Kensington Orbit Wireless Trackball with Scroll Ring
Kensington Orbit Wireless Trackball with Scroll Ring, Professional Computer Mouse with Bluetooth, (2.4GHz Wireless), Optical Tracking & AES Encryption Security, Left or Right Handed – Black (K70992WW)
The popular choice of professionals everywhere for everyday precision, productivity, and comfort, now wireless.
The Kensington trackball legacy continues with the latest addition to the patented OrbitTrackball with Scroll Ring —the OrbitWireless Trackball with Scroll Ring. You asked for wireless, and we delivered, withthe same great features that have made the OrbitTrackball with Scroll Ring so popular, including a patented scroll ring that allows you to scroll up and down pages with ease; customizable buttons; dual wireless connectivity offering the flexibility of 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth (3.0 and LE), with 128-bit AES government-grade encryption security; four DPI settings (400, 800, 1,200, or 1,600) that let you easily adjust the cursor speed to fit your needs; a detachable wrist rest; ambidextrous design; and plug-and-play ease for Mac or PC.
- Wireless 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth (3.0 and LE) connectivity
- 128-bit AES encryption
- Scroll ring with medium (40mm) ball
- Precise optical tracking with four DPI settings (400, 800, 1,200, and 1,600)
- Comfort (less wrist and hand movement to ease repetitive-stress injuries)
- Ambidextrous design
- Customizable (via free downloadable Kensington software)
- Detachable wrist rest
- Mac and PC compatible
| Weight: | 234 g |
| Dimensions: | 133 x 154 x 83 cm; 234 Grams |
| Brand: | Kensington |
| Model: | 11796155000 |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | Acco |
| Dimensions: | 133 x 154 x 83 cm; 234 Grams |
Best mouse I’ve had … Had op on right arm so this helped
I was looking for the grey/red teardrop mouse (can’t remember the make) but they are no longer available. This mouse whilst a slightly different shape is still very usable. I haven’t used it for gaming. A very good alternative and the best I could find for a roller ball mouse.
I have a few different types of mouse, but keep coming back to using this one – being able to control the trackball with fingertips gives good accuracy, and once I got used to clicking with the side-mounted buttons I prefer them to any other type. Excellent design.
I got this Kensington mouse to replace my logi marble mouse, which has started behaving erratically. It was a far better price than the locitec, but seems to do the same job. its a bit bigger, but I find that better as its less likely to fall off the arm of my chair. So far, it seems to work just as well.
Love this mouse. This is the 3rd one in 15 years, so not bad at all. Used for work at home and gaming.
This is the third Kensington trackball mouse that I have purchased for laptops and CCTV system and the first is still functioning beautifully after six years of daily use; up to eight hours a day. I have a shoulder problem which limits the use of an ordinary mouse or touchpad so a trackball mouse is much more comfortable and easier to use. This Kensington mouse is ergonomically perfect, stylish and accurate; allowing me to use it for longer with less physical strain. A simple colour combination of silver and black gives it a classic appeal. The large ball gives greater control of movement of the cursor and works perfectly with both Windows and Linux. I have tried other trackball devices but none of them have been so naturally well suited to my way of working. A little more in terms of cost than some others but definitely worth the extra if you have to spend a lot of time on a computer.
Although a little more than I wanted to pay, due to arthritic thumbs and limited desk space, kills more than two birds with one stone. Very happy especially the large heavy ball which makes life far easier for me
There are a few versions of KensingtonWorks and TrackBallWorks downloadable, I spent a a frustrating few hours finding ones that didn’t work and looking on forums. But finally as I say, I found KensingtonWorks 3.0.3 works fine with M1 Mac Monterey 12.3 – on my Mac mini M1.
The downloaded installation file looks like this “KensingtonWorks????? 3.0.pkg” with weird characters in the “???” string.
The customisation is good, you can assign a middle click with both buttons clicked and slow the pointer down with a key press such as CTRL. The general pointer and scroll speed can be adjusted. You can run this mouse along with a normal one on Mac.
I’m still getting used to it, I’m tending to overshoot a lot with my pointer (snigger), but I’m only a few hours in.
