Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical (Silver)
by Logitech
|
Our Price: $343.76 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $69.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical (Silver)
Customer Review: Trackman easy and ergonomic
Summary: 5 Stars
I've used this Trackman for several years and recently bought new ones to keep with my work computer also.
I am really surprised that more people don't use track balls. They are ergonomically much more sound than any mouse. There is a little ramp-up time but once you are accustomed to a track ball and the thumb control (vice whole wrist and arm control) you should find it to have easily as much precision control as any mouse. I personally believe I have more control than a mouse, which requires large muscle control to make precise motions. You have to sometimes pick up your mouse. You never pick up the Trackman. You could actually align it the way you like and velcro it to your work desk in the precise place you like it.
You never have to pick up you track ball and realign it like a mouse when your motions are reaching the extent of the surface you're using the mouse on, like a mouse pad. I love using it in airports. I can have my laptop on my lap and the trackball next to me and I don't have to worry about a laptop table large enough to move he mouse around or even having a flat surface. In an airplane, I can often find a comfortable arrangement where the trackman is resting on the arm rest. Try doing that with a mouse.
This version of the Logitech is my favorite, as it has a nice large, hand-sized surface to lay your palm on.
The optical ball makes this very precise and it requires cleaning infrequently. Skin oils combined with whatever might reach the ball eventually can clog the little rollers but they have made the design perfect for cleaning. Pop the ball out by using a pen or something small from the back side through an easy to reach small opening on the bottom and you can use a cotton swab with isopropol to easily clean the rollers just like you would the rollers in a regular mouse. The inside is simple design with three rollers so you can't screw it up. But note that I find the optical design only requires me to clean it very infrequently, on the order of many months.
If you find yourself cleaning it a lot, it's simply because you are using it with dirty hands. Put the cheezits box down and wash your hands before typing. Better on the trackball and better on your waist line. chuckle
Finally, I have used this trackball on every operating system from Win95 to Vista and on laptops and desktops and have never had a single problem with the Trackman begin recognized. On at least two dozen different machines the Logitech is recognized immediately and I have never had to install software from the CD that comes with the device.
Customer Review: Tired of touchpad on your laptop? Use this instead!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was finding myself using my work laptop at home more and more. I was researching trackballs and was thinking a wireless one was the way to go but I decided against it for the following reasons: 1) It has a long cord on the receiver that inserts into the USB port - but it's still wireless because the cord isn't actually attached to trackball, but then there still is this long cord to deal with. 2)On the wireless trackball itself, I read that the connection was inconsistent for some people and that it ate up batteries. The last thing I wanted was to be using it just to have the connection frustrate me or to have the battery die at a critical moment. Then I'd have to use my touchpad again -- so I thought, why do I want to bother to go wireless until they perfect the technology. (FYI -I am a previous mouse, optical mouse, and touchpad user.) We have the original white corded trackman on our desktop on home and it works flawlessly. I bought two of these "new" trackmans (I'm old school and feel that new generations of technology doesn't always equate with better or as reliable.) I told my husband about my purchase - I got one for work as I dock my laptop there, and one for "home" or traveling with my laptop. He didn't think it was that big of deal until he had quite a bit of work to do on his laptop and plugged it in. That did it....now, he wants one for his desktop at work and we manage to share the one at home. Another great accessory for my laptop is the USB wired portable 10 key by Targus model PAUK10. If you work with alot of numbers on your laptop it saves so much time especially if you are doing alot of work at a client's office or at home. Once again, my husband borrowed it to work on some financials and it was like an extra hand to work with. I didn't research the USB 10 key as it I just needed something in a hurry. I decided to go with one that was the size and similar "blind touch" as the one on my full size keyboard. It turned out to work perfectly as the smaller, more compact 10key would probably just frustrate me because the blind touch would be so different. Back to this review on the "new" trackman, BOTTOM LINE: It works great so far after a month daily use! I have small hands and my husbands are much larger and we both are thrilled with it. I hope this has been helpful - I know I have benefited a great deal from Amazon reviewers that have shared real life scenarios.Customer Review: Loved it so much I bought a second one
Summary: 5 Stars
A couple of years ago, I bought a Logitech Trackman Wheel to replace a Kensington trackball model that had finally died. That first Trackman that I bought was exactly what I wanted:
Affordable - under thirty bucks at the time.
Easy to install - just plug and play (Windows Vista Home Basic). Even though I didn't need it, the included adapter is great for people with PS/2 ports (versus the USB ports that my system uses).
Features - the Trackman doesn't offer much in the way of extras beyond a scroll wheel, but that's the only feature that I really want or need. I've owned mice with programmable buttons before, but found that they weren't worth the extra money that I paid for them. I didn't use the buttons often at all.
