Orbit Wireless Trackball

I am right-handed and for years have used, and enjoyed, the Logitech (now called "Logi") right-hand tracking ball mouse, which unfortunately the company does not make a left-hand version of. Though right handed, my right thumb has begun to hurt from overuse of the right-handed mouse, so I searched hard for a left-hand option so I can use it for a while (either alone or shifting from one mouse to another). After trying a regular "ambidextrous" mouse without a tracking ball, which I returned because it was hard on the wrist, I ordered this Kensington tracking ball mouse which was advertised to be good for (1) ambidextrous (i.e. left and/or right-hand) use, and, (2) large hands (incidentally, "large" is defined as having greater than 7.5" length from the tip of the middle finger to the start of one's wrist; "medium" is 6.5" to 7.5", and "small" is below that). My length is 8". Here's my experience: Pro: I prefer the scroll wheel on the Kensington (which surrounds the track ball) to the scroll wheel on the Logitech (Logi) (which is located on top of the mouse) because it's easier on the hand to rotate the scroll wheel clockwise and counterclockwise on the Kensington mouse than use one's index finger to scroll up and down with the Logi mouse. This scroll wheel feature alone convinced me to keep the Kensington. Pro: As long as you have space on your workspace surface, and have the extra USB port or use the blue tooth function on the Kensington mouse, you can use two computer "mice" simultaneously. I have done so and it's easy. One's computer/laptop simply recognizes whichever mouse you use first, then switches to the other mouse after you stop using the one you're using and start using the other mouse. Pro: It's pretty. I got the red-colored tracking ball and it contrasts positively against the blue-colored tracking ball of my Logitech right-handed tracking ball mouse. Pro: I'm right-handed, so there are cognitive/neurological/brain benefits to using a left-handed mouse (exclusively or in tandem with a right-handed mouse). It's supposed to help prevent Alzheimer's disease, plus it's a lot of fun using my left hand. Pro: Since the Kensington is "ambidextrous" in design, I can use this mouse with my right-hand if I wish, which still would somewhat help alleviate my right-hand thumb pain because the ergonomics of the Kensington are different than the ergonomics of the Logitech tracking ball mouse. But I prefer to use the Kensington fully with my left hand to rest my right thumb and hand. Con (which may be a Pro): The tracking ball is a bit stiffer on the Kensington than the Logi, but (1) that may loosen up over time and (2) that may be an asset (and intentional by Kensington) to prevent accidentally moving the tracking ball on the Kensington, which unlike the Logitech mouse, takes up the top of the mouse instead of being located on the left side of the mouse as is the case for the Logitech tracking ball mouse. Still, I would have loved the tracking ball more if it were just a tad bit smoother/easier to roll. Then again, perhaps my Kensington's tracking ball is a bit stiffer than another tracking ball on the same model mouse: i.e. that may be a problem specific to my "mouse" than the a problem with the design feature itself. But again, it's not overly stiff. It still is easy enough to roll the tracking ball. Con (which has a Pro side): It takes up a bit more space (it's wider) than the Logitech, though this Kensington tracking mouse model is smaller than other Kensington models. Not the worse "bigness", but I cannott use both "mice"/"mouses" (?) at the same time unless I use it at my Varidesk Pro Plus 36 standing desk, which has two mouse pad areas on the left and right of the lower typing level. Due to its lower-sitting size and shape, the Kensington tracking ball mouse is also a bit harder to pick up and move around because it lays flatter and one has less vertical surface to grab onto. But this is not a big problem, plus it may make the Kensington a bit more stable (i.e. harder to topple over). Con (but may be due to newness of use): I did experience some weirdness initially in being unable to "copy" text in order to "paste" it later (the scroll function just froze after rolling down a few sentences) but that may have been due to other laptop factors and not the mouse itself or may have been due to my timing in using the mouse. "Time will tell" because I've only had the mouse for a week, but this perceived problem did not occur enough or persist enough to cause me alarm. 99.5% of the time the scroll wheel function has worked well in copying and pasting. Con (which has a Pro side or logical reason why): It's a bit slower to use the Kensington mouse than the right-handed Logitech, but that may be due to (1) the fact that I'm right-handed, so naturally can use my right-hand better with a right-hand mouse, and, (2) I need more time to get used to the ambidextrous Kensington tracking ball mouse. However, let me repeat, that the Kensington's mouse is easier and faster to use than the Logitech's scroll wheel. Or (3) perhaps the Kensington is a bit slower to use, but it is not annoyingly slower to use. Bottom line: Thus far, after only a week of use, I am happy with this Kensington tracking ball mouse even though I probably would have purchased a left-handed Logitech tracking ball mouse if such a Logitech mouse existed. Then again, maybe not because the scroll wheel on the Kensington is superior to the scroll wheel on the Logitech: it is much easier on the hand to use and faster scrolling up and down (and does not involve the use of one's thumb, so I can still use it with my right-hand that has right-thumb pain). The mouse quality seems pretty good: as good as the Logitech's quality. The weight of both products is similar.

