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Kensington Expert Mouse 7.0 ( 64325 )

Kensington Expert Mouse 7.0 ( 64325 )

List Price: $127.95
Your Price: $77.89
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Almost Perfect...
Review: Nobody makes a better trackball than Kensington -- absolutely no one! It took them a while to get on the optical bandwagon so I had to get by with Microsoft & Logitech products until the wired optical trackball came out. The wired version is perfect except that I keep running out of cord or I'm always tipping something over. The wireless model goes through batteries every couple of days and it's response time is slower and jerkier than the wired one. Hopefully, with time they'll make a wireless one that responds like a Microsoft or Logitech while keeping that sweet Kensington "feel". When that happens I'll be the first in line to purchase one

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This mouse totally rocks
Review: Ok, so the old Kensington ball bearing track ball had a pretty cool feel. But this mouse keeps the important elements: the momentum of the mouse ball is very natural under my hand, buttons are in good spots, comfortably tilted, scroll wheel. By far the best of any of the current batch of track balls. After 10 minutes, I didn't even miss the grinding of the metal castors from my old track ball. So far, I haven't had any problem adjusting from my old turbo mouse. The included wrist wrest is a great idea and the scroll wheel is, of course, an absolute necessity. My only complaint is that my hands are a little big for the thing and I have to adjust the key functions a little. So, basically no problems. Love it, it rocks.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: excellent
Review: Smooth scrolling, great feel, excellent design. Best trackball I've used.

One caveat: they should have a middle-mouse click somewhere. And maybe make the buttons more accessible for those with smaller hands. But otherwise a great trackball.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: It once was... but is no longer....
Review: the best mouse, pointing device, cheese grater that money could buy.

I bought the 'Expert Mouse' from another vendor. The packaging and contents were well done. I had everthing that I needed to install this 'mouse' that I had once used many years before in the editing room of the college newspaper.

Everything installed, (mac and windows) just fine. Plugged in the unit. It felt lighter than I recalled but then that was so many years ago.

I put my hand on the ball and I was pleased; it wasn't that moment of nostalgia that we all seek but it sufficed. Then I turned the scroll wheel with my finger.... bad news.

It felt as if I was dragging cardboard over pebbles, (not the greatest analogy...). How? What? Who? $100.00 and it feels like this?????? The tactile feel of the ball and buttons was good. Not great, but good. That scroll whell was terrible. I flipped the unit over. Like so many things these days, the label stated clearly, "Made in China". Not a shocker.

Contacted Kensington thinking this was a one-off. After initial difficulty getting an answer from their, 'system' I had contact with a rep in California, I think. They immediately sent me another 'Expert Mouse'. Service was fine. What anyone would expect.

Problem was, the second, 'Expert Mouse' was worse than the first. I cannot recommend that anyone pay this much money for this item. It is perhaps worth 30% of the price, but not more. Not with this 'feel' or 'substance'.

Hope this helps.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good product, but wait for revisions or competition.
Review: The features and overall design of the Expert Mouse have the rest of the market beat - for now. The device is relatively comfortable and functions as expected with the exception of the weak points detailed below.

The most disappointing aspect of this trackball is the scroll ring. The concept is great, but (as mentioned by others), the motion of the ring has a very rough feel to it (there don't seem to be any bearings) and makes an uncomfortable plastic-on-plastic grinding noise. The disturbance is faint in casual, line-by-line scrolling, but marked when scrolling quickly. For the hefty pricetag of the unit, this seems to be remarkably cheap manufacturing.

I was initially disappointed, too, with the weight and on-screen 'feel' of the marble, but I was able to compensate for most of the irregularity by tweaking the scroll speed and acceleration settings.

The Expert Mouse is altogether usable, but unless you really need a trackball in the immediate future, you may want to hold on to your dollars until Kensington (or somebody else...) works out the kinks and/or coughs up the dollars for some higher quality construction.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nice Low-Maintenance Trackball
Review: The large trackball combined with the optical movement reading mechanism is a winner. Cleaning is still recommended, but is not required as often. This trackball has four black buttons and a ring surrounding the edge of the ball that allows for page scrolling. The overall colour tone is black with silver trim, and a red light that shines past the button edges. Between this larger trackball, Kensington #64325, and the smaller Kensington #64327, I think the larger ball with firmer control, additional buttons, scrolling ring, and wrist rest is worth the higher price.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Major improvements to a classic design
Review: This is a superior alternative to the silver and blue USB model by Kensington with the awkwardly placed scrollwheel. Kensington brings back their award-winning classic design, adds a scroll wheel around the ball (programmable for lefties or righties!), a free attachable wristpad and all using optics - no more skin, hair and potato chip crumbs getting stuck in scroll wheels... it's all done using light.

My less than perfect rating is for the less-than-fluid turning of the scroll wheel. It sometimes feels like you're grinding coffee when you're turning it. Sometimes it's smooth like butter, other times, it seems to skip a little... and it's not due to debris, since it's been like this since I got it out of the box.

This is something Kensington needs to iron out in their next model.

Despite this one flaw, this is simply the best their is and there's a good reason why this mouse flies off the shelves at nearly 100 bucks a pop - it's because it's the best input device alternative to a mouse - ever - anywhere.

Do your wrist a favor and treat yourself to navigating in joy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome, but difficult to disassemble
Review: This is most likely the best trackball you'll ever get. It's ultra-smooth and very customizable. The scroll wheel is awesome! However, if you're picky and would like to modify your input devices (to add infrared buttons...extra springs..etc), this device will not make your life easy because it can't be disassembled easily. It's nevertheless the best input device I've seen so far.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Like Buttah
Review: This is unquestionably the best trackball on the market. Why? Because the trackball's action is effortless and smooth. It glides silently when in use. More importantly is it's precision. Because of Kensington's Mouseworks software, not only can the speed of the mouse pointer be adjusted with precision, but the accceleration can also be perfectly callibrated. When you move the trackball slowly, it moves slowly, pixel by pixel...perfect for graphics work. When you move the trackball fast, it can rocket across the screen. This feature has boosted my own work productivity greatly. It's also really saved my wrist, thanks to a detachable wrist rest. The rest itself is firm but yields just enough to the weight of the arm. It's also slightly textured so your hand or wrist doesn't get sweaty and stick to it. The rest is attached using a four pin plastic bridge that snaps to the bottom of the mouse. The bridge mounts very flushly. It stays in on the mouse side but the rest side came unglued on mine. Not really a huge problem since it still snaps in and the weight of your arm keeps it in place. The scroll ring is cool too. The rubber coating makes it easy to control. The actual movement of the ring seems a bit plasticy, however. I think there is room for minor improvement here. Again, not a big issue...and certainly not worth NOT buying the mouse. The fact that this trackball uses Kensington's Diamond Eye optical technology is a massive plus over previous trackballs. It reduces the clunkyness factor by a million. The ball itself never "jumps" out of the socket when you quickly roll to the right or left. The ball glides so smoothly, you'll be hard pressed to find anything better. Finally, the mouse stays put and stays level, thanks to some great non-skid feet on both the mouse and the wrist rest.


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