It seems well built and the movements are smooth.
I gave this an honest 5 stars for these reasons. I have loads of optical pointing devices, all of which perform the task they were designed to do. I spent my whole working day at my work station. Some tasks are keyboard orientated like writing software for example. My current role as an electrical design engineer has me working with AutoCAD Electrical. All modern software uses icons and sub menus, well AutoCAD takes this into the next level. The fine motor skills required will leave your wrist aching and I am sure long term abuse will bring on RSI’s and the like. Roller ball devices like this, leave the cursor where you left it, this is hugely important with CAD software. Also you can use your palm to move the cursor, or your finger, or your thumb. The spinning ring is also a huge benefit as it makes zooming easy. There are other functions that can be assigned to the buttons that make your life easier such as ALT and CTRL.. so by pressing one of these, you can change how the mouse responds. Another good choice is the roller ball mouse that requires your thumb, it depends what you do on a PC. This is not a cheap mouse, but it is a good mouse and w outdoor recommend it for CAD work.
I used to use the wired version for almost 20 years and for some reason it suddenly started to buzz all the time (and with 2 different computers). I bought a new wired one and it does the same. This one works fine and is silent.
I have Essential Tremor, which means my hands and body can shake and twitch. I have tried various mice, with bad results. This static mouse is beautifully designed to mould into my hand. It negates my condition and I am delighted that it allows me to use the mouse with no frustration anymore. Brilliant.
I bought this with my own money because two successive cheap mice from work died in the same way, with the left button becoming unreliable. I can’t vouch for the reliability of this one yet, but I have used an earlier version with no scroll wheel on my home computer for some years without problems. The scroll wheel on this is if anything easier to use than the scroll wheel on a normal mouse, perhaps because it is bigger. Plus over mice – these sit on your desk and you don’t have to make repeated swipes or bang into things with large mouse movements, even if your desk is cramped or untidy. Slight disadvantage – no middle button and if there is a way of faking one with this I have not found it. Clicking both left and right at the same time does not seem to simulate middle button with the git bash GUI on windows, but you can still access inert as a selection from right click or as a control key combination, so no big deal.
Spending hours at the computer for work, I was beginning to feel the strain of using a traditional mouse.
Switching over to the trackball mouse has been a breeze, there’s a small learning curve when starting but you soon adapt within the week. The trackball is buttery smooth and large enough for super accurate use. The included wrist rest is also handy and takes more strain off the wrist.
The buttons are satisfying, with a solid click to them. The mouse body itself is slightly wide for my liking, with the hand spread quite wide to cover the buttons. I have also regained a fair bit of desk space from not needing a mouse mat which is handy.
My only gripe is a flimsy feeling mouse wheel, with slightly mushy detents when rotated. It is also fairly loose and can sometimes be moved accidentally when moving the trackball.
I feel this is a great entry point for new trackball users, at a good price point without compromising on the main feature, which is the trackball itself.
I’ve been using this mouse for about half a year, and the difference is night and day. I used to use a gaming laser mouse with variable DPI, which was very good for CAD work and gaming. My hand would start to hurt after a while however.
With this trackball mouse, the hand rests naturally, so I don’t get pain after using it for many hours. There’s also the advantage of the cursor not moving if I bump the mouse, as this used to be a pain when doing work, or just having the pc wake up because the mouse moved a millimetre.
It’s also ambidextrous, so you can use it with both hands.
Main issues I had were accuracy and cleaning. With a conventional laser mouse, I can move the cursor to exactly where I want, whereas with the trackball I have a slightly higher margin of error. It’s not critical however, so the slight loss in accuracy is negligible compared to the ergonomic comfort I gained.
And as for cleaning, the ball has to be taken out, and the supports holding the ball wiped (they collect the little flakes of skin that just fall off normally). Honestly, this probably gave me a better habit of actually cleaning my peripherals, as opposed to just letting them collect grime and dust.
It’s also just fun to move the ball around!
I have not compared any other ergonomic mouse products, however this ambidextrous trackball is certainly worth consideration.
Also have not played any games with this. I imagine point-n-click would be fine, while FPS games would be more involved to learn.
