I own a trackball Expert mouse, and bought the Orbital trackball mouse for my portable. Both are excellent, the trackball has worked for many years, and once, when it failed, was replaced for free by Kensington.

I am very please with the way the product works and Kensington's service.
Leon

I am an experienced Kennsington trackball user and find that their products have matured nicely over time. They now have a hole in the bottom so that dust and hair will fall out onto the desk instead of accumulate in a wad that causes malfunction. This model is a bit on the small side and the buttons as well could be a little bigger, but the size is usable. The action and heft of the ball are just right, very smooth and feather touch.

But the biggest (very big) complaint is the stalling, reported in previous reviews. It is not dirt--It's the patterning on the trackball. The swirls are broken by a solid area and the optical sensor has difficulty in picking up movement in that area. Every time it stalls, I look at the ball and note that this area is over the sensor. This is a big deal and very annoying in normal operation. There needs to be a recall and redesign.

This is one of the best trackball I've used. Being a graphic designer I've always been using trackballs, they are very convenient in using on your desk specially when you have your desk well cluttered with other items. In addition you can use a trackball on any surface, you don't have to worry about finding an even flat space to move your mouse. Comparing to various trackballs available in the market, this Orbit from Kensington is the best one at very low price and it's cosmetic outlook is also well impressive as its very precise optical tracking ability. I would highly recommend this for anyone who is looking for a trackball at low price.

Good product. I think it would be a better mouse if it had a scroll wheel.

This mouse is OK but certainly not great. It's very light, so moves around alot, The buttons are placed a little odd for easy use if your hand is placed so that the fingers can use the trackball properly. The design has tried to make the buttons look good instead of making them more useful. They are also a little hard to press for quick use because the shape gets small where my thumb would normally rest so I have to hit it just right to get it to work. It's really not big enough to hold your hand properly so you don't get any repetitive motion problems. Unless you've got really small hands, you're probably going to find yourself holding your finger joints UP so your fingertips can work the ball. My hand doesn't rest easy in that position. After several days of trying to make it work for me, I'm sending it back actually. I was replacing a well used Kensington Turbo Mouse, and find that I just need to bite the price bullet and get the Expert Mouse

I used the old ADB version before this one and they're both amazing. It's the only mouse that keeps my wrist from hurting after multiple long days of work.
Some of the finish gradually wears off, but mine is still working 100% after having it for 4+ years, and only needs cleaning every few weeks.
I've tried finding a different mouse several times, just to try something different (or something with more buttons, scroll wheel, etc) and every time end up back with the Orbit.
Something to note, is that it's not a trackball - you don't control it with your palm. You only use your fingertips, allowing you to put your arm and hand in a comfortable position and leave them there.

very happy with the trackball. I am on the computer a lot and have pain in the arm and elbow, this has helped so much.

I just bought my third Kensington trackball mouse. This is a really great mouse. Unlike the Logitech trackball (which I bought and subsequently replaced), the sensitivity and "feel" are just right.

The biggest advantage of a trackball is the ability to get your cursor in exactly the right place, and then release the ball (i.e. the positioning mechanism) prior to clicking. In this manner, the cursor won't move as you make the click. This has real advantages for the graphic artist.

Another advantage is not running out of mouse pad or cord, since the mouse itself stays stationary. It takes up less room on your desk.

I don't believe it would be a good mouse for gamers, though I do not use my computer for games and perhaps there are some settings changes that would allow it to be used for such. It's more of a precision instrument.

I never thought I would like a trackball, they don't collect as much dust or lint as the old mouse, I have have a problem with a disability of my right arm, so I have to be certain that the position of the hand and arm are good. Don't twist your hand or wrist in an unnatural position.
The hand hugging comfort design actually feel really good, it is like your hand would rest naturally on the desk top. You use your fingers, not your thumb to move the ball. it appears to fit both large and small hands equally well. As well as right and left handed users.

By using a trackball, you save space on your work space, you have no need for a mouse pad. You just plant the trackball, and get comfortable. The acceleration and brilliant cursor feature minimizes repetitive movements. The drag feature can make it a lot easier specially I am working with design softwares.