Long lasting - other than popping out the track wheel every now and then in order to clean the mouse (the trackball will get dirty because of oils in our hands along with the usual, microscopic stuff in our homes and offices), I didn't have any problems with this mouse.
Comfortable - I spend lots of time on my PC every single day, so having a mouse that conforms nicely to my hand and doesn't require much movement on my part is a huge plus.
Finally, that Trackman was too worn to continue comfortably using. The silver body was worn smooth where my hand had rested on it for those couple of years or so. The scroll wheel audibly clicked when I used it. Tracking wasn't as smooth as it had been before even though I was still thoroughly cleaning the mouse. The mouse is still fully functional, so it's in storage at the moment in case I need a backup. Really, though, I could have continued using it for a while longer - I just wanted a shiny, new one that wasn't slightly annoying to use, that's all.
Because I was so happy with the product, I bought another one just like it. This one is exactly what I remember my previous Trackman being right out of the box, so I'm glad that I didn't decide to try something new.
Also, if you're thinking that two or so years isn't very long for a mouse to last, please keep in mind that I spend a few hours every day using mine - more on weekends. If you're a more-casual user, you should reasonably expect longer life from your Trackman.
Customer Review: Best Trackball - fixed RSI problems - great for Mac or PC
Summary: 5 Stars
I originally bought this because I was getting a lot of wrist pain from mousing. It took just a very short while to get used to having the "marble' under my right thumb instead of pushing the entire mouse around the desktop, but it was ok. As I used it more, I realized that this puts my wrist at a natural angle. Wonderful! No more RSI/Carpel Tunnel pain. I really love the scroll wheel, and both mouse buttons work perfectly ok even without any driver software (Mac OS X). However, you can install the Logitech mouse driver software if you want the buttons to work differently.
After using mine for several years, I bought one for my Dad, and he likes it too. :-) For Dad, I installed the mouse driver software (Mac OS X) so we could disable his right mouse button. He's used to a 1 button mouse, and the pop up menus were annoying him when he accidentally "leaned on" the right mouse button. So it's all good.
Almost secret feature: in Mac OS X (10.3.9 at least) even w/o any Logitech driver software, if you click the scroll wheel (its also a button) the mouse pointer changes to a circle with arrows pointing up & down. You may then scroll by waving the trackball up and down. Sort of cool, if you know about it. Pushing the scroll wheel button again turns it back off.
If you're not already used to a 2 button mouse, you should know that the right button is really handy to bring up the spell checker for any misspelled underlined word. One right click, and the word is corrected! Even in FireFox as I type this! I just love it! That is a feature I use several times a minute! :-)
Being an "optical" means that it just never gets "bumpy" if dusty. Just use it for years and don't worry about cleaning it.
In addition to the nice features of this mouse itself, I also like that my screen saver isn't affected when I bump the desk. It's a trackball, not a mouse. It also takes less desk space since it doesn't need to move around. It's just better at everything. Oh, and even though Amazon has a greyscale photo, this product really has a red mouse ball. I totally love using this Logitech Trackman wheel optical, and it's easy on my body. I expect you will love it too.
Customer Review: About to buy my 4th
Summary: 5 Stars
Not because any of them have broken, but over the past 10 years I've lost them to moves, job switches, and other life changes.
I'm not sure this is the product for everybody. I think ergonomics can become very personal. All I can say is that it made a world of difference to me. I work on a computer all day, and often all night, and I used to have terrible carpal tunnel symptoms. Moving away from a mouse was the critical element, but until I tried this trackball all of the potential solutions -- whether trackball, touch pad, eraser nub, or anything else -- were as bad if not worse.
The Trackman puts your hand into a natural, comfortable position, with your arm and wrist in a resting position, and uses your thumb -- which for me at least is far stronger and more agile than any other finger -- to do the work. The result is an ability to work for hours straight without discomfort, and with a level of control rivaling a mouse.
Ah, yes -- it's not quite as good as a mouse in some ways. I won't use it for games, where pinpoint control is paramount. But I don't play games on my computer that much any more, so for me that's a trivial sacrifice. I'll also note that while accuracy isn't as precise as a mouse, reliability is greater -- it almost never "misses" a movement, unlike every mouse I've used. I assume this is due to having a predictable and well-designed surface (the trackball) for the sensor to watch, while a mouse has to track movement across whatever random surface is underneath it.
It also needs to be cleaned occasionally, since lint and grime can accumulate on the nubs holding the ball in place. This is pretty trivial -- just be aware that every couple weeks or so it may start feeling a little sticky, and you need to pop the ball out and wipe off the contact points.
All in all, I love this product enough that I actually worry about it being discontinued, since it seems to be a truly unique form factor. Hopefully the (well-deserved) $25 I throw toward it every 3-4 years will contribute to its continued longevity.