I bought the Kensington Expert Mouse to replace my iMac mouse and I wasn’t disappointed! It took me about a week to get used to it, but I’ve calibrated comfortably and can navigate more freely using the customisable button features. I have a 3 screen set up and using this mouse has made it very convenient and I no longer have to pick up and drag my mouse across the table. Very happy with this purchase. I also like the scroll ring, very smooth and comfortable.
I got this originally for music production and editing, but I also use it for video editing and Photoshop and it is SO much better than a standard mouse. Gone are those times when I was trying to stretch out an item but ran out of room with the mouse, then tried to pick the mouse up to get more space and ruining the whole thing!
A trackball takes a little bit of getting used to at first, but once the muscle memory kicks in it just becomes a natural extension of your hand. I can’t see myself ever going back to a tradition mouse. I went for Kensington as they are a pretty respectable brand when it comes to computer accessories, and seems to be the standard of most other people in my industry doing this kind of editing.
The built in scroll ring is also an excellent feature. It’s very intuitive and makes workflow so smooth and efficient.
My only criticism is that if my Mac has gone to sleep for a while, when it wakes up I have to unplug and plug in the trackball to get it working again. My Mac is quite old though, so I think this is more to do with the computer rather than the device.
In conclusion I’m really happy with it, it has completely revolutionised my workflow.
I like the mouse because it gives you a different approach to working with your hand, especially if you’ve got carpal syndrome issues.
For details like clicking on anchor points in Adobe Illustrator, it can be really frustrating, so I use it more for editing and other work than working in Illustrator or Photoshop. If you try to draw with it, good luck, I couldn’t draw anything nice.
The mouse itself is quite big (I have small hands) and comes with a pad that I don’t like too much so instead of using the pad I use my own mouse pad that has a silicone wrist protector, which is softer.
I would recommend buying it, but definitely not for gaming or sorts of work that require fast accuracy.
The positive thing about the mouse is that you can program all four buttons around the ball (you can program each button, and define what it does if you click two of them simultaneously too.
It is great for browsing the net though because it has a spinning wheel around the ball which works great when you need to scroll a page – you can also zoom in and zoom out using it.
I would rather see it it would be flat, but if I compare it to SlimBlade (which I don’t have), I think the Expert Kensington with a spinning wheel wins the battle. My wrist definitely feels much better using this mouse and combining the work with a graphic pen and other mouses help a lot.
Would recommend the seller!
The only software you need to install is the Kensington TrackballWorks 1.3.1 and with that I’d suggest a few changes, such as changing direction in which you spin the ball to scroll and adding the “drag” function to one of the buttons. You can customise how you use the trackball in various other programs, and even add more functions to “dual-clicking”. Honestly I like to keep my usage simple and easy so I have tried them but have stuck to the basics.
So why a trackball?
I like the slim, almost minimalist design. It’s a sleek, almost timeless design and yet it’s also very functional. You don’t need a large desktop area nor a mousepad either, which is good in keeping my desktop clean and small. Some things can be improved though, perhaps the material paint around the trackball, or the “loudness” of the click, I’ll mention this later on.
The other main issue was wrist pain, I used to play a lot of games and do a lot of video editing which involved constant dragging which caused my right wrist to hurt. Along with a few other changes, such as posture, changing my computer chair and getting rid of the mouse, my wrist has not been in pain from using the trackball. I can still play games with no problems, perhaps better than before.
I love how effortless it is to scroll through a webpage, it’s a small, perhaps under appreciated thing. Maybe a certain gaming mouse has a free turning, weighted scroll wheel that helps alleviate the constant action of flicking your middle finger, but with the slimblade you’re actually scrolling at an angle which reduces more stress from your finger, it’s hard to describe but the feeling is different and better.
If there is one thing, I wish they would update the model, maybe work out a few new colour schemes that would reinvigorate their product line. I have a few nitpicks though, a slight QC/design issue I have is with the chrome ring paint chipping just by the left and right click pad (especially if you have long finger nails) and how it sometimes doesn’t register your scrolling due to dust surrounding the trackball sensors. That part is easily cleaned and rectified though.