I've been using this for three years and it works great. I use a laptop and work remotely, so I literally tote it around and take it out almost everyday. I use the trackball because I hate trackpads, even the Macbook Pro pad. A mouse is fine, but it doesn't work on an uneven surface. Durability: The only durability issue I've had is with the little rubber feet on the bottom. I re-glued them (E6000 Premium adhesive works) about two years in. Otherwise, it never acts up. I also keep mine in a general purpose case, so it isn't rattling around in my bag. Mouse Movement: Ball movement is smooth. I think it's much smoother than the Logitech M570 that I used before. It is important to keep it clean. Snacking on slightly greasy food with my right (mouse) hand will cause it to feel janky. Wiping clean usually solves the problem. The ball pops out easily for cleaning, and the little contact points will get gunked up, so I clean those regularly too. The scroll wheel works fine too. It felt a little "loose" at first, but I don't notice it anymore, and I use it constantly. Accuracy: A trackball isn't quite as accurate as a mouse, but I haven't used a mouse in so long that I don't really notice it. I found a "speed" setting on my computer that lets me move quickly across the screen but let's me land with some precision. I doubt I would use this for precision gaming or graphic design, but I can fit the cursor between two characters with no trouble. Weight: The Orbit weighs 187 grams with a battery, so it feels light but not cheap. More importantly, the ball itself has a decent heft. I would rather it was a little heavier and had a little more inertia (like a Missile Command trackball), but it's fine. Fit: When I first got this, I thought it was way worse than my M570. The M570 is very natural, scrolling with your thumb and clicking (and using the scroll wheel) with the index and middle finger. The way I use the Orbit, I scroll with my index and middle finger, left click with my thumb, use the scroll wheel and right click with my ring finger on my right hand. This felt really unnatural, almost painful, at first. I was writing quite a bit in SQL and using Excel, so quickly navigating was important to me. So I stuck my Orbit in a drawer for a few months and basically thought it was a failure. But I pulled it out a few months later when I was without a trackball, and after a few weeks, it felt totally natural. Now it's all I use. I think a weird trick that helps is that I roll it with my fingers and then barely lift them off the ball when I go to click. Clicking with my thumb while my fingers touch the ball almost always wiggles things around too much. Connectivity: I use my Orbit with my Macbook Pro and just pair via the built in bluetooth. Before that, I used it with a Windows notebook for a few months without trouble. I never really have to fuss with it. I switch it on and it works right away. Battery Life: I use this pretty intensely everyday, but I probably only change the batteries a few times a year. I don't keep track, but I'm pretty sure it's at least three months in between changes. And I don't have to repair or fuss with it after battery changes. In summary, I this is my main input device and I'm very happy with it. It does everything I want and causes very few problems.

I bought this trackball at the end of April, '22, so am coming up on 5 months of use and feel I can now give it a proper review. I had limited space to manipulate a mouse which required me to move the cursor a bit, pick up and return the mouse to the starting point, and incrementally moving it again until I got the cursor where I wanted it. A real pain. The trackball has solved that problem completely. My keyboard and the trackball are on a forward tilting platform. Even so, the design of the trackball resulted ergonomically in my hand being cocked upward forming a V with my arm and bending my wrist at an unnatural angle. So I had to buy a wrist support pad to elevate my wrist and align my hand and arm properly. I can now use the trackball with much less discomfort than I experienced with the mouse, but prolonged use still causes me to have some pain across the back of my hand. I found this trackball easy to use and adapted to it within just a couple of days, now being able to trackball like a pro. I use my second and middle fingers to manipulate the ball, my ring finger to rotate the scrolling ring, and my little finger and thumb respectively to hit the left and right function buttons (I am a southpaw). Using my little finger took a bit of getting used to but now I am quite adept with it. I really like that the scrolling ring used with the CTRL key changes from a scrolling to a zoom function. The software is very versatile and allows me to configure the scrolling speed with an inertia mode function. Using inertia mode is handy because I can scroll slowly in a controlled fashion and then just spin the scrolling ring if I want to rapidly skip to something further up or down. Similarly, the pointer speed and acceleration can be set. However, I have both set to fairly slow because otherwise the pointer speed becomes blinding and is almost uncontrollable. The software also permits configuring the function buttons and reversing the action of the scrolling ring. The composite settings can be saved to and restored from a file. The settings make this a great trackball for use with either hand. I have only had to remove the ball and clean it and the socket a couple of times, when the operation started to become jittery or skip. It is as simple as pushing the ball out of the socket from the rear, then wiping away any dust or debris from both with a soft cloth, and clicking the ball back into the socket. One quirk that is annoying is that at times, the left button is not responsive. It will work fine for weeks and then start working intermittently, then start working normally again. This doesn't happen often but when it does, it is frustrating. The second complaint is that the trackball is just not as precise as a mouse for cursor placement (such as while editing a document). So I keep the mouse handy and still occasionally use it for this purpose. Interestingly enough, the trackball and the mouse work simultaneously and seamlessly and I have gotten quite good at two-handed operation. I understand that reduced precision is a characteristic of trackballs in general so this is only a small negative to me. The DPI switch on the bottom of the trackball housing is a push button, and the DPI is set by repeatedly pushing the button. Unfortunately this is trial and error because there is no way to see what the setting actually is, as would be the case with a position switch. The trackball also has an on/off switch on the bottom. But this is unnecessary for normal use because it turns off automatically if the trackball isn't being used and turns back on when one of the function buttons is clicked. Overall, I really like this trackball. and highly recommend it. There is room for improvement but for the price it is really loaded with features and has really worked well for me.

