Review on 🖱️ Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball Mouse (K72359WW) | Black | Ergonomic Design | Precise Cursor Control by Chris Dildine

First of all, this review is about the Expert WIRELESS trackball. In typical Revain fashion, wired and wireless reviews are lumped together. I hate that Revain is doing this because it skews the rating system. It's basically the same product, but if there are a lot of issues with the wireless feature, it would be good for viewers to know about it. The reason for my purchase was that the user, my daughter, was not tied to the computer and was forced to sit next to it. When I was a teenager, I bought the same Kensington trackball with lots of cords. I played games on my computer without getting up. Similar to how my daughter uses it now. I point this out simply to demonstrate the flexibility of using the trackball. If you had a large enough display, a wireless keyboard, and this trackball, you could use your computer anywhere. When I first started looking for trackballs, I decided to go with a wired or wireless version of this trackball. A few weeks ago the price difference between the two was over $20, but for some reason wireless has jumped to $3. Seeing the minimal price difference, I bought the wireless version. Installation was as easy as plugging in a USB dongle (located in the battery compartment). It's actually very clever to have a place for the key in the battery compartment as some people might travel with this trackball and it's a great way to store it. Batteries were included, which is not uncommon these days. What was unusual was that they were Energizer batteries and not the Happy Fun Power 3K batteries I'm used to. you know them Batteries last three weeks and last 6 hours. However, accommodating the batteries in the compartment was a bit cumbersome. They both work the same (FYI) and have a cheap plastic tab under the batteries for removal. I've never been a fan of plastic/cloth battery removal strips as they tend to break and come loose. After inserting the batteries, simply turning on the trackball with the switch was enough. There's also a USB/Bluetooth switch, which shouldn't be confused as they're both labeled. I didn't install the software as currently using just two buttons and a scroll ring is enough. Using the trackball is pure nirvana. I'm kidding, but it's nice. The ball has a good weight, large size and sufficient resistance. One thing you won't use it for is playing Centipede. The ball is not held other than according to Newton's laws. Come on, who doesn't want a little physics lesson in the middle of their trackball review? heaviness. Love the fact that the ball can be easily removed for cleaning and rolled across the table as a stress reliever or personal defense weapon. The ball itself is silky smooth and the cursor just glides across the screen. I wish the same could be said for the scroll ring. For all the attention, technology and detail that went into the trackball. The rolling ring appears to have been added later. The ring is textured and rubberized and one caveat I have with rubberized things is that with decent use the rubber often peels and peels. I can't say it will be the case here, but that's just my experience with numerous rubberized surfaces. And here we come to the scrolling. Do you know that your Microsoft mouse has a small scroll wheel in the middle? Remember there are little click stops you can feel as you scroll through the page? Do you know how smooth and easy it rolls? Spring. Forget everything with the trackball scroll wheel. It's a plastic ring that appears to be sitting on top of a piece of plastic. No smooth scrolling, no click stops, and no use as another button (yes, I forgot to mention that above). I wouldn't say the scroll wheel creaks, but it's just plastic spinning on a plastic wheel. It really "freezes" when spinning. You can feel slight changes and bumps in the plastic as you spin the wheel. Well, for me this is by no means a deal breaker. It's great for my needs, but keep that in mind and be aware that it can get a little jittery when scrolling the wheel. The rest of the trackball is well made. No complaints or praise for button placement or tactile feel. Everything is OK. It would have been nice to have smoother edges on the bottom as this device sometimes falters during use, but that's just a wish list item. I didn't use the included pad that attaches to the front of the trackball. I've had similar things for keyboards and just find them annoying, but they seem pretty solid and well made. The only "problem" I had was that one day when I turned on the computer, the trackball wasn't recognized. I think it was just because my daughter was messing around with the switches underneath. Speaking of switches, remember that you have to toggle the trackball on and off every time you use it. I don't know how long the battery will last, but I can't believe this thing is going to suck power like Starkiller Base, so I'm expecting it to last quite a long time (even if I leave it on from time to time). Two star bells come from A, prize. I still can't decide if this is great quality or not at this price point, but in this day and age when I can buy a new laptop for $300 (although not the best), the price of $80 a little high. I think the premium comes from the fact that this trackball is arguably the best out there and we've now achieved the law of diminishing returns. And the second star C, the rolling ring. All of the tech and design seems to fit into a sphere with a cool metallic red finish, rather than a scroll ring and battery compartment. At least they didn't call it the Pro Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball Mouse. If it was a Pro (like every other fifth item sold today) I would have expected more ;)