partner (both creatives) to get a trackball. I hated trackballs - having used theirs whenever on their PCs. My argument for not getting one was that I couldn't scroll and had to fly over to the right of my screen to pick up the scrollbar, then I'd drift off it so it would jump up, and then the same process when i need to go back up the page. If you're constantly going up and down pages fast, it's a nightmare with a trackball. However, the mouse did make you crawl all over the desk, having to lift it up and down all the time when covering wide areas of the screen and running out of deskspace. After one such argument, I said "if only they made a trackball with a scrollwheel" - so I simply googled it and found this one. Read all the reviews, and there are many on there just like me, mouse users, in need of the scrollwheel, doing graphics, etc. So I was convinced and took the plunge. BEST DECISION I EVER MADE!!!! Not having to move my mouse all over my desk is just fantastic, you realise you just put up with these things in everyday life because you have to, and now I don't have to I realise what an actual nightmare it could be. The buttons are very soft to click, it's such an easy, fabulous piece of kit. The blue rollerball is really nice to look at as well, if that's your thing, and the action on it is really smooth. I am so much zippier around my pages now. The wrist rest that comes with it is also a great bonus. The hand position is just right for me (whereas on son and husband's kensington the ball is too high and my wrist is at a sharper angle). So now guess who wants one just like mine?! If you're worried about taking the plunge on switching from mouse to trackball, this is the one to go for. And the price is pretty amazing too I thought (elsewhere on the web for around £30 which I did NOT want to spend). Highly recommended, except now I have to buy two more!!! :)

I have bought three of these now. They last about three years before the button contacts start to wear out rendering the mouse unusable. I use the mouse mainly for dialogue editing and sound design. The reason I keep buying these in spite of their limited lifespan is because they are really easy to use when desk space is restricted or cluttered or you don't have a suitable surface to slide around a regular mouse. It takes some getting used to at first but when you get the hang of it it's actually easier to use, faster and smoother than a regular mouse. You can even have it on your lap or the arm of your chair because it doesn't need to be dragged around on a flat surface. The tracker ball pops out easily if the mouse is dropped but it's sometimes necessary to pop out the ball when the laser pickups in the ball socket get clogged with dust and fibres causing it to become unresponsive. When this happens you can just run a finger or a wipe around the inside of the socket and give it a good blow, then pop the ball back in. I think for the price that the build quality should be better. The buttons shouldn't stop working after three years.

I've been suffering from mouse-related elbow tendonitis since late last year, so I have been through various pointing devices trying to find one that will not keep damaging the tendons. Finally, with this trackball, I have found a solution ... not just in helping with the tendonitis, but also in feeling easy and natural to use. As a hardened mouse user, I was initially wedded to the idea that I needed to find a better mouse. So I tried various "ergonomic" alternatives, but I realised that my problem came from the left-right pivoting of the elbow, and not from the angle of my wrist or the stress of pressing the buttons. In fact the "ergonomic" mice I tried made things worse, since being wireless they added the weight of a battery to the mass I was pushing around. One or two small batteries doesn't sound like much, but it's all extra load on a problem joint/tendon. Next, I went for a Logitech M570 trackball. I found steering with my thumb clunky, and the trackball was not pixel-accurate; it jerks by several pixels when you move it, rather than rolling smoothly. Cleaning and lubricating helps but does not completely solve the jerkiness (in fairness it's fine for general desktop use, just not for pixel-perfect control). The final drawback is that the M570 is right-handed device; I used it for a period with my left hand in order to allow time for my right elbow to heal, but it's not designed for this at all. I also tried a Wacom tablet, but again moving the stylus put stress (if less than with a mouse) on the damaged elbow. Then a few weeks ago, I happened to see one of the large Kensington trackballs (it was in a producer's intro to the Battlestar Galactica box set; he was sitting in front of an editing system with a Kensington Expert trackball front and centre). As soon as I saw it, I instinctively felt it was the kind of thing I needed. I searched for "Trackball with large ball" and soon identified it as a Kensington device; a SlimBlade soon arrived and now, a few weeks later, my elbow is not troubling me at all and I'm as comfortable using this, as I used to be with a mouse. The large ball has a definite feel of "heft", running smoothly and allowing pixel-perfect placement. So for me it has been worth every penny, even allowing for the rather high price. I have spent more than that price on trying other solutions that didn't work for me. The initially-released software was rightly criticised but the latest version is fine, allowing each button to be programmed with a different function, as well as being able to detect when the top pair or bottom pair of buttons are pressed simultaneously, giving six functions overall. The "twist ball to scroll" feature feels completely natural, and is the main feature that sets the SlimBlade apart from the slightly cheaper Expert. But I'm sure that an Expert with its physical scroll ring would do just as well, and it offers the benefit of coming with a wrist rest ... however I don't personally feel that the SlimBlade needs a wrist rest because of the way it slopes gently down to the desk -- and it would be easy enough to improvise or purchase one if needed. ----- Updates following a few more weeks of use: LUBRICATION: lanolin is apparently what Kensington uses for lubrication at manufacture, and is thus perfect for re-lubricating the ball if necessary. I just moisturised my fingertips with a tiny amount of solid, 100% pure anhydrous lanolin, and then used the ball for a few seconds, and a day later it is still gliding like new. GAMING: I got around to playing a first-person shooter with the trackball, and am happy to report that it works for me just as well as a mouse. Equivalent control, but no more running out of mouse-pad! The only disadvantage is that your index finger is naturally used to steer the ball, so you may need to map a different control to fire weapons etc. But overall, FPS gaming is at least as enjoyable for me with this, as it was with a mouse.