Overall, while it might seem pricey, I haven’t come across any trackball alternatives that rivals the Slimblade in quality and design. I’m still using it after all these years.
Pros (and my personal bias):
(+) It is a finger-operated symmetrical (ambidextrous) trackball. I am right handed, but it took me just about a week to learn to operate this trackball with my left hand. Of course, my left-hand pointing device performance is not as high as when I am using a mouse with my right hand, but as the typical interaction with computers includes a lot of other activities, like thinking and typing, my overall performance does not really degrade. If I have to quantify, I would say the total performance loss is under 1%.
(+) It is a USB wired device, meaning there are no batteries. I don’t mind the cable. The USB cable is 1.5 metres long.
(+) It does not require any drivers for GNU/Linux or Windows OS. It manifests like a regular mouse to the computer and to its user.
(+) It has a detachable wrist rest, made of something like stiff rubber. I am personally not using it, but I find it a useful option. It is also thoughtfully made, as the wrist rest has a small connecting rib, which nicely fits into a groove on the underside of the trackball (see close up on my picture 4). This way the rest and the ball can not be unintentionally separated by normal hand movements.
(+) It has sufficiently good optical resolution. It feels like a 1000+ dpi mouse. As a comparison I can say that a 800 dpi mouse is not enough for me. I prefer mice of 1000 dpi, at least, and with 1200 to 1600 dpi I feel most comfortable. In my case, it is not enough to change the mouse settings of a 800 dpi mouse, e.g. to “speed up” the mouse pointer.
(+) The ball glides smoothly. The big ball sits on 3 tiny balls (see my picture 5). Grease and dirt may collect there, so you might need to clean these areas and the ball from time to time.
(+) It has a scroll ring with smooth operation. Unless you are a gamer, this is exactly what you need for scrolling through webpages and documents. Not that I have heard of any contemporary gamer using a trackball, anyway.
Cons:
(-) This particular model has only 2 buttons, whilst I sometimes need more.
Tip:
If you are a software engineer you might find some extra joy and satisfaction by programming the trackball to do something different than a mouse (pointer). Last year I played around a bit and I created a small demo application for X on GNU/Linux, where the trackball is used to pan an endless drawing board, while the primary mouse (pointer) is used to draw lines. So I was able to use both my hands in a fashion, similar to the way mechanical engineers use 3Dconnexion spacemouse in their CAD programs.
I’ve been using this trackball for an year and a half. The trackball works very well – no technical problems.
The only issue I experience is that dirt occasionally falls on the sensor and you need to clean it up before you can continue work. In general dirt gathering in trackballs is something you see on all trackballs – you need to regularly clean them up.
Learning curve – well I needed about 2 weeks to adapt from logitech m570 (the Kensington has significantly better build quality by the way and ball movement is smoother)
The bottom line – if you want to try a trackball – this is a great one. If you want to try a trackball you should definitely consider this one
After almost a month of use, I decided to return it reluctantly mainly due to the ergonomic reason. Since I started using this product, I’ve developed wrist pain on both hands (I used it with my right hand when I was on a laptop, and with my left hand when I was on a desktop).
As many people stated elsewhere, the surface of the mouse is tilted in a way that either you have to keep your hand floating above the ball, or you have to put a cradle underneath in order to avoid wrist extension. Putting a cradle underneath alleviated my wrist pain. However, the benefit of having a wireless model was gone, as the mouse became almost a stationary one. Some people argue that the wireless feature is useless for trackballs, but I disagree. The included wrist rest is nice, but it wasn’t high enough for me to compensate the angle of the mouse.
Initially I bought Kensington Wireless Trackball Expert mouse along with Logitech M570. I loved the precision and the speed of tracking from Kensington Expert due to the large ball from day one. In the meantime, I had difficult time getting used to thumb tracking. But now I am fully adjusted to both finger tracking on Kensington and thumb tracking on Logitech. I can say I can be equally productive from using either. One big difference is though the wrist pain slowly creeping in with Kensington Expert. If you are not sensitive to wrist extension, then this trackball is an excellent choice. Otherwise, you might want to try Kensington Slimblade or Logitech M570.
