KensingtonWired SlimBlade Trackball Mouse (K72327U), Black

Quick and easy setup. Just take it out of the box. Plug it in. Download Kensington Trackball Works and you're set.EARLY IMPRESSIONS: Coming from having owned the best of the best mice and trackballs from Logitech such as my current Marble Trackball, the M570 (which possibly contributed me the De Quervane syndrome I have now) and the Anywhere Mouse, not to mention scores of other mice and trackballs over the years include the 1990s version of the Kengington Expert Mouse -- I was, at most, expecting to marginally impressed by the Kensington Slimblade Trackball.But it took me only 15 minutes of acclimating and fine tuning the settings that I realized that this is a vast step up from my Marble Mouse. I'll have more to see in an updated review, but for now, here's few quick impression 5 star ratings, 5 being best:***** Buttons: Excellent feel and "just right." In fact, were it not for the fact that some people mentioned the issue of having to press the buttons harder than they would expected, I never would have given this issue a second thought. The click pressure is about what I'd expect and has been a non-issue for me. I suspect that some people have this problem because the are pressing the keys to close to the hinge. But where my thumb and fingers naturally tend to fall are the areas that are farthest distance from hinges.***** Scrolling: One of the best innovations since Xerox PARC invented the mouse. Honestly, even after all the glowing reviews in Amazon, I wasn't expecting it to be this natural, not to menion -- fun. Try it and you may never want to go back to a scroll wheel.***** Ease of use and precision. Pointing and click is what you'd expect from a $99 trackball. Using a bigger ball than is the case on my Logitech Marble Mouse, does improve precision. This is especially the case because I am right handed, but need to use my left hand for this trackball. Many times when using my previous trackball, the Logitech Marble, I'd aim to put the mouse arrow on top of a small screen object (such as a line on my DropMind Mindmap) and found it difficult. So far, I'm finding myself about perform the same surgical actions more easily with the Kensington.***** Smoothness of the ball. Initially, I found that would you do a rapid twist when scrolling, there's some kind of weird slight scraping vibration. The sound went away after a few days after natural oils from my fingers lubed the ball sufficiently.***** TrackBallWorks Software. Works find and allows me to control all the buttons and chordings. So I was able to switch the traditional mouse click buttons to left-handed mode, use the top buttons for back and forward with browsing the Internet, refresh with bottom chord, and launch volume controls with upper chord. This is way more than what I could do with my Logitech Marble Mouse.**** Construction. ON THE PLUS SIDE, it's a beautiful, gleaming piece of modern art on my desk.ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE: The should have engineered the click buttons so that needed pressure to click is the same no matter were you click. While click-pressure has not been a problem for me in general, there are occasions where I click different areas of the button and it's unexpectedly harder than my finger expects. AS FOR THE BALL: My ball has dropped onto my hardwood floor about six times since I got this thing. Each time, I'm wondering if I dented or scratched it. I really wish they had fingered out a way to hold it in there.Conclusion: The days and weeks will tell. But for now, this is a candidate for being the best mouse/trackball input device I've ever used.UPDATE 9/18/2013Well, I've come to the conclusion that this is the best mouse/trackball input device I've ever used. It beats all trackballs I've ever used. PLUS, it beats all mice I've ever used. That's a major shift because until this point, I've never had a trackball that has been as accurate, precise and easy to use as a good mouse. This Kensington Slimblade finally does it. It totally trounces Logitech and I've deleted all Logitech drivers from my main computer. I am amazed that it's not at or near the top of the charts. Well, for sure, in opinion, it deserves to be there.UPDATE 10/16/2013Still going strong. No complaints. The one unfortunate thing is that many people might be scared off by the early reviews which reported problems with the the TrackBallWorks driver. That problem has long been fixed and it's been smooth sailing for me and many other users. If you're looking for the greatest trackball in the world and an alternative to the Logitech Marble Trackball (which I also own), this is worth a try.

The Kennsington Slimblade Trackball is awesome. I could end the review right there but that would be lame. So, I would like to add that a big part of one's acceptance of a new device is based largely upon their prior pointing/mousing device and what you are used to. If one is coming from a mouse, let's say - then switching to using a trackball might seem strange. If, like myself, you're already a proficient trackball user, the conversion to a new trackball device is less so. But it is always a bit strange to switch regardless of your prior experience. This is because we use our pointers without having to think about it. And if we have to think about it, there's an added mental/cognitive load to process. Basic tasks become minor adventures, which can be a nuisance. I suspect many bail on this premise alone.While clicking and dragging was a bit of a shift for me - surprisingly I had an immediate acceptance of the scrolling - which is done by twisting the ball. I cannot adequately tell you how satisfying and well implemented this feature is with the Slimblade Trackball. Love it. Previously with my MicroSoft Trackball Explorer (my previous device) this was accomplished with a typical "scroll wheel." The Slimblade slices and dices that option to bits. So...clicking and dragging, while fine and intuitive - was different. So it took a day to get used to. I had a bit of regret and missed my familiar device - but when I switch back to it - I found that "old familiar device" to be rough, brutal and no longer what I wanted. So I went back to my new Slimblade. And by the next day I was hooked.Ergonomically, this device is far superior to my MS Trackball Explorer - which was very nice ergonomically speaking. But...as a rule of ergonomics, repetitive actions are bad - so any device, no matter how well it is ergonomically designed can get old after 10 years. Did I not mention I was using the Trackball Explorer for 10 years? Well I was. I loved it and never wanted another device. But my hand was beginning to hurt. 10 years of use is incredible, mind you - a real testament to that MS TB Explorer!But when I switched back to the MS TB Explorer - the grip required to click, hold and drag was where the pain was coming from. It required too much grip and effort on one area of my hand. Also the ball was tough to move. When I went back to the Slimblade, the ball was like silk! And...sure enough, I began to get used to the click, hold and drag procedure and movement. It was much better on the Slimblade and required less effort. This ball can roll too! It requires less "pushing" and is so much more nuanced and precise. Plus, with the ball being so big, you can put any part of your entire hand into the movements and change how you want operate it - which is key for great ergonomoics.What I really started to love about it was the BIG click buttons. Oh yeah, they're massive. And I found myself able flick my wrist and have my thumb "whack" the large left-click button - or my pinky smash the right-click. Nice. This shifted the effort to my entire hand and wrist - which was far more humanly natural and fluid than the restrictive, isolated and delicate finger "pulses" that put all the work on one tiny, overstressed hand muscle - all day long.Do get the latest driver/software from Kensington's site. It works great on Windows 7 and XP. I have the top buttons programmed as the back and forward on the web browser that I use all the time. It also lets you program clicking two buttons at the same time to do whatever you want. I have the bottom two set to show the desktop. I love just smashing down on the buttons like the monkey that I am, rather than using tiny, surgical clicks. Big buttons, big ball - much better.The real gist of my review is how fast I took to it. One day. By the next day I was packing up my beloved Trackball Explorer and buying a second Slimblade for home. The second point is to stand up for a fantastic device that doesn't seem to be getting a lot of love and respect from other reviews here. Many seem to be coming from Kensington's other well-respected trackball: the Expert Mouse. Now, I never used that one...so I can't relate, but it clearly is much loved and was the basis for the design of the company's latest - the Slimblade. But I want again stress that switching devices is tough. Give it time. Hang in there.Lastly, this thing is gorgeous.