Fits the hand well. Easy to set up. I have been using a well known marble mouse for years, but it appears to be obsolete now. Any on the secondary market are horrendously overpriced, so finding this as a replacement is great.

Den Trackball habe ich nicht für mich bestellt, obwohl ich selbst auch Trackball - Fan bin. Ich bevorzugeaber einen kabellosen Trackball für den Couchbetrieb. Diesen preisgünstigen Trackball hatte ich gewählt, um einem Menschen mit spastischer Behinderung zu helfen. Die Person hatte das Problem, dass sich beim Linksklick die Maus immer verschob, so dass die Maus mit der anderen Hand gegen das Verschieben blockiert werden musste. Dies löste dann manchmal wiederum einen unerwünschten Rechtsklick aus. Das Positionieren des Zeigers und das Klicken wurde so zu einem Geduldsspiel. Mit dem Trackball klappt dies nun einwandfrei. Das Nichtvorhandsein von zusätzlichen Scroll- oder Browsertasten und die grossflächigen, seitlich angebrachten Tastenfelder ermöglichen einen problemlosen Links -, Rechtsklick. Die Person war von dem Trackball so begeistert, dass sie noch einen weiteren Trackball für einen Freund bestellt hat, der auch eine Körperbehinderung mit Spastik hat. Der Trackball ist einfach, aber formschön und scheint gut verarbeitet zu sein. Das Preisleistungsverhältnis stimmt bei diesem Produkt.

Ich habe den Trackball im August vergangenen Jahres gekauft und nutze ihn seitdem sechs Tage in der Woche auf der Arbeit (heute seit etwa 7 Monate). Verarbeitung und Qualitaet Die Verarbeitung insgesamt ist fuer den Preis recht gut. Der Trackball als ganzes verrutscht nicht (normaler Buerotisch, die Gummi-Fuesschen unter dem Trackball wische ich etwa alle 2 Monate einmal ab), der Ball laeuft in der Regel sehr weich und glatt (Reinigung siehe unten). Die Maustasten klicken ohne Probleme, egal ob man sie vorne oder hinten drueckt. Das Scrollrad laeuft leicht und etwas locker. Von einem teuren Produkt wuerde ich hier ein geschmeidigeres Gefuehl erwarten. Da die Funktion aber einwandfrei ist, ziehe ich hier fuer ein derart guenstiges Geraet keinen Punkt ab. Der Ball selbst ist glatt und angenehm zu fuehren, auch mit trockenen Fingern rutsche ich nicht ab. Bedienung Die Bedienung funktioniert fuer mein Empfinden nach etwas Eingewoehnung sehr gut. Mit dem Daumen bediene ich den Linksklick Zeige-, Mittel- und teils Ringfinger bewegen den Ball, wodurch er sich sehr praezise steuern laesst, der Ringfinger scrollt und der kleine Finger bedient den Rechtsklick. Da sich die Hand / das Geraet selbst nicht bewegen, benoetigt man sehr wenig Platz. Ich arbeite oft ueber zwei Monitore und bewege die Maus ueber die volle Breite, was so sehr viel leichter und angenehmer ist, als mit einer herkoemmlichen Maus. Fuer Zwecke im normalem Windows-Betrieb (Office, Surfen, Bildbearbeitung, etc.) benutze ich den Trackball sehr gerne. Fuer Videospiele finde ich eine traditionelle Maus als intuitivere Verlaengerung des Armes besser geeignet. Software Die mitgelieferte Software ist eine nuetzliche Ergaenzung. Geschwindigkeit und Richtung des Scrollens habe ich angepasst. Ausserdem nutze ich regelmaessig die Funktion den Mauszeiger per einstellbarem Hotkey auf der Tastatur entweder langsamer und damit praeziser zu bewegen, sowie die Bewegungsrichtung in der Horizontalen oder Vertikalen zu fixieren, sodass man senkrechte und waagerechte Bewegungen ohne Probleme vollfuehren kann. Diese Funktionen nutze ich ueberwiegend in der Bild- und Grafikbearbeitung. Einschraenkungen Der Trackball hat nur zwei Tasten. Man kann diese ueber die Software mit gewuenschten Funktionen belegen, auf Links- und Rechtsklick laesst sich aber in der Regel natuerlich schwer verzichten. Eine dritte Taste laesst sich lediglich als Klick mit beiden Maustasten gleichzeitig simulieren und ueber die Software frei belegen. Fazit Ein gutes Produkt um das Prinzip des Trackballs auszutesten. Alle benoetigten Grundfunktionen werden geliefert, inklusive des Scrollrades, was bei vielen anderen guenstigen Trackballs leider nicht der Fall ist. Fuer Interessierte oder Trackball-Benutzer mit nur grundlegenden Anforderungen und begrenztem Budget ist dieses Geraet eine sehr empfehlenswerte Wahl.

Llegó muy bien protegido, se sienten de buena calidad los materiales y poder configurar los botones hace muy práctico trabajar con el, lo recomiendo mucho

great as i prefer trackballs to mouses