Out of the box, I was immediately impressed with the size of this mouse! I am transitioning from the previous Kensington Orbit Wireless Trackball Mouse with Touch Scroll Ring (K72352US) to give y'all an idea of where I'm coming from. Or -- just check out the photos attached and see for yourself! The new mouse fits the same space. It's not the huge monstrosity that the "expert" version of the Orbit trackball is. There ain't much information on this latest trackball -- so I literally was buying this with concerns. Hopefully this review helps others breathe easier -- and make that purchase confidently. One concern of mine was the scroll ring. The concern was that it would be fidgety, like the touch scroll ring was on the older version (in the photo you will see where I disable half the touch ring on the older mouse with putty). Well, I'm happy to report that this is not the case! The touch ring is physical, and has some friction to it. Best way to describe it is matte plastic on matte plastic — it’s not oiled, and so does not have a free-spin. It just spins when you want it to. Strangely enough, I am not finding myself accidentally bumping it either (though I will update this review down the road). So, now I have a RELIABLE scroll ring! Buttons feel the same as on the older mouse — but are positioned at a better angle for clicking. I have a weird way of holding this thing. See, despite the ergonomics, I was getting THUMB strain with the older mouse (possibly due to the angle they’re at), working at my computer 10 hours each day (4 days a week). This forced me to learn to click with my ringer finger (on my right hand), and right-click with my thumb. So with this new mouse, I am using the same fingers — but now I can also use my middle finger for the scroll wheel. Don’t forget the Bluetooth. Y’all Mac users know where I’m at: the BT connection allows you to free up an oh-so-precious USB port! EVEN BETTER: I was thinking of using this alongside the old mouse as I needed one for my work computer and one for my Mac -- but I figured out something better : I can connect the 2.4Ghz dongle to my work computer and then flip the switch at the bottom to use this one mouse with BOTH! Overall, I am impressed. I will update this review down the road as I gain more hours of actual use! UPDATE (After almost two years): So the first one got “sticky buttons” for a brief moment after a year, I was worried it was failing and decided to buy a second one as a back up. No buyers remorse here: it was worth it. Once I stopped transporting the original unit to and from the office — the button problem resolved itself and now I have two perfectly functioning units: one conveniently at home, and one in the office. I put the button issue down to the unit getting smooshed in my bag from transporting it everyday from home to the office.

I have been a trackball user forever. So many advantages over the regular mouse, the primary one being, if you’re doing really fine work on a graphic, it’s pretty much impossible to click the left (or right) button without moving the mouse a tiny bit. Trackballs don’t have this issue. Simply lift your hand off the ball and the cursor ain’t goin’ nowhere. So I’ve used a Marble Mouse (which is not a mouse, it’s a trackball) for a really long time. In fact I have several of them because,… in case. It has what I look for: + finger driven—not thumb driven. My thumb just doesn’t have the fine motor control + ambidextrous. I don’t use it with my left hand. But I could. + comfortable. A place to rest the rest of my hand while my fingers are working the ball. + big ball. Preferably golf ball size or bigger. I tried the tiny ball versions and I found them most frustrating. So if the Marble Mouse is so great (which it is), why am I changing? One word: wireless. For some reason the Marble Mouse does not come in a wireless version (either BT or dongle). Wire to USB-A only. I researched if there was a way to convert a wired trackball to a wireless one and, well, there is. But it’s way too complicated. So I looked for a wireless equivalent and came up with this Orbit. It is great. Good sized ball, comfortable, smooth scrolling, responsive. It even has a scroll ring (the Marble Mouse has up and down scroll buttons). The scroll ring is better. Also comes with the Kensington mouse control software (though your Windows Control Panel/Mouse does most of the same functionality). This is a really good pointing device and I suspect my collection of Marble Mice will now, after a storied career, be retired with honor.

