Kensington Orbit Wireless Trackball with Scroll Ring - Black-Red (K70990WW),

It is the best mouse I have found. It is universal. The way the ball glides around. It is so smooth. The dial is the same way. It is so easy to use and program. I love it. I bought 2 to use on both of my stations. I could use them side by side. Where have you been.... its been sooo long to find you!!!

Out of the box, I was immediately impressed with the size of this mouse! I am transitioning from the previous Kensington Orbit Wireless Trackball Mouse with Touch Scroll Ring (K72352US) to give y'all an idea of where I'm coming from. Or -- just check out the photos attached and see for yourself! The new mouse fits the same space. It's not the huge monstrosity that the "expert" version of the Orbit trackball is. There ain't much information on this latest trackball -- so I literally was buying this with concerns.Hopefully this review helps others breathe easier -- and make that purchase confidently.One concern of mine was the scroll ring. The concern was that it would be fidgety, like the touch scroll ring was on the older version (in the photo you will see where I disable half the touch ring on the older mouse with putty). Well, I'm happy to report that this is not the case! The touch ring is physical, and has some friction to it. Best way to describe it is matte plastic on matte plastic — it’s not oiled, and so does not have a free-spin. It just spins when you want it to. Strangely enough, I am not finding myself accidentally bumping it either (though I will update this review down the road). So, now I have a RELIABLE scroll ring!Buttons feel the same as on the older mouse — but are positioned at a better angle for clicking.I have a weird way of holding this thing. See, despite the ergonomics, I was getting THUMB strain with the older mouse (possibly due to the angle they’re at), working at my computer 10 hours each day (4 days a week). This forced me to learn to click with my ringer finger (on my right hand), and right-click with my thumb. So with this new mouse, I am using the same fingers — but now I can also use my middle finger for the scroll wheel.Don’t forget the Bluetooth. Y’all Mac users know where I’m at: the BT connection allows you to free up an oh-so-precious USB port!EVEN BETTER: I was thinking of using this alongside the old mouse as I needed one for my work computer and one for my Mac -- but I figured out something better : I can connect the 2.4Ghz dongle to my work computer and then flip the switch at the bottom to use this one mouse with BOTH!Overall, I am impressed. I will update this review down the road as I gain more hours of actual use!UPDATE (After almost two years): So the first one got “sticky buttons” for a brief moment after a year, I was worried it was failing and decided to buy a second one as a back up. No buyers remorse here: it was worth it. Once I stopped transporting the original unit to and from the office — the button problem resolved itself and now I have two perfectly functioning units: one conveniently at home, and one in the office. I put the button issue down to the unit getting smooshed in my bag from transporting it everyday from home to the office.

I absolutely love this thing! But it is LOUD. The two buttons are very "clicky" and the ball makes an audible scratchy noise when rolling. I can feel a subtle but constant vibration when rolling the ball that's probably making the noise. Coming from a Logitech Trackman Marble, the ball on my Orbit spins about the same distance with a flick. This Orbit has ruby bearings and has a very slightly more static friction than the Trackman. I really like the button placement as someone with big hands - and specifically I roll the ball left/right with the knuckles lowest on my first three fingers - (proximal interphalangeal). This device also benefits from being used with a hovering hand rather than resting your palm. The buttons are placed absolutely perfectly for my hand when used this way. The buttons take equal pressure to actuate anywhere on their surface. The scroll ring feels good, smooth - not scratchy at all. The Bluetooth works well and I have no problem clicking the mouse once to wake it up after my computer goes to sleep.

Great for doing mouse work in a confined space where you can’t move a normal mouse.

The best review I can give is my repeated purchase of these. My first purchase of a Kensington Orbit was for an Apple Power PC with their cutting edge and proprietary USB precursor bus. Yes, I am that old. A wired variety is just fine for me, but when I am traveling, a wireless device is better.I love the scroll ring. Using it feels natural, and it never gets in the way when I'm not using it.When you lift your hand from a standard mouse, there tends to be movement of the cursor. When you lift your finger from a track ball, the cursor stays in place. It also takes up very little desk space. I could sit on my bed in a hotel room with the trackball mouse on the mattress and use it very easily. A standard mouse would have challenges in that scenario, partly because it would continue to move around (and move the computer cursor) with every crease, fold and movement of the sheets.This device doesn't overcomplicate things. I have seen others that move the trackball to the left side to be used only by a thumb, have three or more buttons with scroll wheels sticking out of the top or out from the sides. The Orbit is ambidextrous and its operation is clean and intuitive. You don't need an instruction manual. Plug it in and it works.My only complaint is there is no travel case for this device. I haven't found a third party one either. There are travel cases for other Kensington trackball models, but not this one. The trackball can pop out with a little pressure when inverted. This is good so you can occasionally clean up the fuzz and grime that collects over time. Over many years I never had one fail due to dirt build up, but it is good to do for your own piece of mind. This also means the trackball might come loose in baggage. Imagine the nightmare of it rolling around in an airplane cabin because it came apart in your bag! Luckily I have a fabric pouch to carry it in. It is not a custom case intended to keep everything in place, but if anything pops off it will stay contained in the pouch.