Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball Mouse (K72359WW)

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I generally dont return stuff I buy from Amazon, but I returned this. The scroll ring on this thing is atrocious. It is stiff, scratchy, and devoid of any sort of consistency or feedback. Sometimes it will move with slight pressure, sometimes you have to really put some force behind it. At first I though, I bet this thing has a bearing of some sort. Maybe I just need to tweak it a bit. But then I decided that for the $88 that I payed for it, I expect an office product that does not require disassembly and adjustment right out of the box. Actually I take back the inconsistency remark. That scroll wheel is consistently terrible.

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As far as Im concerned, this is the ultimate pointing device/mouse/trackball, etc. Ive progressed from a basic mouse through ergonomic mice, through various trackballs, but the underlying problem always seemed to be tension created in my hand and wrist because of the tendency to tense the muscles do to the layout of the various devices. They all seemed to be designed such that you naturally grip them. I finally decided to try the Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball Mouse about 6 months ago now and I have tremendously less pain and strain in my hand and wrist. It is not the kind of device you grip, but rather your hand basically rests on it and move your hand much more freely. The included, optional wrist rest has also worked out great. This trackball is especially good for larger hands, as it allows your fingers to remain relaxed and stretched out, instead of curling them up trying to remain on buttons that are too close together. It may appear to be large, and I guess it is, but it allows the hand more freedom than any other pointing device Ive used so far. The large size of the ball itself allows for moving the cursor over a large portion of the screen with just a simple flick when needed.

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This rollerball mouse is HUGE and yet it works pretty well. Its symmetric so that it works equally well right-handed or left, but the symmetry also works against using it without remapping the buttons. The default button assignments are for the lower-left button to be the normal left-click button and the lower right to be the normal right click. As a right-hander, my hand rests on it so that the thumb is centered on the lower-left button. I can then use my index finger to move the ball (also huge) and operate the scroll ring between my thumb and middle finger. However, the lower right button is then under my finger/palm joints. To use it, I have to move my hand out of position. Its more natural to re-assign the upper-right button as the right-click button operated with my middle finger. Ive reassigned the upper-left and lower-right buttons for other functions that are not used so often. All of the buttons can be reassigned using downloaded software. You can get this at the Kensington Web site, but I was already using XMouse Button Control and it worked fine with this mouse as well. The large ball is not retained and comes right out if you turn the mouse upside down. Since the device is heavy (13.2 oz without the palm rest, 15.7 with it) and has rubber pads on the bottom to keep it from sliding around, this might not be a problem unless one were using it in some more vertical position than normal. However, you must be careful when you turn it over to change batteries, to apply or remove the wrist rest, to get the dongle out, to switch modes (Bluetooth vs 2.4 Ghz) or to power off the unit. If not, youll be chasing the ball around the room. With the wrist pad installed this device is 8 3/4 inches long (see photos). The wrist pad is well engineered and has a textured leather-like surface. In my application, the mouse operates a old Windows XP computer using the 2.4 Ghz dongle provided. I have not tried a bluetooth connection. While XP is not listed as compatible on the box or in the users guide, it has worked fine.

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ok, so looking at this mouse you would think its got a great build quality. When I received it the first thing I noticed when using the ball was that it made so much noise. It is not smooth feeling at all and the noise it makes will drive you crazy. Then I realized the ball just pops out. It does not seem to fit properly in its plastic housing so it feels loose and cheap. The ring around the ball does not feel good either. It feels loose and like it will come apart eventually. Since I was unsatisfied with how the whole mouse felt I ended up returning it. Definitely not worth the money they want for this. I am saving you time and money letting you know this as I dont normally leave a review on items I purchase. Look for something better.

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When I saw that Kensington had finally come out with the Expert Wireless Trackball, man was I excited! I just wondered what had taken them so long. I hate having cords on my desk and now with the wireless trackball its one less cord on my desk and now I dont have to worry about where I have to place my trackball. The reason it doesnt have 5 stars is that Ive had some connectivity issues with it over the past 2 months. The first time it happened it was 2 weeks after I got the trackball, when I went out of the room for 5 minutes after just using the computer and when I returned it didnt work at all. None of the buttons worked, it wouldnt move the pointer, and even open up the Trackball Works software to see if there was anything that could be done, but I didnt find anything that resolved my issue. The only way to get it working again was to remove the batteries and unplug the USB dongle. After re-installing the batteries and dongle everything worked as it should. This has happened two more time since and realizing what happened the 2nd time I tried everything I could think of to get it working before I pulled the batteries and dongle. Like others have stated, I couldnt get it to connect via the Bluetooth mode for whatever reason. One other minor issue is that one of the rubber feet has fallen off already and I kind of figured it would happen over time, but not after 6 weeks. The same thing happened to all my other wired expert trackballs and I just end up super gluing them back on, but its kind of annoying that they fall off in the first place. Edit: Well after 5 months of ownership its time to return the wireless trackball. The trackball will only stay connected for a day at the most and being that Im a C4 quadriplegic, I dont have the ability to remove the dongle and batteries from the trackball. Heck, I even went to the length of uninstalling the trackball and the Trackball Works software from my computer and re-installing everything. That also only worked for a day. I tried changing the batteries and tried using the Bluetooth option, which worked for all of 2 minutes. Luckily I still had my wired trackball to use, otherwise I cant use my computer. Wish me luck with getting it warrantied.