Hi 🙂
Fantastic device! :)) It worked straight-away in Linux, specifically Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Raspberrian, LibreElec and Noobs. It took Arch a minute or so to see it in Kodi but still without me having to do anything. :))
Now that i have gotten used to it i think a trackball is MUCH easier than any ‘normal’ mouse. It is especially good in various situations such as where desk-space is limited or where moving a mouse around is tricky, or if you’ve got a sprained/broken wrist. In some ways it’s a bit like using a touchpad or touch-screen except the ball can keep going round much further. So it is very different and does take a looong time to get used to it. When i had only used ‘normal’ mice it took me 3 weeks to adapt to a trackball.
Long ago I used a much heavier trackball that took more effort to get going but then could coast along for a moment even when i let go. In this one the trackball is much lighter but stops instantly when i stop. So it handles very differently but it only took me a day to adjust enough for most usages.
The main problem is the lack of scroll-wheel or up/down button and this is pretty serious for a mouse!! It’s why i ‘had to’ drop at least one star :(( Fortunately i can work-around the issue temporarily but it’s a bit of a pain. Somewhere inside Linux it’s probably possible to configure it so that pressing both mouse buttons makes the ball itself into a scroll-wheel. I’m not a programmer but i’m sure someone, somewhere has done something similar that can be copied&adapted.
So, it’s mostly fantastic with just 1 weird drawback.
Many thanks and regards from Tom 🙂
Good trackball mouse, like the scrolling ability, just by moving a finger next to the trackball. Left click with the thumb is comfortable, handy light at the top to let you know when the battery is low. I think its ok the way your hand sits. The only down side is its not so easy to do a right click, I have just discovered you have to use the finger before your little finger to do that, will take a bit if getting used to.
These are fantastically good trackballs. Excellent for people who find mouse or trackpad operation has become uncomfortable after too many years of computer use (yes folks, RSI is a pain), these are a really flexible alternative input device. Your can move the trackball with thumb or finger, right or left handed, as you wish. The button action is light but not too light. The speed of cursor movement can be adjusted over a wide range with standard Windows drivers. The scrolling function alongside the trackball is a total boon.
I use these with desktops and with laptops. They are perfect for use with a laptop on a stand, and are compact enough to slip into your laptop bag when working away from base. The lack of wires is very convenient, and the tiny dongle can be left in place on the laptop USB socket when travelling.
Highly recommended!
A great experience, migrating from a microsoft Explorer mouse the ratcheted scrolling takes a little getting used to but with adjustable speed – no problem. The trackballworks 1.2 sw is very comprehensive and will allow you to customise the device on a global or application basis. Which is useful. I use Sibelius and Finale where small precise movements put quite a strain on the hand after a full day of use but this device – although it takes a little getting used to after an orthodox mouse – starts to feel quite natural after playing a few games. The effort of holding down the left click while dragging items across the screen is greater than with the mouse and it is a co-ordination thing, training the hand to behave differently but already, after just 24 hours of use, the accuracy is starting to improve and there is no residual strain on the hand. A wrist rest may improve things even further but so far, this device is just sitting flat on the desk and no problems. Occasionally, I get the urge to pick it up and shuttle it as I would a mouse but with practice I expect this instinct will disappear. My partner thinks I am kicking her off the computer – the device isn’t for everyone, but after you have struggled for years to find a comfortable working set-up anything that improves that is a blessing.
Set up is a case of trial and error and the extra function of the two top buttons puts a range of possibilities at your fingertips. Trackball works 1.2 does allow chording and the scrolling click we get is quite unobtrusive. The keys are not heavy or much louder than ye olde Explorer mouse and while some users report they have a sweet spot, it’s really quite large and these extra movements of hand and fingers help to keep things loose. The static hand position we adopt for the normal mouse is a primary source of the cramp we experience. In any case with the Slimblade the movements are not large and flinging the ball around in its mount enables us to cover a large amount of real estate of multiple monitors, quickly and relatively precisely. Loading the sw for the first time, I had an oh oh moment with the cursor only moving in the vertical axis, but maybe I was asking the Trackball works sw to do too much too quickly. In any case, it straightened itself out after a reboot and a few minutes of playing around. No problems since.
