Microsoft Trackball Explorer

The functions are smooth, and reasonably reliable, depending on the position your hand takes. I find the left-hand buttons difficult to hit correctly with my thumb, thanks to some nerve damage so I reprogrammed them until I found a way that was comfortable for me to work. I strongly suggest you do the same.

If you're running Win XP, you'll have to d/l the newest Intellipoint drivers, but that's not a big deal. Installation is a snap with Plug 'n' Play.

I never thought I'd find anything that pleased me as much as my old Logitech trackball, but I have to say that I think this one might do it. Time will tell. But right from the start, I found it worth the investment.


Awesome Trackball!   February 2, 2001
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

I've had a trackball for 3 years now. I have never known such quick response and ease of mousing. My previous mouse was $20, and I wanted to buy something a little bit nicer. The Trackball Explorer exceeded my expectations. Constantly cleaning my old trackball was a pain. With the optical trackball, no moving parts means no cleaning!

It has 4 buttons (2 of which can be programmed by the software included, they default to forward and back commands for Internet Explorer), and a scroll wheel that also serves as a button.

It also looks cool. It has a nice greyis metalic color to it. Another plus is the fact that its nifty ergonomic design makes this mouse comfortable to use.

Installation was easy. Plug it in, install the drivers, install the software that comes with the mouse, and you're done!


Won't use anything else!   August 20, 2002
Snerticus (AZ- United States)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

I bought this a few years ago...being used to the average two button mouse it took a little while getting used to. However, now I won't use anything else! I wish they came out with a cordless version. It fits my hand so well and the buttons that were a little awkward to use at first are now so easy to use and well placed. I scroll and click with my thumb and move the wheel with my forefinger. The other two programmable buttons to the right of the wheel are clicked with your middle and ring fingers, and the whole device fits my hand like a glove. You barely have to move your fingers to use the buttons, once you get used to the layout and you can even place the trackball horizontally or diaganolly in front of you (which I do) - which is why I don't ever feel "awkward" the way one of the reviewers does. If you place the trackball vertically with the cord facing north, you will ulitmately have a fatigued hand. But after getting used to the layout of this trackball, you don't have to keep it vertical anymore and can place it any way you like. Once placed in a position that is comfortable, it is so natural to operate that using a mouse again is so uncomfortable. If you have the patience to try this out, I highly recommend it. I haven't been able to find a cordless trackball that even comes close to this...pity!


Excellent and Durable Product   August 5, 2001
Kenneth L. Schwartz (Wilmington, NC USA)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

I've had my Trackball Explorer for a couple of months now, and it has performed flawlessly. I mainly use it with my laptop, it works well on any surface because it is a trackball, which does not operate like a mouse, you control the cursor by moving the ball with your fingers, instead of moving the entire device. The trackball itself is very large, a change from previous products that I've owned, which is a great thing, it allows you to control the pointer with virtually all of your fingers.

The button placement couldn't be better, although it took a little bit of practice to get used it, as the right-click and left-click buttons are activated via thumb, but after the learning curve, smooth sailing from there. The back and forward buttons are also a plus, they allow you to browse through you browser's history with a click.

I also *love* the wheel. Scrolling through documents and webpages couldn't be easier, it also acts as a button when pressed, which activates a trackball-controlled scroll, very useful for longer documents.

The Trackball Explorer comes with Microsoft's IntelliPoint software, which means this trackball is *highly* configurable. You can change the action of each of the buttons, the lines scrolls by the wheel and *much* more.

Microsoft has created an excellent product here, very configurable, durable and precise! A recommendation for veteran trackball users and *every* mouse user.


A very nice trackball, overall   March 7, 2002
Erin K. Darling (olympia, wa)
18 out of 22 found this review helpful

Sometime in the mid-nineties, I purchased my first trackball - one of the mechical Logitechs - and I haven't looked back to conventional mice since then. One of the things I really didn't enjoy was having to frequently clean the little rascals, though, a problem with any mechanical mousing instrument. With the advent of optical devices, this problem is almost completely wiped out. I have to clean this trackball every several weeks, but clean-up is a complete snap - turn it upside down, let the ball fall out, and run a clean cloth around the inside of the chamber. Voila. Occasionally, cat hairs get stuck in the small cut-out at the bottom, but are easily blown out. Oh happy day!

This is a 5-button mouse, though in all honesty, I don't tend to use the two buttons on the outside very often - fortunately, they're out of the way enough not to interfere with daily use. But, if you "grip" the mouse, rather than rest your hand upon it, you might bump into those two buttons more often. They can be deprogrammed, though.

The two main buttons for left- and right-click are well-placed, and my thumb doesn't get tired, even in the midst of a "Deux Ex"-fest, blasting the living daylights out of everything in sight. The wheel (which also functions as a "middle" button) is nicely-textured for excellent ease of use. Ergonomically shaped, this mouse has yet to cause me any carpal miseries.

The finger trackball took me a bit of time to get used to, as I have always used thumb trackballs in the past. I've found, though, that the finger ball is much more comfortable; with the thumb trackball, a lot of tension and stress would accumulate in that digit, and I hadn't even fully realized it until it went away.

I spent hours and hours at a time in front of my computer, and I have major complaints about this device. The only thing I truly wish were different is that I wish it had a longer cord; as it stands, it's stretched completely taut, and frequently scootches back underneath the overhang above my keyboard tray. Other than that, I'm very satisfied with this product.