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I purchased the Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball Mouse to replace a Logitech wireless trackball which developed the notorious Logitech double-click problem (one left click produces a double-click, a hardware failure common to their trackball product). I have always been a fan of Kensington trackballs and was very excited to finally see a wireless expert-sized version on the market. This one does its job but set-up was tricky, the BT connection is glitchy, and there are a few of what I consider design flaws: PROS: 1) Wireless ability makes this a great pointing device for a living room HTPC type setup where there is no desk for a traditional mouse. 2) Advanced customization features, such as slow, and linear options (press and hold a key while scrolling) facilitate precision movement. The extra buttons can be programmed with custom functions in the device configuration software. 3) Smooth roller (after device is broken-in) movement 4) Ability to use the same pointing device with two computers: pair one via Bluetooth and use the USB dongle on the other. The BT on/off switch underneath the device allows you to switch between computers ("BT-on" uses only the BT connected device, "BT-off" uses the USB dongle). 5) Battery life is excellent. Im still on my first battery after using it on a daily basis for several weeks. CONS: 1) USB dongle (storage location is inside the battery compartment) was not recognized upon plug-in. Product did not arrive with a CD. I went to the Kensington website and found the product support page to download the drivers and software. After downloading and running the installer the USB dongle has been working fine. Also the dongle has no distinctive markings, so if you use more than one small USB plug-in, you need to remember that the plain blank one is the Kensington dongle. 2) BT pairing is easy but maintaining the connection is intermittent. Every ~10-30 minutes the bluetooth connection resets, which is an annoying first world problem. It disconnects, causing the trackball to stop working, and then within 5 seconds re-connects and works fine again, like a hiccup. Other reviewers have reported this issue and have not resolved it so I am assuming it is a BT driver issue and hope that an updated driver will fix it in the future if Kensington puts the effort into bug fixing. 3) Scroll ring feel is pretty bad. The scrolling ring is notchy and feels very cheaply made for an expensive trackball. The scrolling action is jumpy no matter how you configure it in the settings. 4) Having the ability to use the same trackball on two computers is nice, but it is awkward to get to the switch. Underneath the device there are two similar looking small switches, one turns the trackball on and off, and the other controls bluetooth on and off. Toggling the bluetooth switch is what makes the trackball switch between the BT connected computer and the USB dongle connected computer. This means picking up the unit and turning it upside down to locate and flip the tiny switch. Clumsy people (like me) may also find that the ball will fall out if it is not held the right way while doing this. Suggested Improvements for Kensington ("Dear Kensington,"): 1) Change the scroll-ring design, perhaps keeping the scroll ring as a volume control and adding another thumb-wheel towards the front of the unit (in front of the ball) for scrolling (like where the Logitech wireless trackball puts the scroll wheel). 2) Fix the bluetooth connectivity issue where the device disconnects and reconnects intermittently. It seems that, for whatever reason, the battery-saver activates despite the device being in use while in bluetooth mode. It does not do this cycle while connected via USB dongle. 3) Stop driving your customers crazy with off-shore scripted tech support agents who ultimately cannot fix the error described above (#2). They will waste time while messing up a lot of settings in their futile effort to help. Just declare it a known issue and then fix it. Please. 4) Move the BT on/off switch to a side, front or back of the unit so the user doesnt need to turn it upside-down to find the switch, risking a drop of the track-ball from its cradle. Extra functionality suggestion: allow more than one BT connection to be stored for pairing with 2+ computers. Slider switch for USB-BT1-BT2-BT3, etc. 5) Allow the front-to-back angle (rake) of the device to be adjustable. Adding a "kickstand" or snap-on wedge to the bottom rear of the trackball would allow for more ergonomic variability of the tilt, which affects wrist extension. 6) Packaging & Instructions: "out of the box" frustration for customers can be reduced by: providing instructions on how to locate and download updated drivers, revealing the secret location of the USB dongle (hidden inside the battery compartment), and notification that it is normal for trackball motion to be coarse for the first few hours of use during the break-in period. Overall it is a nice trackball even though it feels like a 1.0 design. I am looking forward to Kensingtons next iteration of the wireless expert trackball.

