Kensington Expert Mouse Optical USB Trackball for PC or Mac 64325
by Kensington
|
List Price: Our Price: $68.53 You Save: $59.42 (46%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $35.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Kensington Expert Mouse Optical USB Trackball for PC or Mac 64325
Customer Review: The best trackball ever
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read some who think the angle is bad on this trackball, but I have been using Kensington Expert Mouse trackballs for over a decade and this one doesn't seem any different as far as ergonomics goes than the past models. I have not noticed any strain on my wrist or hand or fingers with the new one and I work at my computer all day every day and already have wrist issues (not computer related). In fact, it's my favorite trackball I've ever used. There may be some who have issues with the angle but I do not and have not noticed it being different or strange.
It has the smoothest movement of any pointer device I've ever used. The wrist rest is very nice, although it seems to fit onto the unit a little wonky. It's nothing that hinders its use, it just doesn't seem to snap into place as easily as I would like. I love the scroll ring which is so much better than the previous scroll wheel that I never used on older models. This model is smaller than previous models, too. They got rid of those extra buttons at the top of the thing which were a little useless in my opinion. Over the past decade plus I have been using the big ball trackballs from Kensington and they seem to last for a very long time. This is only the third one I've had in that time. I consider the high price tag worth it since it will be with you for at least three years and most likely five or more if taken care of. I also love the fact that this one is optical and has no wheels inside to get those hard oily deposits on them. This one you just have to clean the dusty goop out every now and then and that is not too difficult. For me, this is the ultimate big ball trackball and worth the price tag.
Customer Review: Best Kensington Expert Mouse Ever!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have used a Kensington Expert Trackball mouse for 11 years now and this one is the best one yet. I decided to upgrade even though my 11-year old Kensington Trackball still works! I really wanted a trackball with a scroll function even though I could program the buttons for page down/up.
The scroll wheel is awesome and becomes intuitive after a short time of use. It will take some users longer to get used to the trackball if they don't normally use one. My boss used my mouse on my pc and could not stand it (which is why I have a regular mouse attached to the pc as well since I am the only one who uses the trackball on a community pc).
The optical tracking is excellent though it is not as precise as some of the gaming mice (some have up to 4800 dpi). However, I don't need precision microdot pointing for what I do at work. The trackball is very fluid and there is very little drag or friction. You can adjust the pointer speed to suit your tastes.
If there is one thing I wish Kensington had not changed is the size of the trackball. The original Expert mouse ball was larger and thus I was able to customize my Expert Mouse by exchanging it with a billiard ball (the 9-ball actually).
Overall, this is definitely the best Kensington Trackball that I have used. While the price is pretty steep, it is definitely worth every penny if you have ever used the Kensington Expert Mouse. My only concern is how long the optical portion of the mouse will last. So far none of my optical mice have had any issues and the oldest one is at least 5 years-old (I work in the IT-PC/Server field).
Customer Review: It's a Keeper :)
Summary: 5 Stars
I tried it for myself before giving it to my elderly mom and it is a keeper. If she does not like it I will use it. If she keeps it I may have to get a second for myself.
Navigation with the nicely solid ball is easy and feels very natural. It provides a nice change of position and motion after using various mice at work all day and seems more restful to the wrist.
I love the ring around the ball that lets me scroll up and down (acts just like the wheel on a MSFT mouse but does not have the click function). The bottom buttons are ideally placed for my hand for easy mouse clicks. I have not tried programming the top buttons yet but clicking one is like a double click on the regular button - a shortcut I think my mom will like.
The wrist rest is not as high as I would like, and is a bit hard. I may have to add a thin gel pad eventually, but it is still very helpful as is, and I will give it some time before making any changes.
My only gripe is that the scroll ring makes a slight rubbing (plastic on plastic) noise when I move it fast. It is a small price to pay for being able to give it one whirl and go top to bottom on a long web page that used to take several turns of the mouse wheel.
Finally, when I ordered it Amazon had it showing at one price, but when I checked late that night the price had dropped about $9. I sent feedback to customer service (not so easy to find but doable) and my invoice showed the lower price when I checked today. The product also arrived in less than a week with free shipping. So I am very happy with Amazon service. :)
Customer Review: A trackball without peer
Summary: 4 Stars
Really, if you're looking for a modern trackball, you've no real alternative than the Expert Mouse Trackball from Kensington. It has flaws, if we had a more viable trackball market, this would certainly be a much different review. Yet, the market offers what it offers, and this is really the best of the crop. Four buttons and a scroll wheel with standard USB HID support, meaning that it will work without any special drivers on all operating systems. Note that Kensington's alternative 4-button trackball, the Slimblade, does NOT use USB HID for all its buttons and does not work properly without special drivers and does not work on all operating systems.
Furthermore, Kensington offers an outstanding 5-year warranty on this device. That is good because it is neither particularly inexpensive, nor is it particularly well-manufactured. Expect to use the warranty, I did.
Exactly a year from purchase (to the day), my scrollwheel broke. I received a new one in only 3 days. By the way, the problem is not mechanical, despite how flimsy the wheel might seem, it is an electronics issue. The scrolling happens through slits in the bottom of the wheel which cover/uncover an LED and a photodiode which trigger the scrolling mechanism. The failure of either of these diodes can cause failure in the scroll wheel. Fixing, then, is likely a simple matter of soldering; Of course, you shouldn't have to do this any time soon, given the 5-year warranty. Note that this design is why, if you balance the scroll wheel between "clicks" it will continue scrolling. I'm yet unsure how this design allows two-way scrolling.
Customer Review: incompatable with VISTA and me
Summary: 3 Stars
I have heard of Kensington for decades. The Expert seems good for many people, but not for me! I use my fingertips to turn the ball and like to rest them off the ball most of the time. There is no place to rest them that is not an active control (button or ball.) I found a $19 track ball that has 3 buttons, lots of space for resting, and 2 scroll wheels. Works great, but is very cheeply made! I am glad I bought 3 to get the $15 price break at TrackBallWorld site! Similar to:
A4 Tech NB-75 Wireless Optical Mouse with 2 Scrolling Wheels
As for the Kensington, I tried it for a month in several configurations. Mostly I used it with the wrist pad attached, (because I didn't like the tilt of the unit) I put something under the wristpad to raise it up 2 inches. A hard foam block I have been using for this worked somewhat. Sometimes the Kensington would get bumped off the mouse-pad and then could easily slide away or off the desk! Without the tilt, my horizontal movements were more accurate. That is important because mostly what I do with the mouse is move left and right to follow lines of text.
I would like the Kensington Expert if it had smaller buttons and IF I could use MouseWorks on VISTA. Using it badly sloooooowwweeedddd ddddOooooWWWWWnnnn another program that I use a lot (ClipMate by ThornSoft.) I could only use 2 buttons after taking MouseWorks OFF my machine. The other buttons sometimes did odd stuff so I still could not rest my finger-tips on them! I pray Kensington makes a version for Windows7!