Dan Kennedy Media Blog | Info

For the large part, this mouse is easy to use, comfortable, and tracks nicely, although not as well as advertised. I’ve had issues using it on the carpet of a wood-grained table where it simply wouldn’t move properly. For most surfaces, it works fine and has good range, too.

Pros: Accurate, works on most surfaces, comfortable, tiny receiver

Cons: Horrible backward/forward button design, can’t redefine mouse wheel left and right click

The design of this mouse has highs and lows. The main left and right buttons are very well designed, and go all the way to the front of the mouse (if you’ve had a mouse that doesn’t, you’ll know this makes it difficult to click when your fingers hang over the edge of the mouse a bit).

The only critical design flaw, one which Microsoft has built into other mice as well, are the forward and back buttons. If you don’t use these, the mouse should suit you fine. If you do, they’re a pain. They put one button on identical locations on both sides of the mouse. Makes it cheap for them to build, as both left and right handed people can use it. However, both types of people will find that when just moving the mouse around, you are always hitting the button on the off side where your ring and pinky fingers hang over the edge. I had to disable this button, as I kept bringing up features accidentally. I effectively lose this button. Even if your hands are sized so that you don’t keep hitting it, it’s very difficult to find and click with your ring finger. Dumb place for the button.

In addition, the forward and back buttons are positioned way too far forward on the mouse. You’d have to be an Orangutan to use the buttons without moving your hand forward on the mouse to press it with your thumb, then back again to continue. So now I lose the second of the two buttons.

Logitech mouse software will let you redfine the left and right leaning click of the mouse wheel so they act as forward and backward, but Microsoft won’t. So if you want to navigate forward and backward with your mouse, you’re out of luck with this one.
Rating: 4 / 5

I ordered The Ball a few weeks ago and it arrived today. I've been using it and I must say, the $75 I paid for it was money well spent. It works as advertised and the USB recharging cradle works with Apple's USB iPod power brick, so it can be recharged without occupying one of your computer's USB ports. A trackball is good for me because I often connect my computer to the family plasma HDTV, and a wireless trackball is more practical and usable on a recliner's armrest than a wireless mouse would be. So to all you naysayers, Chwang Yi is NOT a scam. This is the second product I've ordered from one of Jack Campbell's companies. The first one I ordered was the iFlex, a now discontinued version of the SightFlex designed for laptops. The one I first received was defective. When I e-mailed to indicate this and asked where I should send the defective one to, they said I didn't have to send it in. They'd just send me a second one and I could throw the defective one in the trash. The replacement arrived within two days and it worked perfectly. In terms of customer satisfaction, Jack Campbell is 2 for 2 with me. He designs products that leave me hoping that Johnathan Ive's comment is "Why didn't I think of that?"