Rating: Summary: Smooth mouse that's precise and easy on the wrist Review: I'm a computer nut. Between work and being online at home I'm probably on a computer 15 hours each day. As you can imagine that takes quite a toll on your wrists after a while. While I love the old-style roller-ball mice, moving that mouse all day pretty much paralyzes my wrist. To address this problem I bought nearly every mouse on the market to test them out, and ended up returning all but one. The Logitech Trackman Wheel optical mouse was the only one I kept.This mouse is very easy on the wrist due to it's fixed position. The ergonomic design is extremely comfortable. The trackball, operated by using your thumb, takes some getting used to but is super smooth and ultra precise. The mouse buttons are also comfortable to use and the scroll wheel glides like butter. This mouse really enhances the computing experience, in my opinion. Aside from the steep learning curve involved in using the thumb-mounted trackball, the only other caveat to this mouse is that it makes playing games a bit difficult. If you are a hardcore PC gamer good luck using this mouse, it is very awkward. I tried it for awhile and got slaughtered in every game I played. Now when I want to play a game I always switch back to my old roller-ball mouse. Once I'm done gaming I switch back to the Logitech Wheelman for relaxed wrist-healing mousing. All in all I wouldn't give up my Logitech Wheelman for anything.
Rating: Summary: At last... relief for CTS and Wrist Rest Syndrome! Review: I've been using the optical Trackman Wheel in it's many forms, from before the scroll button was popular! As a person who's constantly on the computer and one who has experienced a lot of wrist/arm pain from mouses, I swear by this trackball. Unlike other trackball devices (which also gave me wrist pain), this one is controlled by your thumb. Although this takes a little bit of time in getting used to, it takes all the pressure off your wrist and your hand. It's perfectly form-fitting to your hand, so you can surf or work in comfort. I have one at home and at work, and refuse to go back to using a mouse. It's also a great space-saver since you don't have to have all the room you'd need to operate a mouse. It never leaves its spot since you control it all with your thumb. A worthwhile investment if you've been experiencing wrist pain at your computer.
Rating: Summary: Great mouse Review: I've been using this mouse for a little over the last 3 years. It has worked well without any problems until recently. I think due to excessive use the left button is starting to fail. I would like to add that I completely disagree svtman21 about this mouse (and trackballs in general) not being good for gaming. I've been gaming successfully with trackballs for the last 6 years and would never consider going back. I consider myself quite competitive in online games and have competed in CAL-O and CAL-I for SoF2 for just under 2 years. I admit that at first I noticed a little bit of thumb fatigue with excessive gaming but that subsided after repeated use. I find that trackballs offer increased precision in online FPS games like Q3A (RA3), SoF2, BF:V, UT2Kx and others. Trackballs certainly take sometime to get used to (a few months) but after that you will notice the enhanced control and precision a trackball provides. This mouse also performs well at mundane usage such as programming, document and picture editing, etc. Not to mention it is so much easier on the wrist! I highly recommend this mouse for general desktop use and gaming a like.
Rating: Summary: Great mouse Review: I've been using this mouse for a little over the last 3 years. It has worked well without any problems until recently. I think due to excessive use the left button is starting to fail. I would like to add that I completely disagree svtman21 about this mouse (and trackballs in general) not being good for gaming. I've been gaming successfully with trackballs for the last 6 years and would never consider going back. I consider myself quite competitive in online games and have competed in CAL-O and CAL-I for SoF2 for just under 2 years. I admit that at first I noticed a little bit of thumb fatigue with excessive gaming but that subsided after repeated use. I find that trackballs offer increased precision in online FPS games like Q3A (RA3), SoF2, BF:V, UT2Kx and others. Trackballs certainly take sometime to get used to (a few months) but after that you will notice the enhanced control and precision a trackball provides. This mouse also performs well at mundane usage such as programming, document and picture editing, etc. Not to mention it is so much easier on the wrist! I highly recommend this mouse for general desktop use and gaming a like.
Rating: Summary: Excellent design! Review: I've had one of these for over 3 years, and I love the thing. So much, in fact, that I just bought a second one for work. Working with a mouse all day was making my wrist a little sore... a day with the Trackman and it feels better already.
