Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical (Silver)
by Logitech
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Our Price: $343.76 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $65.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical (Silver)
Customer Review: It's very good, but I still prefer my Trackman Marble it replaced
Summary: 5 Stars
After approximately 10 years, my treasured, trusty Logitech Trackman Marble was on its last legs. :( Unfortunately, it's no longer being produced; I looked around online and found a new one being sold by an individual for $200. Um...I love it, but not THAT much! And I didn't want a used one, which could be had for $75-ish. So I gritted my teeth and bought the most similar trackball Logitech now offers, the Trackman Wheel.
Using it the first few days was pretty difficult, as I was still used to the VERY comfortable, VERY familiar, and VERY ergonomically correct [for my hand, anyway] design of the Trackman Marble. I kept finding myself wanting to plug it back in...
After a few days it got better. It's been about 3 weeks now and I'm used to it, but still prefer the old one. I think for someone who never used the Marble and, therefore, isn't familiar with its extremely comfortable design, the Wheel's design is probably perfectly acceptable. (The differences I see: The Trackman Wheel is more compact than the Marble, so the hand can't be naturally spread out as much, the buttons aren't as long so the fingers can't lie in a naturally stretched position, it's higher which means the wrist is less relaxed.)
I don't want to make it sound bad because it's not! I'm just extremely partial to my old Trackman Marble--and wish they'd resume production!
At first glance it appeared that there'd been an inexplicably idiotic change. On the old one there was a removable ring around the ball which you could pop off, remove the ball, clean the contacts, blow out any loose dust, wipe the ball, and put it back together. On the new version there is no ring, and I saw no apparent way to get the ball out; I'd read elsewhere that you had to use a screwdriver to remove the bottom of the trackball just to clean it. But, alas, that's incorrect! Flip it over and you'll see a small hole beneath the ball--just get something like a pen, screwdriver, or key and use it to push through the hole and pop the ball out.
Finally, being a Linux-only person, I was glad to see that as with EVERY Logitech product I've ever purchased, the Trackman Wheel worked straight out of the box; it's on my HP dv6000 laptop running Ubuntu 9.04 with KDE 4.2. I plugged it in, it was correctly identified and configured, and that was that. No need to even OPEN the packet of software that came with it...which, of course, is meant for windoze. I find it ironic that Logitech consistently puts out great products that work beautifully with Linux, yet continue pretending Linux doesn't exist.
UPDATE: I've since bought another one of these for a different computer. I now find them very comfortable and easy to use. Also, they're now on Kubuntu 9.10 boxes and, as before, they were detected and configured with no effort on my part.
Customer Review: Don't Buy This Thing (Missing Forward/Back Buttons)
Summary: 2 Stars
Don't get this thinking that it will save your wrist/hands. It has no forward/back buttons, so you end up moving the cursor around a lot more than with a regular mouse that has forward/back buttons.
I own this trackball, yet it was so limited that I put it away in favor of a mouse with lots of buttons. I've taken it out a couple of more times thinking that it *must* be worthwhile, but it isn't -- I spend too much time moving the mouse around just to "Go Back" in the browser, or in Windows Explorer. The Marble Mouse trackball by Logitech is much nicer than this "Trackman" model. It has a different shape, but has small forward and back buttons, in addition to trackball and regular left and right mouse buttons.
The Marble Mouse is better for these reasons:
* Has forward and back buttons
* Can be used both LEFT- and right-handed.
If your right hand is hurting, consider trying the Razer mice. I've tried a LOT of different products, looking for something easy on the hands, and the Razer Lachesis is one that I found has these advantages:
* Has forward/back buttons
* Can be used left- or right-handed
* Has a wheel (like other good mice)
* Several other buttons, which stay out of the way if not needed, but can be programmed to do more than just forward/back
* Has very SLICK pads, so it moves very easily
* Can be made to move far with very little movement
(This is good if you have more than one large display. It can be put in low-resolution mode with a button press.)
* Lightweight
(Requires less effort to move around.)
I haven't written a Razer review, but probably should. I just saw this Trackman in passing and just HAD to warn others. It gets pretty good reviews which led me to purchase it in the first place a couple of years back. If there were any reviews like this one, I sure missed them. I haven't tried everything, yet, so there's probably something even better than my current mouse, or the Marble Mouse trackball. Which reminds me...
I use the Cordless Optical Trackman and use it daily on a Mac. It works flawlessly on Windows, but jitters at higher acceleration settings on the Mac. Still, I've found *no* better trackball, because it:
* is wireless
* has forward/back buttons (essential)
* has a couple of other programmable buttons
* has page up/down buttons (tiny and awkwardly placed)
* has a scroll wheel
(Note: the Cordless Optical Trackman is only for right-handed use.)
If you haven't discovered the time/wrist-saving forward back buttons, do yourself a favor and get a device that has them. If you're expecting them, steer clear of the Logitech corded Trackman Wheel Optical.
Customer Review: Say goodbye to wrist cramps.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this product for well over a year now. I am a heavy computer user and using a mouse was just putting a huge strain on my wrist, so I decided that maybe I should look into mouse alternatives.Well, my first choice was the Kensington Orbit trackball, based on reviews on this site. All-in-all, it is a great product, but it has 1 tragic flaw which killed it for me - it gunks up incredibly quickly; I am talking on the order of every hour or two. I returned it to the store from whence it was purchased (hint: the one with a big yellow tag). Strike one.
