wireless mice

I've been a long time fan of trackballs - most especially and specifically those made by Logitech. About five years ago I started having pain in my wrists from the constant side-to-side motion of using a mouse. I picked up a Logitech Marble Mouse and loved it for years. It instantly helped by wrist issues and I didn't get so strained and hardly ever got soreness.

The only thing I didn't like was that there weren't enough buttons. I envied things like a scroll wheel found on regular mice. The thumb trackball was horrid in my thought (all that stress where your thumb meets the wrist; Ouch!) but had the extra buttons I longed for.

Then this one came along. Wow. I saw it in the store and I'll admit, I was a bit intimidated at first. Did I need a cordless? Could I get used to moving it with my hand in a slightly different position? And I know I wanted buttons, but woah, there's a LOT of buttons on it!

I played with it and daydreamed about it. I finally ended up getting it for my birthday in May 2003. It honestly did take me a few days to adjust to the change (even from one Logitech trackball to another), but now I can't imagine ever going back. The sheer convenience of being able to not only left-click/right-click, but scroll AND easily go Forward and Backward through webpages with a click of a button amazes me everytime. Trackballs already cut down the amount of round-about pointing you need to do by making it much smoother and easier because of less motion required, but this cuts it down way more then that.

Some thoughts from other reviews:
*Lefties -- I'm sorry, but it really is designed for a right-hander. Like most mice/trackballs on the market today, they aim for the majority. It's usable on short term for lefties (my boyfriend's a southpaw and he can maneuver it, but couldn't really use it every day, day-in/day-out). HOWEVER, a nice option is the Logitech Marble Mouse since it is neither left nor right hand specific.

* Cordless issues -- I've had ZERO interference with it and I have a USB Wacom tablet as well as digital camera hookups and other usb items in my usb hub. NEVER a problem. The manual recommends that if you have problems, move the receiver away from the monitor. Mine sits two or so feet away and works perfectly.

* Battery life -- WONDERFUL. Mine went for about five months or so on the original batteries it came with. And I am a hard-core user, driving my trackball way over ten hours a day. The program even warns you on-screen that your batteries are getting low. How cool is that? You don't have to wait until things die leaving you without a mouse, wondering what went wrong - it tells you!

* Weight of ball -- I have to say that one of the best aspects of the Logitech trackballs is that the ball spins VERY smoothly and easily. It's also not heavy. This sounds weird until you try one of the HORRID Kensington ones which has such a heavy ball that you literally get fatigued fingers from trying to push the darned thing around the screen. It's such a battle with inferior ones whereas, with the Logitech ones, it's easy. I can zoom around the screen as fast as I wish with the slightest touch of my fingertips (*note: the speed and such can also be edited if you like a slower cursor, but it still will have the lightweight Logitech is known for)

* Range of Use -- I agree with another user here - this thing has a range that's far more then you'd need. I sometimes use it on my lap and can stand up and control it from several feet away.

* Cleaning -- IMPORATANT. Every now and then, pop the ball out (by pushing from underneath) and clean the gunk which gets on the points the ball rests on. It will help keep your ball rolling smoothly.

In sum: ergonomic, comfortable, works great and a real Logitech winner. Well worth the cost.

I have been in love with the Trackman Vista for years, but they have long since gone out of production, and my last one died, so I needed a replacement. If Logitech made an updated version with optical tracking I would instantly buy enough for a lifetime.

This one comes close, and has several good features: Wheel, 3 buttons easily reached by thumb, ball almost exactly same size and weight as the Trackman Vista (no need to change a good design; the oversized ball in FX was a mistake), precise tracking, etc.

But it has this strange 30-45 degrees wrong orientation. And the wheel is a litte hard to reach with any fingertip. And there is only one button to the right of the ball, the Trackman Vista had two, which was right.

That is, until you realize that Logitech's idea of finger layout:

Thumb: 3 side buttons
2. finger: Wheel
3. and 4. finger: Ball
5. finger: Right button

Try this and all criticism is moot. The angle is right, and all the buttons are in the right place.

It is just the wrong layout. The 2. finger ("index"?) is the most sensible, flexible and precise we have, so it should be reserved for the ball. Thumb is reserved for side buttons. That leaves you with at least two fingers to the right of the ball, and none to the left.

Logitech should move the wheel to the right of the ball, and I will buy a stack of them. For now I will try to get used to this one.

Being a confirmed trackball person this is probably as good as it can be for now. Operation is silky smooth, all buttons are fully
configurable and the hand comfort is excellent. Sometimes cordless
can be pesky, not so with this unit as everything is right on. I was never much for scrolling and some of the other things this unit can do, but am now just plain spoiled.