We are five at home, and I wasn't sure about how well they would handle it. It seems that it made no difference all of them said this is cool, so I can assume it passed the test.

i have never used a trackball, but was interested in getting one because i do a lot of mouse work that started to have an impact on my wrist. at work i have dual monitors so there's a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of mouse space.
I chose this model because of the price and the design looked good to me. It has worked well for me, but i must say it's taken a lot of adjustments to get used to.
You can just plug and play with this mouse without downloading the software, but i found that i needed to download the software because the tracking was SO fast that i needed to change the settings. the ball's movement is also so smooth that it's very easy to accidentally move the ball when you click one of the buttons. this can be really quite annoying. i remedied this by folding up a napkin and placing it under the mouse to provide a little bit of resistance against the place where the ball sticks out of the bottom. this has helped me gain a lot of control, but seems like a cumbersome, extra step i had to do to make it work the way i expected it to.
all of this took about a full working day to get accustomed to, and i now i like it. I dont know if i would get this again, or if i would get a different brand, but i think i'm sold on trackballs. The product is worth it if it's going to prevent health issues, even if there is a bigger learning curve than expected.

17 year old business man doesn't enjoy this product. I do everything on a computer from graphic design to editing in excel. I DO NOT LIKE THIS MOUSE. It's very uncomfortable. The ball is too small and the whole unit wobbles out of control on my desk. Blaggh...I'm going to see if I can return it.

I have been very pleased with my Kensington Orbit Optical Trackball Mouse 64327 and would recommend it to other.

Our establishment is a business with approximately 400 hundred employees. Kensington optical trackball mice are issued to those who prefer not to use the traditional mouse. It is ergonomically helpful with stablizing the wrist which prevents excessive back and forth wrist movement. I have not received any complaints from the employees who were issued these.

I really like this trackball, I've owned 2 of them, and before this style, I owned the Kensington 4-button trackball. This one has a wonderfully small desk profile, and fits my hand really well. I use both buttons as one would on a regular mouse. The two shortcomings I have with this input device is that I can't seem to find a way to use the cool new *scroll any window* feature in Mac OS X. I should be able to scroll inactive windows, but can't find a way to do that with this device. The second shortcoming is that it does get gummed up pretty quickly. I really don't have any other issues with this, and will probably buy another one, if they are still making them, in 18 months when this one gives up the ghost!

an unquestionable monstrosity to look at, the mouse equivalent of a 70's cell phone, but it's the most comfortable and subtly responsive trackball, absolutely eliminating any arm and wrist pain to boot.

I bought this for my little guy to use with his Fisher Price Easy Link Internet Launch Pad. He's a lefty and since I let him use the laptop, it's MUCH easier for him to have a mouse. He has absolutely NO problems using it to surf his way through the net. I was a little skeptical about the price, but I'm glad I bought it. I don't know he could've had such a great experience without it.

Works well. Makes navigating the big 23" monitor on my Mac a cinch. Accurate cursor placement. Can even use for simple graphics. LOVE it!

This produce is a must have for us. If you have shakey hands and poor controal of your hands, this unit will be much easier for you to use than a commond type mouse with the tracking ball on the bottom.

if you need a cheaper alternative to carpal tunnel syndrome. I, too have used the Expert mouse from Kennsington for as many years as the previous reviewer. I also bought a turbo-mouse. It failed, but was replaced by a Fantastic remake of the Expert, with a spin ring that serves as a scroll wheel (Thank you Kennsington!). But I found the Kensington Orbit Optical Trackball Mouse 64327, despite its high quality, a bit too light weight, literally. It was hard to keep it still during intense use. The smaller ball was also hard to keep from flipping out of its "eye" socket and I found my thumb reaching too high for critical left clicks.
So. . . if you've never used a Kennsington Expert mouse, the Optical Trackball is probably a GREAT choice. But if you're accustomed to the perfect heft, ergonomics and ease on the wrist of the Expert, don't buy yourself short. . . get the Expert.

When I have a lot of mouse work, if I use a regular mouse I sometimes get wrist pain and discomfort. By using a trackball mouse, in my case the Kensington Orbit Optical Trackball Mouse, I eliminate the pain. Instead of gripping a mouse with my whole hand, I roll the ball with my outstretched middle three fingers. Also, I program the little-finger key to double click, thus eliminating many clicks I would have had to perform with my thumb. When I first got a trackball mouse years ago, there was a definite learning curve/adjustment phase that lasted a couple of weeks. It felt a little awkward. But, that feeling soon went away. Eliminating the carpal-tunnel pain that comes with heavy mouse work is so worth the relatively short time it takes to adjust to using a trackball mouse. I would recommend this mouse to anyone who does a lot of mouse work and want to eliminate repetitive-injury discomfort.

I love this mouse!! The roll ball glides smoothly and I've had no problems so far. I bought this mouse specificaly because of the roll ball, before the mouse I was constantly having wrist pain and since the mouse my pain is gone. I love it!!!

the kensington orbit optical tracker mouse, takes the major movement from the wrist and utilizes finger movement to do the functions required.