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I was using an older version (Expert Mouse 5.0), which I loved, but there was an issue with the old drivers and Windows 7 that if you Sleep the computer, it wouldnt work properly after waking, and there is no 64 bit version. Additionally I like the idea of the scroll ring on the current model. I had enough credit card points to get it free, so I bit the bullet after thinking about getting one for a long time. Hardware: compared to the old version, it is just as good, with certain improvements. The button switches are the same quality with a solid tactile click. The ball now rolls on micro ruby bearings, which are much smoother than the old stainless steel rollers. Out of the box it was stiff, but after some use it smoothed out nicely. The scroll ring, which receives criticism from other reviews, is good, but not perfect. It has a good feel with a light touch, but there is a slight plastic on plastic feel with a little pressure. The wrist rest is excellent as well. Software: The old Kensington Mouseworks software was a lot more flexible than the current TrackballWorks version. The old version allowed more button customization, the ability to combine keyboard modifiers (Ctrl, Alt, Shift) for more functions. Additionally, there is no option to assign a button to scroll with the ball. It may seem unnecessary with the scroll ring, but while scrolling through a long web page or PDF, it would be nice to be able to use the ball, as in the old version. I own many trackballs, Expert Mouse 5.0, Orbit with Scroll Ring, Logitech Trackman Marble, ITAC Mouse-Trak, CST PC-Trac, and now the current Expert Mouse. Overall, this current model Expert Mouse is the best one Ive used. My biggest complaint is the lack of flexibility in the software compared to earlier versions.

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I am finding the same problems as others who wrote negative reviews. From the first moment I tried the scroll wheel it felt like a product made in someones garage. Unacceptably poor feel as the wheel jiggles and moves without a professional level of precision and predicatability. Im actually quite shocked. I called Kensington and support wants me to send photos but I see no damage so I came here and saw others have the noted the same. I also agree with those who say the angle is not very comfortable. It should be angled more up to relieve strain on the wrist. Isnt that why were using a trackpad? Other than the shocking scroll wheel the build quality seems very good. I was pleased at how quickly I was able to get someone on the phone from Kensington, so thats a plus. Nonetheless, I hope others dont make the mistake of buying this product.