The lack of horizontal scrolling is seen as a negative feature for many it seems, but if you hold down shift while scrolling in windows it converts the vertical to horizontal and is a bit quicker than fiddling around with the little corner buttons. The window needs to be active for this to work – if you can remember that you should have no problems.
As a musician I am quite familiar with the idea of muscle memory so my relapses back into standard mouse mode are quite understandable but with practice comes perfect and though I am not there yet, I feel it won’t be long before using this device comes as second nature. As a musician I appreciate anything that means I can avoid the visits to the doctor and keep my hands in top condition. This is not just a device for people with impairments though I can easily imagine how it might alleviate the problems they experience with a normal mouse. If you have used the normal mouse for years and don’t like changing, save your money and buy a nice big fat normal mouse though if you are willing to try something a bit different and are prepared to put in a little practice, the results could impress you.
I would give this trackball a 4.5 if possible, but as I can’t I have decided to round down and give it a 4 as it does have some issues.
Issues include:
– Very regular cleaning of the synthetic ruby bearings (just need to wipe the dirt/dust off with your finger).
– Ball only kept in with gravity, nothing else to support it (easy for it to drop out if you are moving it).
– High price and no replacement parts (Kensington don’t sell replacement balls, and it is impossible to find a third party compatible one).
– Required software for remapping (would be nice if it had in built profiles/dpi settings). Luckily there is a version for both Windows and Mac (can’t comment about any Linux support).
– My model seems to squeak when you scroll or move the ball very fast, no doubt this is due to the manufacturing tolerances not being as good as they should be.
– No included palm/wrist wrest.
Those are the (small) issues with the trackball, but other then that I love this thing!
Pros:
– Incredibly smooth.
– Twist to scroll is a fantastic and useful feature.
– Precise without much noticeable acceleration (of course it has some, so that you can spin the ball and cover large distances).
– Pleasant synthetic ‘click’ when using the twist to scroll feature.
– Completely mappable buttons within Kensington’s software.
– Very comfortable button positions.
– An absolute joy to use.
I have to admit that I have so much fun using this trackball that I don’t want to go back to a conventional mouse (even though I have quite a few expensive gaming ones). Of course it’s personal preference whether you will enjoy a trackball over a mouse, but I love the saving in desk space and the ergonomic advantage (really helped in my case, I was getting very sore tendons and wrist from using a conventional mouse).
If you are thinking about getting a trackball then this is a great option, I prefer it to the Expert mouse due to its better build quality, very neat twist to scroll feature and smoother rolling. The difference is not large though as they are functionally the same.
Bare in mind that the American company CST also offer a range of trackballs that feature a better positioning (integrated palm wrest) easily replaceable balls (can swap the stock ball for an American pool ball), and longer lasting construction. They also come with a feature allowing the user to add their own switches and feature a dedicated scroll wheel.
They are very expensive to get in the UK and are not as smooth (I have a PCTrac version, Ltracs might be better); I would choose the Kensington over my CST, but it might be an option to consider.
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.
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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.
The Good: I had problems with my normal mouse, as I do a lot of photo editing in Lightroom, which entails prolonged periods of clicking on sliders, and the need to keep my finger pressed down while I move sliders for the best effect – this was not going to do my finger any good, and it was uncomfortable. The Kensington Expert Mouse has changed that, and to move the sliders I just need to press my thumb down lightly on the bottom left (left click) button, and move the large trackball with my finger or fingers (the bottom left button is right click). Even after a long session my hand feels relaxed, and I can therefore use the mouse with much more control – I mean, you would soon get writers cramp if you had to hold a pen tightly, and wouldn’t be able to write very well – a relaxed hand makes so much difference. I read that the scroll wheel feels and sounds rough and scratchy, and this is true, although it’s not that bad and worth putting up with. I also use the scroll wheel in Lightroom to re-size the brushes and spotting tool etc.,which is useful. It also seems to be pretty accurate when masking with the editing brush, and again a relaxed hand helps a lot – I don’t know if I will need a tablet and pen for photo editing when I start using Photoshop, but this might possibly do the trick. The gel wrist pad has had mixed reviews, but I find it comfortable, and my wrist is in a straight position. To be honest I was surprised that there was almost no learning curve, and my Apple Magic Mouse was put away in cupboard within 5 minutes. The trackball is very smooth, and the cursor shoots around the screen very quickly and accurately.