My next choice was what is essentially a corded version of the Logitech Cordless Trackman FX Optical Trackball, which was probably simply called the same thing, minus the "Cordless". The up side - it has several buttons; this device did nothing about my wrist cramp problem, however. Strike two. (Side note: I don't really see the point of getting a cordless trackball or keyboard, unless you are just dying to have more battery-powered things.)
Choice number three: the Logitech Marble Mouse (which is a trackball, despite its name). I just plain could not get used to the feel of it and it did very little to ease strain anyhow. A lot of people on this site have good things to say about it. I, however, do not. Guess the third time is not always a charm.
Well, I finally ended up with (you guessed it) the Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical. While it takes some getting used to, once you get a feel for this, you will never even want to go near another mouse. It has two buttons and the scroll wheel which also doubles as a third button when pressed in, although I never find myself in need of this third "button" myself. This is probably the most ergonomic pointing device you can hope to get...that is, assuming you are right-handed. Sorry, lefties, looks like your choices are considerably more limited when it comes to trackballs.
While being an optical device, the ball bearings upon which the trackball itself rests do tend to need cleaned off once or twice a day, but this only takes a few seconds and is not nearly as time-consuming as cleaning off the roll bars on the non-optical Kensington Orbit, and these cleanings aren't nearly as frequent, either. I don't think you are going to be able to buy a trackball that doesn't need cleaned fairly often, and this one does a nice job of making it a relatively painless affair.
The software allows you to set the directional orientation (which way is "up"), among other things, though I have not even bothered installing the software since I started using Windows XP.
Bottom line: If you are right-handed and have your own computer, buy this. Just make sure you give yourself a day or so to adjust to using it. You shan't be dissapointed.
Customer Review: Trackman easy and ergonomic
Summary: 5 Stars
I've used this Trackman for several years and recently bought new ones to keep with my work computer also.
I am really surprised that more people don't use track balls. They are ergonomically much more sound than any mouse. There is a little ramp-up time but once you are accustomed to a track ball and the thumb control (vice whole wrist and arm control) you should find it to have easily as much precision control as any mouse. I personally believe I have more control than a mouse, which requires large muscle control to make precise motions. You have to sometimes pick up your mouse. You never pick up the Trackman. You could actually align it the way you like and velcro it to your work desk in the precise place you like it.
You never have to pick up you track ball and realign it like a mouse when your motions are reaching the extent of the surface you're using the mouse on, like a mouse pad. I love using it in airports. I can have my laptop on my lap and the trackball next to me and I don't have to worry about a laptop table large enough to move he mouse around or even having a flat surface. In an airplane, I can often find a comfortable arrangement where the trackman is resting on the arm rest. Try doing that with a mouse.
This version of the Logitech is my favorite, as it has a nice large, hand-sized surface to lay your palm on.
The optical ball makes this very precise and it requires cleaning infrequently. Skin oils combined with whatever might reach the ball eventually can clog the little rollers but they have made the design perfect for cleaning. Pop the ball out by using a pen or something small from the back side through an easy to reach small opening on the bottom and you can use a cotton swab with isopropol to easily clean the rollers just like you would the rollers in a regular mouse. The inside is simple design with three rollers so you can't screw it up. But note that I find the optical design only requires me to clean it very infrequently, on the order of many months.
If you find yourself cleaning it a lot, it's simply because you are using it with dirty hands. Put the cheezits box down and wash your hands before typing. Better on the trackball and better on your waist line. chuckle
Finally, I have used this trackball on every operating system from Win95 to Vista and on laptops and desktops and have never had a single problem with the Trackman begin recognized. On at least two dozen different machines the Logitech is recognized immediately and I have never had to install software from the CD that comes with the device.
Customer Review: Tired of touchpad on your laptop? Use this instead!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was finding myself using my work laptop at home more and more. I was researching trackballs and was thinking a wireless one was the way to go but I decided against it for the following reasons: 1) It has a long cord on the receiver that inserts into the USB port - but it's still wireless because the cord isn't actually attached to trackball, but then there still is this long cord to deal with. 2)On the wireless trackball itself, I read that the connection was inconsistent for some people and that it ate up batteries. The last thing I wanted was to be using it just to have the connection frustrate me or to have the battery die at a critical moment. Then I'd have to use my touchpad again -- so I thought, why do I want to bother to go wireless until they perfect the technology. (FYI -I am a previous mouse, optical mouse, and touchpad user.) We have the original white corded trackman on our desktop on home and it works flawlessly. I bought two of these "new" trackmans (I'm old school and feel that new generations of technology doesn't always equate with better or as reliable.) I told my husband about my purchase - I got one for work as I dock my laptop there, and one for "home" or traveling with my laptop. He didn't think it was that big of deal until he had quite a bit of work to do on his laptop and plugged it in. That did it....now, he wants one for his desktop at work and we manage to share the one at home. Another great accessory for my laptop is the USB wired portable 10 key by Targus model PAUK10. If you work with alot of numbers on your laptop it saves so much time especially if you are doing alot of work at a client's office or at home. Once again, my husband borrowed it to work on some financials and it was like an extra hand to work with. I didn't research the USB 10 key as it I just needed something in a hurry. I decided to go with one that was the size and similar "blind touch" as the one on my full size keyboard. It turned out to work perfectly as the smaller, more compact 10key would probably just frustrate me because the blind touch would be so different. Back to this review on the "new" trackman, BOTTOM LINE: It works great so far after a month daily use! I have small hands and my husbands are much larger and we both are thrilled with it. I hope this has been helpful - I know I have benefited a great deal from Amazon reviewers that have shared real life scenarios.