Kensington TurboBall Trackball (PC/USB Mac)

Manufacturer:	Kensington
List price:	~~$99.95~~
Our price:	$34.19 that is 66% off!

Kensington TurboBall Trackball (PC/USB Mac)

Average rating: Stars

A very nice trackball

I've had this trackball for about 7 years and used it with my Mac. It has been great, not having to chase the mouse around the desk, lift it up and bring it back, then chase it around again. It's need for cleaning is the biggest drawback and why I gave it 4 stars. I usually use and exact-o-knife to clean the build-up on the rollers and then some kind of cleaning solution on a cotton swab, like 409). It is also starting to just get old (in my opinion) with optical-wireless ones out there. If it were wireless (Bluetooth preferred) and optical, I'd buy a new one without hesitation. I love the placement of the ball and the buttons and being able to program the buttons the way I like.

Kensington TurboBall Trackball (PC/USB Mac) - Kensington

Another Great Kensington Product

I bought this product as an accessory for the iBook I bought a few months ago. I had grown to love the Kensington Turbo Mouse Pro Wireless (which despite its misleading name, is a trackball, not a mouse) that I have been using on my desktop Mac for a few years, so I wanted another one for the new computer. The Mouseworks software that comes with Kensington trackballs and mice has always worked flawlessly for me, and it makes it really easy to configure the buttons on their products.

I wanted a trackball for my laptop because with the type of work I do, it isn't possible to use the fingerpad exclusively, and although it's easier to find a small mouse than a small trackball, trackballs are nice for laptops because you don't need a flat surface like you do with a a mouse. I can put it on my knee or something if I want to work outside or on my bed, which is nice. The problem with mice is that you are confined to a flat surface like a desk, and that defeats the purpose of the portable, "go anywhere" laptop for a lot of people. I bought this particular trackball (the TurboBall) because I wanted something relatively small and portable enough to travel in my laptop bag, and I needed something with at least three buttons for the software I use. And also as I mentioned earlier, I had had a good experience with the company in the past.

Although when the TurboBall arrived it was a little larger than I had expected, it still fits nicely in my laptop bag and it is pretty light, but sturdy. It worked perfectly without any configuration (I didn't even need to use MouseWorks to get it started, but it helps for configuring the buttons and for setting the cursor speed). It doesn't skip, and I haven't really needed to clean it. I just brush out the dust occasionally, but it doesn't accumlate very quickly. The position of the scrollwheel was a little weird to get used to at first, but now I don't even think about it. And as someone who has dealt with reccurent cases of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, the shape is pretty nice and relaxing on the wrist if you let your hand rest on it correctly. Overall Im very happy with the purchase, and the price is very good compared to the prices of some similar products.

Kensington - Kensington TurboBall Trackball (PC/USB Mac)

Just flat out awesome

Yeah, it needs to be cleaned every so often. Not a big deal, since it requires less cleaning than my optical Logitech Trackman (yes, I said less than an optical). I've had this one about a year, the 2 button (Orbit) version for about 5 years (and still use it with the original rollers), and the Logitech for about a year. The Logitech was a horrid mistake.

Very comfortable fit, but not quite as nice as the 2 button version, but still fine, and better than the more ergonomic looking Logitech. The scroll wheel is useless unless I am reading long documents, in which case, I let go of the whole thing except for a finger on the wheel. But it doesn't really matter, because the drivers allow you to set the buttons so you can hit a button (or 2 at the same time) and use the main wheel to scroll.

On to the drivers. They are what make this trackball awesome. You can set the buttons to function with a default set with a whole bunch of options (including bizzare keystrokes), and then set them for specific programs. I use many programs on a daily basis, and this allows me to keep basic functions like zoom in/out in the same place, no matter what program I am in or what the keystroke is. It also allows "chording" where you hit 2 buttons at once, and they act as an extra button, for those less than common functions.

If they made this with an optical ball, it would be perfect.

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