The Bad: I wasn’t interested in the software that allows you to personalise the 4 buttons (left & right click + scroll wheel is all I need). But I read on the internet that the top 2 buttons have a default use, and just wanted to know if that was correct. I downloaded the manual from kensington.com, but strangely there was no information about the thing works. So I decided to email customer services (they need to rename that department!) and the website directs you to register first – but after that you go to a screen that just asks you to register for product updates, then takes you in a circle. I managed to get the email address of another Kensington department, but a series of emails just left me pulling my hair out, as they just told me to go to the site again, even though I told them there is no link, and then they gave me another link which did not work. I then managed to contact the UK customer services by telephone, and was advised to just try the top 2 buttons and see what happens! They did not know how I could contact customer services by email either, and didn’t know much about the product – they did saw however, that the Kensington mouse I purchased from Amazon (after I gave the product number) was an old Kensington Expert product that came out in 2007, and that the product on their website is up to date (it seems to work ok though, but wonder if the newer product direct from them will work better with the software for those who want to re-assign the buttons?
All being said though, I am very happy with the product. I complained to the UK office about the lack of very basic product information, and the problem in contacting customer services, and they sent my concerns to the USA by email, with a copy to me, so at least someone at Kensington has taken ownership of this problem
A while back I decided to buy a trackball, and bought a Logitech thumb trackball. I really liked it, but after a while some of the buttons stopped working properly, and I also found it difficult to move the ball forwards and backwards with the same speed and accuracy as I could move it side to side.
A few months ago, I bought one of these trackballs to use at work, and I absolutely love it! I find it so much easier to use than the thumb trackball, and I find it easy to use with my left and right hand, which means that I can switch hands when I get twitches or pains.
A week after buying this I bought another one to use at home so now I own 2!
A lot of people have complained about the scroll wheel feeling cheap and scratchy, and I even read somewhere that it feels like it has sand inside it! This is definitely true when you first buy the unit, and it still does feel like that to some extent, but the action of the scroll wheel gets better and better as you use it and feels much more fluid.
I have used this trackball with both Linux (Ubuntu) and Max OSX and it works fine with both of them. The (unofficial) Ubuntu driver is brilliant, as I can set one of the buttons to be a scroll button. If I tap it, I have set it to navigate backwards, but if I hold it down then the main ball works like a scroll wheel which is really smooth. Unfortunately you can’t do this with the Mac driver and I don’t know if this is possible on Windows.
Overall this is the best ‘mouse’ I have ever owned for general usage (I have a regular mouse for gaming still), and takes up a lot less space on my desk than a regular mouse as I don’t have to move it around. I don’t think this has cured my RSI on its own, but it definitely helps as I can switch back and forth between this, my thumb trackball and a normal mouse depending on the state of my hands. I 100% prefer this to a thumb trackball.
Edit: 5 Years later this thing is still going perfectly. The mouse wheel is smooth, I get less weird muscle twitches in my thumb and it’s a joy to use. I definitely recommend this.
I am really struggling to find a mouse/trackball that suits my hand size, I have very large hands and long fingers.
I have tried various mice and trackballs and none do the job for me in terms of comfort for long periods of use, I always end up with pain in the fingers, wrist, forearm or shoulder. Sometimes in multiple of places at the same time.
Kensington Expert Mouse – With this, I find that my hand always wants to lean over to the right towards my little finger, so then my index finger is only on the ball, I then end up curling my fingers up to rotate the ball, button placement is just plain awkward for me, I can use the left click with my thumb OK, but others I have to look to see where they are. I also find that without the supplied wrist rest that my hand is tilted upwards from the wrist to much. With the supplied rest it is too easy for my hand to slide forward and then have the ball in the palm of may hand. The scroll ring works fine. I also had to download and install Mouseworks for XP as no software supplied, which works well. There is also Trackballworks software for XP/Vista/7 but I did not try that.