Good mouse if you like trackballs. Nice large ball, kensington quality at a low price - due to lack of buttons perhaps. You can get scroll-wheel functionality through the mouseworks software - hold down both buttons and the ball scrolls.

It works very well. I do wish that it had a scroll wheel. That is the only thing that I miss. I do a lot of photo editing so I have to move around the screen a lot. It does it well with no wrist fatigue

Good mouse at a good price. My only complaint would be that when I take it with my laptop case the ball does not stay in place. So far so good, but I have a feeling I am going to either lose it or damage it by dropping it one of these rushed days.
Best if left on the desktop.

I'm not very up to date on which trackballs are better than others--this is my first one. But, I am very pleased. The reason I gave the product a four instead of a five is because the ball sticks, like two plastic parts moving against each other, when I make small and precise motions.

After years of using my Expert Mouse, the mechanical function began to break down. Not believing such a trackball should cost the $80+ price currently carried by the latest version, I tried this alternative from Kensington. After using the Orbit Optical Trackball Mouse for several weeks, I began experiencing wrist pain which was never there with the Expert Mouse. I have consigned this alternative to a seldom-used computer and gone back to the Logitech Marble Mouse I was using temporarily!

I've never understood why more people don't use trackball mice for their computers! To me, it's much easier to keep my hand in one place and move the cursor by rolling a ball with my fingers than it is to move a mouse all over creation to do the same.

Kensington has always had the best trackball mice and this one is no exception. Very easy to customize, very easy to use (mine is on a Mac, but they work on all platforms), ergonomically designed -- all the controls you need are right there, and "right there" is wherever you place the mouse, not all over the desk! Best of all, it's really inexpensive, too!

Kensington Orbit Optical Trackball Mouse 64327

Great product at a great price - I use them at both work and home. Would def. purchase the item again.

Great product- especially for those with little desktop space to waste on a mousepad. Also, infinitely less clumsy than a conventional or wireless mouse

Great product- especially for those with little desktop space to waste on a mousepad. Also, infinitely less clumsy than a conventional or wireless mouse

First of all, THIS IS NOT A MOUSE/TRACKBALL like some of the Logitech Trackballs. It is a stationary trackball. At work everyone uses a mouse. For Engineering work, a mouse has many limitations. One for instance is that my wrist starts hurting after 8 hours of constant work of moving it back and forth. The main limitation is that I only need to very slightly move the mouse. When I do this I end up tightly gripping the mouse and place part of my hand on the desk to get a very slight movement. This tightens the muscles in my hand and over strains my had which makes it hurt toward the end of the day. This trackball ELIMINATES all of these limitations. I can adjust the trackball to which ever speed I like, plus it has an acceleration curve. Meaning the faster you move the trackball the faster your cursor will travel across the screen. The slower you move the trackball the slower the cursor moves across the screen. This greatly eliminated the strain on my hand and wrist. The movements greatly decreased. I know it sounds lazy, but it's better than carpal tunnel syndrome.

Gaming with the trackball was slow at first but I caught on after a couple of weeks. I had the same limitations with the mouse in gaming that I did with my Engineering work. Now I don't have to pick up my mouse to help put my cursor back on the screen. I just have to spin the trackball really fast with a single small motion and my gun tracks anywhere across the screen in an instant.

I borrowed one of these from a guy I work with before I bought it. I loved it the first day I tried it and purchased one a week later after I go the hang of it. Now I can't imagine doing work or gaming without one. It's one of the best input devices I have ever purchased. Well worth the price I paid. I would definitely recommend this to anyone. It does take some getting use to, so stick with it. It will be well worth it for you too.

The only con about this is that there are only 2 buttons. They are big. I think they could have been cut in half to make 4 buttons and a little more customizable. Other than that, it's great.

This is the second one of this style-wore the first one out after four years of daily use. Keep it clean and it will keep you surfing! I am right handed but I use my left hand with this one-lets me multi-task quicker.

Kensington is the best. No doubt about it. I love the feel and touch of this trackball. My only disappointment is that it doesn't have a scroll feature. Apparently, to get that feature, you have to move up to the much more expensive model. The picture is deceiving. I thought it would be much larger and appear more of a gamer's gadget. No. The shape is thoughtfully engineered for the contour of my hand. It is almost effortless to navigate. I suspect that the next trackball I purchase will be the top-of-the-line Kensington trackball. I believe they are worth it.

Got this for my 78 year old mother who was a first time computer user, and was having a lot of trouble with a mouse. The trackball helped a ton! I've not used other trackballs, but this has very smooth motion and easy to click buttons. One comment about track balls in general - dragging is somewhat awkward, at least for someone like me who is accustomed to a mouse.