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As a long time user and huge fan of the older model (that was a different chassis shape) Im giving this USB Expert Mouse 4 stars out of 5 initially and I will go back and re-review this product further once I get to spend more time using and evaluating it and I really get to compare it to the older version. My only reason for replacing my old one after so many years is because I need USB for a KVM switch and my old one is Serial/PS-2 only. Ive read a significant number of less than favorable reviews on here about this newer version that were saying how some users feel this model has either one of 2 problems or both. These negative reviews were mostly from either first time trackball users who were only used to moving a mouse around their desk surface with their arm and had no idea what to expect with a track ball or from users of other (cheaper) brands who were looking for better quality but chose to complain about what they claimed to be a heavy, stiff, bulky movement of this units big trackball but some of the lower star reviews it received were also from users who went from older models of the Expert Mouse to this new redesigned model. The other complaint had to do with wrist position comfort and again came from both new users and a few who had an older Expert Mouse version like the one Ive been using daily for over 20 years, many of which didnt know what to expect when switching from a mouse to a track ball, and quite a few who already had wrist problems before they bought one of these units to try. Note that my old Expert Mouse trackball still works, even after 20 years of daily use, but I needed USB for a KVM and I couldnt come up with a working PS/2 or Serial to USB converter solution that would stay working after being passed through the USB KVM and/or didnt cost more than the KVM and this track ball cost when purchased together so I opted to replace my vintage Expert Mouse with this one and time will tell if Ill be as happy with this new one as Ive been with the original but here are my initial findings at the beginning of day 1 with this new model... As I just took it out of the box, unplugged the PS/2 plug of my 20 year old Expert Mouse, and plugged this brand new restyled USB Expert Mouse into my PC here is what Ive determined so far... For whomever has complained about the stiff, hard ball movement, as a regular daily user of an original Kensington Expert Mouse that Ive had since I bought it new literally 20 years ago (in the days of Windows 3.1) I must say that they are wrong, period. Although it doesnt feel like its hovering weightless beneath your fingers as the Logitech products with their smaller ball tend to feel (especially after they literally get greasy from oily hands), it also doesnt feel all slippery with no user feedback like the Logitech products do, and the "massive" ball (as they called it) not only glides as smooth and easy on this new model as the original Expert Mouse did, the ball also has that same solid feel with great control and excellent feedback beneath your fingers as the older models did too! At my office there are several audio editing workstations with Logitech track balls on them (which suffer from left button failures and need to be replaced at least annually) so Im totally familiar with both brands and types of these products and Im okay with using the tiny ball and the crazy slickness of the Logitech track balls compared to a traditional mouse but Ive always preferred the feel and motion of the much larger ball in my vintage Expert mouse in comparison to those Logitech products and so far the ball in this new version Expert Mouse feels exactly the same to me as my old one has for so many years. I had read in a number of reviews (and some complaints) that the balls movement was stiff and just had to be broken in over a few hours or a few days of use while others said to literally oil it (which seems excessive) so as soon as I took it out of the box I lifted the ball out of its opening, rubbed my finger tips across each of the 3 balance points that the ball rests on several times then rolled the ball around between my two hands for a moment, then dropped it back into its opening and tested the movement and I was totally happy when I found that right out of the box this brand new USB optical model feels EXACTLY like my 20 year old roller driven Serial/PS2 model Expert Mouse does... Smooth, fluid, and well made. Now for the negative reviews with wrist position complaints I can see how some people could be somewhat unhappy with it but it doesnt feel bad to me so far, just a bit different. As a couple of other vintage Expert Mouse users have also stated, this new curved front design does feel very different beneath my hand than the old model from the moment I set my hand down on the ball. The old model was straight across with a high lip which occasionally would begin to slightly bother a small area of my hand between my wrist and first thumb knuckle during long audio editing sessions with lots of left-click/drag thumb action but it gave good lower palm support and was never uncomfortable or a big deal at all. Kensington has obviously put some thought into this and eliminated that big straight high edge front lip which lets me set my wrist and the edge of my palm directly on the desk and that actually feels nice but that also places the ball under the middle of my hand (closer towards my palm) instead of under the middle of my fingers (closer towards my finger tips) which gives the ball a different feel, initially a bit awkward and less familiar but time will tell how my brain chooses to adapt to the new design... If I move my palm back away from the curved front lip a little bit then it places my fingers on the ball where Im used to with the older model but without the big front lip of the older model the mid-palm support that was provided by the old lip isnt there which leaves the overall weight of my hand kind of pulling down on my fingers a little as theyre resting on the ball in the position Im used to feeling beneath my fingers on my older model of Expert Mouse. I can see where someone with pre-existing wrist issues might not feel totally comfortable with this model beneath their fingers, especially if they have long fingers, but Im optimistic about the new ergonomics and comfort of my entire wrist being able to rest on the desk and well see how my hand chooses to acclimate to the redesigned ergonomics of this newer model once I spend a bit more time using it. I have fairly short fingers, for example I can play a piano reasonably well and I can somewhat manage to play a guitar too but my speed on the guitar is slow and somewhat sloppy because its a struggle for my fingers to fully reach across the neck and spread as needed around the frets and strings for some chords. Someone with longer fingers may or may not feel like they need more support than this newer model offers compared to the older versions and the new removable palm rest may or may not be a good solution for those who want more wrist support, I dont know yet. At first, without the palm rest I like how my palm rests comfortably on the desk but with my palm up against the contoured front of this model the ball position feels different from the old one under my fingers. With the palm rest on it my fingers can go back to that familiar position on the ball but based on my seating height and arm reach to me the palm rest gives good support but feels a bit thick, raising my wrist considerably higher than I think Id prefer so far... But since I havent had much time to use this newer Expert Mouse yet Ill try it with and without the palm rest for a while and post my findings once I decide what feels best for me, or if for some unexpected reason I happen to decide that I dont actually like it with or without the palm wrest compared to the older models front lip. Time will tell. Therefore, right out of the box Im giving it 4 stars as Im assuming its as well built as my 20 year old one is plus Ive already seen that the negative reviews about the ball movement are entirely wrong but the concerns about the redesigned ergonomics are going to take some time and use for me to make an informed decision about, and the scroll ring sounded like a welcomed addition as thats the main reason the bottom left button on my vintage unit occasionally gets a little intermittent during a long days use after 20 years in service but Im not sure whether the new models scroll rings movement will loosen up or not and Im not sure if it will stay working when using a KVM switch as most scroll wheels stop responding after switching back and forth between PCs on a KVM which is not the fault of the mouse/track ball but may render that feature useless for me anyway, time will tell on that one too. First impression, I can see why some people might complain about the redesigned ergonomics but the movement of the ball is just as smooth and familiar as the old ones were and so far on day 1 with this new model its obvious that the ergonomics have been redesigned which does alter the way it feels along the bottom edge of your palm compared to the older models but so far with my first few minutes of use Im already satisfied with my decision to purchase this new model (only to get the USB functionality that I now need) and Im confident that Im probably going to be just as happy with this product as Ive been for 20+ years with its predecessor... UPDATE: Basically 60 days into ownership and the revised ergonomics of this model (versus my original vintage serial/PS2 Expert Mouse) have been totally fine for extended daily usage periods with my short fingers without the optional gel palm rest. The ball still floats nicely while still having good feedback beneath my fingers, literally feels just like my old vintage one, and without even loading the customizing software it does everything just as well as my old one always did, so well that I forget its not my old one until my fingers happen to feel the new scroll ring that the older ones didnt have. The scroll ring was very crunchy and stiff and jerky while feeling a bit loose and wobbly and made noise at the two stiffest areas as I moved the ring but the more I use it the less stiff it has gotten and changing the windows mouse scroll rate setting has made the scroll rings action totally predictable and considering the fact that the older ones didnt have any scroll wheel or scroll ring Im happy to have gotten this capability added even if the quality of the mechanism for it isnt quite as nice as every other part of this very well performing unit. Some users have reported scroll ring failures within about 6 months with regular use. I havent had mine that long yet but well see... Oh, and the scroll wheel DOES stay working when switching between 2 computers with the cheap iogear 2-port VGA/USB/Sound KVM switch so Im just as happy with this new USB Expert Mouse as Ive been with the vintage one Id been using for over 20 years and wouldnt have replaced if I hadnt needed the "mouse" to be USB for my new KVM. Side note, the SlimBlade version is a similar size with all the same features but has different ergonomics and instead of spinning the scroll ring you twist the ball to scroll which sounded strange to me but after using the Expert Mouses scroll ring the action seems like spinning the ball instead would basically have a similar overall feel and might resolve the crunchy sandy noisy scroll ring movement complaints that some users seem to be having with the Expert Mouse. I totally understand their point but considering that the older vintage models didnt even have a scroll uption besides programming the upper buttons to step the page up or down the less than perfect physical action feel/sound still makes for smooth consistent actual scrolling so just having that feature on a track ball is enough for me not to care about what I so far consider to be minor physical action issues that could use a bit of refining by Kensington but it does what it should for me so far so Im happy.