Overall it is is a good trackball and works well but just not for comfortable enough for me.
Others I have tried the following:-
Evoluent Vertical Mouse 4 – Good concept, held arm/wrist in a better position, but too small and fingers still get curled up using the buttons and mouse wheel, hand does not sit in the place it is designed to so ends up with the little finger running on the desk and hence causing pain.
3M Ergonomic Optical Mouse Large – Again a good concept holding arm/wrist in a better position, again it is too small for my hand and holding it in position designed for cramps my little finger against the base of the mouse causing pins and needles. Mouse wheel replacement(button) does not work in a lot of software so makes it useless, also uses standard windows mouse driver and you have to wind the mosue speed up full to get it to do anything, then making normal mice useless as they are too fast.
Logitech Marble Mouse – So far this has been the most comfortable to use, but is not very accurate.
Normal mice – I end up gripping the sides of the mouse with thumb and little finger, other fingers curled up to use buttons and scroll wheel.
Wacom Tablets – takes a long time to adjust to the completely different way of working and I end up with severe pains in my hand from gripping the pen, which I do get with a normal pen and after a while my accuracy has gone all over the place.
So I have spent a lot of maoney on variosu mice/trackballs and all to some degree or another are just not good enough for my size hands.
Back to the drawing board, with pain in fingers/wrist/forearm and shoulder 🙁
Here is an update to my original review. I just as keen on this excellent input device as I was a year ago when I bought it. It has been in constant use and it really is imho the best input device I have ever used.
I use it for graphics, mostly in Adobe Illustrator for example and there is so much control and it is precise. Equally it can go very quickly across screens so I can get across my two screens easily.
I also use it for editing video in Final Cut Pro and here, it is really superb. It’s great big trackball makes it very easy to just creep forward and back a frame at a time.
I really do think that people may overlook this terrific input device because it is not slick and cool, but it is very much the best possible thing for the job.
My only comment that could be negative, but isn’t, is that using it exclusively may risk RSI problems with you shoulder. I think this is true of any mouse of this sort. That is why I also use the Contour RollerMouse Free. This I use for scrolling around word processing documents and that kind of thing.
ORIGINAL REVIEW MARCH 2010
I bought mine on 30 January so I’ve had it for six weeks now. I absolutely love it!
I do not use it exclusively, I use it in conjunction with a Contour RollerMouse Free. However I use the Kensington Expert Mouse for graphics. I recently just finished doing a lot of editing of a video with Final Cut Express and the Expert Mouse is superb for this kind of thing.
Many years ago I used a Kensington trackball, I think in about 1995, and I really like that one, but this is so much better because it has such a large trackball.
The negative things about this trackball are that it feels a bit cheap in construction compared with say, a Logitech or Microsoft mouse at this price, however I think it is well constructed nevertheless.
It looks rather 70s to me but I don’t mind this. In actual use the feel is very good. The scroll wheel bearing surface is noisy in a plasticy way but there is no problem with this in use.
From time to time it is a good idea to remove a build up of gunge on the three little ball bearings. I keep an old toothbrush nearby for this purpose. It’s also quite good to take the ball out and polish it, perhaps with your shirt 🙂
Any of these small negatives are hugely outweighed by the fact that the level of control over the cursor is superb. That is what an input device like this is for and that is what it does so well.
Before I got this I tried the most expensive Logitech mouse, however the software for that on my Mac was a disaster so I had to send it back. IMHO the Kensington Expert Mouse is a far better buy than that more expensive Logitech mouse. The level of control over the cursor is much better.
The software for the Kensington Expert Mouse works very well indeed on my Mac. I use it with the default settings and it is fine. The scroll direction can be switched with a menu in the menu bar at the top of the Mac OS screen and this is very handy.
If you buy this you will be initially disappointed when you take it out of the packaging. You will think it is a prop from the Star Wars movie.
When you first use it you will think it is a bit weird if you have not used a trackball before. You will still be having doubts.
After a week of using it you will never want to use a “normal” mouse again!