I am coming from a Logitech Marble Mouse, with over 15 years of usage on it. The Marble Mouse has finally hit end of life and it was time for a replacement. I was able to briefly try some of the Elecom mice, that a friend had purchased.. and I was overall disappointed with those. The form factor was either way too tall and short length wise, or the ball was just way too big/heavy (maybe they will figure out a good design eventually). I did use an old school Kensington blue trackball mouse back in the day, so I am familiar with this general mouse shape. I have used this new Kensington for a few months now, including gaming. So anyways onto the Kensington mouse: Ergonomics/comfort: 7/10 It's plenty acceptable, but as some other reviewer said, the button placement relative to how you control the ball, is a bit "off". I don't understand why the buttons are not shifted back, at least a tiny bit further on the device (with exception to internal design restrictions). If you set up your hand on the mouse, and press the center of the buttons, it places the ball more towards the palm of my hand, than the finger tips, which isn't ideal. I sort of rotate the mouse and so on to make it work. I do not use the wrist rest it comes with. Scroll wheel: 10/10 Excellent idea, finally able to have a scroll wheel with a trackball, as the Logitech always lacked this feature. I find it very comfortable and satisfying to use. Ball Accuracy/Smoothness: 10/10 Everything is solid in this area, precision of the ball relative to mouse cursor is so good (night and day over the old Logitech). The DPI adjustments are fine but I don't use them often. Button/Switches: 6/10 Honestly wish the switches had a lighter feel and were more quiet. They are rather slow in actuation and a bit stiff. This makes it more fatiguing on the hand as well. I guess we'll see how they feel after a good period of usage. I would like to see a change in this for sure (I doubt it but one could hope). Wireless: 10/10 Using the 2.4Ghz, I have no complaints, no lag or anything either. Gaming: 7.5/10 Honestly it works just fine for me, having the extra resolution ball sensor makes everything so much better, wish I had this a long time ago. Sometimes I hit the scroll wheel by accident. Depending on the game and in general, the slower/stiffer/longer travel switches make for a more fatiguing experience than on the old Logitech; or basically what you'd get on most laser/optical mice on the market. Build/Material Quality: 9/10 Of course this could change, but initially the build quality seems perfectly fine. I couldn't find any defects. The body feels durable and generally the same as any other good mouse. I like the amount of padded feet it has, and it stays put. Overall I'm satisfied with this as a good wireless upgrade/replacement of the Logitech Marble Mouse, though I'll say the shape of the Logitech was a little more comfortable in the palm area. I'll update if anything goes wrong. Update: After using the mouse for about 9 months, I'd like to say the buttons have not loosened up any. I am pretty disappointed in their choice for switches. It's super fatiguing especially if you have any hand tightness, etc. The buttons/switches always make using the PC feel slightly slower, since click speeds takes longer with double clicks and so on. The ball isn't as smooth as it was, but my Logitech trackballs always were about the same, never stayed quite as smooth as new. Battery life and application usage are all good, build quality has held up. I can say for sure the design is not as good for the hand though. There is not enough support in the palm area. The Logitech had more palm support and I can tell my hand is suffering a bit now. Overall I still like the Kensington mouse, especially the scroll wheel and high DPI, but few other things as I mention, fall short. Another Update: Over time I started to notice clicks not registering. Figured the switches were going bad but I ended up taking it apart and adding some very small pieces of adhesive foam to the small structure that presses down onto the actual switch. This was a huge improvement, as it fixed the missed click issue, but also since I closed the gap between the external button that I am pressing and the actual switch inside, clicks are faster and the mouse feels much closer to what I'd expect it to be to start with. Not recommending this, but as a last resort I got good results. I can't quite understand Kensington's logic in how they set up these switches; if they were done properly, the mouse would be so much better.

I've been using the wired version of this for several years and I love this trackball mouse. I have used several different types including the thumb trackballs (I hate the thumb versions, all of them) and this is by FAR the best trackball, period. I have had no problems with the functioning of this trackball, no delays, no skips, no connection problems (I do use if quite close to my computer so if there was a connection issue I would return it).

Good design, simple and efficient. Lefty or right it works well for both. Only improvement, the on and off switch is small and hard to reach. A minor inconvenience. The mouse is light and ergonomic. It is not rechargeable. Good valueifcit last.