I've been using trackballs since they came out and have tried out a good number of them. The MS Trackball Explorer tops all of them. I believe this so much, that I own four of them and will likely buy more of them.
It's set up extremely ergonomically for right hand users. Just plop your hand on top of the trackball and your fingers are already over almost all of the buttons. Left click being directly under your thumb, the scroll wheel being just to the right of it and two of the extra buttons being under your pinky and ring fingers. With your pointer and middle fingers on the trackball, you're set to go. The only button that takes any effort whatsoever is the default right click button, which is located just over the scroll wheel. You just lift the thumb a centimeter and then click it. If you need to use right click frequently, it may not be in an ideal location for you.
However, the configuration software makes swapping out button configurations simple. My layout changes the pinky button to right click and the ring and secondary thumb buttons to back and forwards, respectively. It ends up working out very well for me. As far as I know, the package doesn't include any software for linux or mac machines. Then again, I'm not sure I could really expect a microsoft product to support macs or linux.
As a heavy computer gamer, I can tell you that the responsiveness of this trackball is top-notch and unlike all thumb-based trackballs, you're at no disadvantage as compared to a mouse-user.
The buttons are pretty damn durable. I have one trackball explorer that I bought around 2001 and it's only now starting to wear out. It's still responsibe after 4 years of heavy use, but the buttons are starting to feel mushy. In fact, I took one of my Trackball Explorers to Iraq when I deployed there last year. While everything was feeling the pain of an extremely sandy environment, this thing kept on working.
If it has any faults, it's not laid out very well for left handed users and that the trackball gets dirty fairly often. Our fingers aren't as clean as we think they are, it seems. At any rate, the ball comes out easily, and cleaning it involves sweeping the inside of the ball with a finger and then wiping off the ball on a shirt or something. It takes about 10-15 seconds about every three days or so for heavy users that eat at the keyboard, your mileage may vary.
All in all, this is the best input device of its kind that I've ever used and I'm disappointed to see that Microsoft isn't still cranking them out.
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This Item  Microsoft Trackball Explorer |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $499.95 | $37.99 | -7% $111.99 List: $119.99 | $36.99 | $36.99 | $99.99 |
| Delivery | Get it May 16 - 23 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 7 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 7 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 7 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 7 | — |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Ergonomic | ||||||
| Comfort | ||||||
| Accuracy | ||||||
| Battery life | ||||||
| For gaming | ||||||
| Sold By | Same-Day Pro: New & In Stock (FREE Prime Delivery) | ProtoArc | Amazon.com | Nulea Direct | Nulea Direct | Certified Brands |
| connectivity tech | USB, PS/2 | Bluetooth, 2.4G wireless | Bluetooth, USB | Bluetooth | Bluetooth, USB | Bluetooth, Radio Frequency, USB |
| hand orientation | Right | Right | Right, Ambidextrous | Right | Right | Right |
| power source | Battery Powered | Rechargeable Trackball Mouse | Battery Powered | Battery Powered | Battery Powered | Battery Powered |
| tracking method | Optical, Trackball | Trackball | Trackball | Trackball | Trackball | Trackball |
| range | 10 meters | 10 meters | 1.5 meters | 10 meters | 10 meters | 10 meters |
| button quantity | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
Reviews with images
Much Easier to Clean than Microsoft's Previous Trackball
The best improvement over this trackball and Microsoft's previous trackball is that it's much easier to clean. Microsoft's old trackball was not optical so the wheels get clogged with dust and dirt easily. To clean it you had to take apart the mouse by unscrewing several tiny screws. This trackball is optical so you only have to clean it once in a long while. It takes about 10 seconds to clean. You simply pop the ball out and rub away the dirt with your finger. I have been using this trackball for over 2 years now with no problems.