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With my hands in the condition theyre in, I needed something that was gentle on the wrists as many people do. So I did some research looking for a high quality mouse and found this trackball with great reviews from all over the web. Ive got a great eye for detail and I love the feeling of high quality and luxurious items, and this looked like it might fit the bill. Naturally, I was excited to try this mouse too see if I could alleviate wrist pain. Well, I was right and wrong. The one that "kind of" works now is great for the wrist and I would recommend it for that. Unfortunately, It took me four tries to find this one. The first one I ordered had 3 dents in the trackball (from the ball bearings support the main trackball). When rolling the ball, it would catch on the dents and would throw off my dainty fingers from their target. Not to mention it was severely irritating. Top that with a gritty scroll ring that got stuck if pressed to firmly (again - dainty sausages) and I was done. The pain in my wrists spoke louder though, so the second mouse arrived a few days later. This mouse had a slightly smoother scroll wheel, but two dents from the same issue. Away that one went. This time I ordered two. I figured 25% passing rate is a number anyone in quality control could attain. So I eagerly carried the oversized box in and low and behold! A better trackball, but the scroll ring actually stopped on what I would assume was molding lines under the ring. It actually came to a stop - I have to move my finger to the other side of the ring to raise it over that stopping point to make it turn again. Here comes the 25% Kensington QC inspector! I opened the last of the four and alas! The ball was decent, no major dents that hung up the ball. And although gritty, the scroll wheel went in a full circle without getting caught and coming to a stop! Fantastic job! Bravo!! At the end of the day, the ergonomics of this mouse are to be praised. It really does make my wrist feel better, and for that I think youd like it too. That said, Im sure there are other mice that will work too. If youre not willing to deal with what I did, I would say move along. 25% is a poor average for any QC within a company and makes one question the company itself. For those bad at math, 75% of the mice I received were bad, damaged, or put together poorly. That is underwhelming and disappointing from a well known company.

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