Review on ELECOM Trackball Ergonomic Durability M XT2URBK G by Mike Cox

First impression WAS this thing was awful. The on-screen mouse pointer WAS very shaky and sometimes got stuck. I tried the old red Logitech ball with the same results. I'll try the ball from the new Logitech and maybe try to order one of the blue balls people are talking about. But since the OEM sphere and the Logitech red sphere show similar results, my hopes were low. Aside from shaking and pausing the mouse pointer, the mouse itself seems small. And I don't have big hands. A size I think I could get used to if only I could get the pointer to move smoothly. Also of note is that the Logitech red ball spins more freely than the original ball for some reason. And I took out the original ball and wiped it down with rubbing alcohol to make sure it was clean. And haven't tried it with any Elecom software (if it even exists) or X-Mouse (X-Mouse doesn't recognize the 6th button), but so far Guild Wars 2 doesn't recognize the pinky-pressed button when the mouse is working . Windows 7 standard driver. *EDIT* Not sure why, but the pointer movement is smooth, no lag after a day's use with the original sphere. Maybe the bearings were a bit sticky or something. I cleaned the ball myself almost immediately and tried the Logitech ball with the same results as I said so I don't think the ball was the problem. The only thing I can think of is the bearings the ball rides on, although they look clean, maybe a little caked on, or just need a little polish. But now the function is perfect. And I've gotten used to the fact that the mouse has gotten a little smaller. Very happy with it at the moment. Hope this lasts long. I just downloaded the Elecom mouse utility to use this 6th button and will be testing its use in a few games over the next few days. No matter what you do, Win 7 only recognizes 5 mouse buttons without running any mouse utility. And even with service button 6, you can only assign a keyboard button, not a "mouse button". But the mouse works great now, and I found it to be the closest thing to a thumb trackball "gaming mouse".