Logitech got this one right - the shape fits absolutely perfectly in my hand, and my fingers fall right over the buttons, resting in the little scallops thoughtfully provided. With Logitech's mouse-management software, I can dial-in speed and acceleration to give precision for computer drafting, yet scoot all the way across the screen diagonally if moved agressively. Definitely reliable - the 3-year-old one works as well as the one I bought today. Some competing products (i.e. Microsoft) provide extra buttons, but I've found that 1) I rarely use extra buttons anyway and 2) extra buttons almost invariably interfere with the ones I use all the time. I didn't even consider the cordless version; it's not like I'm going to walk around the room while using the computer, so to me their need for batteries is a failure waiting to happen.
In short, everything you need, and nothing you don't, in a very well thought-out package.
I tried the Microsoft equivalent and returned it immediately in favor of the second Trackman. It wasn't as comfortable, the controls weren't so intuitively located, and the additional buttons were merely in the way.
If you're right-handed (unfortunately, no lefty version is available) and want a trackball, in my opinion this one can't be beat.
Rating: Summary: Smooth and comfortable Review: Just picked up my second Trackman Wheel Optical so I won't need to constantly be switching out the mouse at work. These little guys are addictive!
While I'd welcome a couple extra buttons (perhaps down where one's pinky finger rests?), I don't consider the lack of extra buttons a drawback. 2 physical buttons and the wheel (which doubles as a third button - standard procedure nowadays) works out just fine..
The trackball itself is small, and rests under the thumb. If you're used to a finger or palm-driven trackball, it'll probably take some getting used to. It also takes about 3-5 days of use to "break in". Out-of-the-box, the ball can be a bit on the stiff side. Rest assured that this goes away after a few days of use, and the action becomes *very* smooth.
Highly recommended for anyone looking for a good trackball. You can't go wrong with this one for the price.
Rating: Summary: Always on Track... Review: My first pointing device was the original Logitech TrackMan--a product that still serves me well on a VERY OLD computer in my home. To this day, I still hate the "traditional" mouse pointing device, and all of our home computers are equipped with at least one Logitech TrackMan device. As has been mentioned by another individual, I do prefer the previous incarnations of the TrackMan Marble Wheel (M/N: T-CH11, P/N: 804122-3000 and M/N: T-BB13, P/N: 804335-0000) pointing devices; however, there isn't anything that makes this particular model (M/N: T-BB18, P/N: 804360-0000) inferior to the quality products normally sold by Logitech. My preference is merely a matter of style and color. Software/driver (MouseWare) support for win-whatever platforms is excellent, and the device is solidly supported under recent and contemporary iterations of Linux distros--across the board. Personally, I don't care for the WebWheel software component (for win platforms) at all, but it can be removed if you so desire. The device is wired for USB interface, but comes with a USB to PS/2 adapter. This allows one to use two pointing devices on the same computer; one with minimum sensitivity and acceleration characteristics--perfect for precision graphics editing--and one with "normal" sensitivity and acceleration characteristics--more appropriate for text editing and pushing icons around in a GUI environment. The convenience is worth more than the purchase price of two TrackMan Wheel devices. All in all, this is a solid and value-priced product, built for years of service. No computer should be without one.
Rating: Summary: Nice alternative, takes a while to get used to. Review: Nice product. I'm not sure why everyone recommended it over the Microsoft version, but it's perfect for a notebook computer when you are using a small table (bookstore). It definitely takes awhile to get used to.
Rating: Summary: Performs as described Review: No complaints on it. I purchased it as a replacement for a previous Logitech trackman Wheel, that had given up after a few years of service. It performed as described, right out of the box, and into my Dell Inspiron laptop. No problems or glitches on Windows XP It looks like a good value for the price
Rating: Summary: This is not really an optical mouse Review: The mouse works ok if you want a trackball - where you don't move the mouse to move the cursor, but move the thumb ball to navigate the screen. I was specifically in the market for an optical mouse - one that does not use a rollerball on a mouse pad, but uses reflected light under the mouse to navigate. Calling this an optical mouse is misleading - make sure a track-ball is what you want when you buy this.
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