Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical

I finally got tired of cleaning the ball on the old Trackman. My wife has both an Logitech marble trackball and a Logitech optical cordless mouse, and I wanted the best, too.

While each new Microsoft OS has had problems with the older version of Mouseware software, in my experience, Logitech is always the first to have updated drivers available shortly after release of new OS's.

After using the trackball for about 5 months, I'm still thrilled. Sure, the gunk from my oily, sticky, food-covered hands still builds up on the ball, but unlike mechanical mice and trackballs, it doesn't cause sticking and jumping of the cursor. The action was still smooth. I had not even noticed that it was getting harder to move the ball until I popped the ball out, and gave the contact points a quick cleaning.

So even with five months of built-up grime, it was still working just fine.

Now not everyone likes trackballs. I use a mouse at work, and it's probably better for me to be moving my whole arm. But at home my desk is too messy. There's no room to move a mouse, and even if I were able to, I'd hit my elbow on something else.

Not for one minute have I regretted buying this trackball.


Affordable product. Functional scroll wheel. Inferior trackball design.   October 11, 2005
nsrpgmiv (SUNNYVALE, CA USA)
34 out of 37 found this review helpful

Let me give you some background before you read my review.
I'm in my 30's. I use computer 8+ hours a day and start developing RSI symptoms.

I have tried / owned the following trackballs

Logitech TrackMan Marble FX Trackball
Logitech Optical Marble Mouse
Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical
Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman
Original 3 buttons Kensington Expert Mouse
Kensington Expert Mouse Pro

The Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical does not score well in my needs - eliminating / reducing my RSI related pains.

Pros: Reasonably priced, good build quality, scroll wheel included, programmable buttons.

Cons: Cannot be used left handed, small trackball.

This is one of the few trackballs that has a useable scroll wheel. The Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman and the Kensington Expert Mouse Pro for example, has a tiny scroll wheel that you won't even bother to use after a period of time. This one however, is positioned like all the other mice and you can use your middle finger to scroll effortlessly.

However, the biggest problem for me is that the trackball is controlled by the thumb, instead of index/middle fingers like the other models. Precise movement is harder to control using the thumb. Also, you can move from point A to point B much faster by using the index finger.

Consider this experiment, point your mouse pointer to the bottom right of the screen (which you can conduct in any local electronic store before you decide to buy this product), and then try to move the pointer to the upper left corner. Take note of how much effort it requires and how much stress it is putting on your thumb, rather than how long it takes for you to complete this task (for those who own a 30" lcd, you should record your time and post it here!). Now you should understand why using the thumb to control the trackball is a bad idea.

If your local electronic store has the kensington expert mouse on display, you can compare how superior it is to use a huge trackball with your index/middle finger.


Say goodbye to wrist cramps.   January 23, 2003
26 out of 26 found this review helpful

I have had this product for well over a year now. I am a heavy computer user and using a mouse was just putting a huge strain on my wrist, so I decided that maybe I should look into mouse alternatives.

Well, my first choice was the Kensington Orbit trackball, based on reviews on this site. All-in-all, it is a great product, but it has 1 tragic flaw which killed it for me - it gunks up incredibly quickly; I am talking on the order of every hour or two. I returned it to the store from whence it was purchased (hint: the one with a big yellow tag). Strike one.

My next choice was what is essentially a corded version of the Logitech Cordless Trackman FX Optical Trackball, which was probably simply called the same thing, minus the "Cordless". The up side - it has several buttons; this device did nothing about my wrist cramp problem, however. Strike two. (Side note: I don't really see the point of getting a cordless trackball or keyboard, unless you are just dying to have more battery-powered things.)

Choice number three: the Logitech Marble Mouse (which is a trackball, despite its name). I just plain could not get used to the feel of it and it did very little to ease strain anyhow. A lot of people on this site have good things to say about it. I, however, do not. Guess the third time is not always a charm.

Well, I finally ended up with (you guessed it) the Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical. While it takes some getting used to, once you get a feel for this, you will never even want to go near another mouse. It has two buttons and the scroll wheel which also doubles as a third button when pressed in, although I never find myself in need of this third "button" myself. This is probably the most ergonomic pointing device you can hope to get...that is, assuming you are right-handed. Sorry, lefties, looks like your choices are considerably more limited when it comes to trackballs.

While being an optical device, the ball bearings upon which the trackball itself rests do tend to need cleaned off once or twice a day, but this only takes a few seconds and is not nearly as time-consuming as cleaning off the roll bars on the non-optical Kensington Orbit, and these cleanings aren't nearly as frequent, either. I don't think you are going to be able to buy a trackball that doesn't need cleaned fairly often, and this one does a nice job of making it a relatively painless affair.

The software allows you to set the directional orientation (which way is "up"), among other things, though I have not even bothered installing the software since I started using Windows XP.

Bottom line: If you are right-handed and have your own computer, buy this. Just make sure you give yourself a day or so to adjust to using it. You shan't be dissapointed.


I want my old style Logitech Marble Wheel   July 17, 2002
J. Cutter (South Carolina USA)
13 out of 17 found this review helpful

I went looking to buy another one of my old style white Trackman Marble Plus type of 2 button trackballs with roller like my 804335-000, the style of which is a few years old. What I found was that they now only sell the gray slightly smaller Trackman Wheel Optical #904353-0403 (and 804360-1000), and I dont like the design. The buttons are too close together, and the buttons are too close to the ball. The roller itself is also too close to the ball, and so the middle finger cannot easily manipulate the roller without arching the finger considerably more than with the older style. The buttons of the old design were a fingers width apart each, but on the new design, the buttons are less than a fingers width apart. It seems Logitech designed the new trackman to be used with 2 fingers instead of 3 fingers, even though they count the roller as a 3rd button.
The older trackball device overall was wider/longer and fit my hand better, the new trackball device seems to be made for small people, perhaps non-adults. The height of the old device was low and allowed the hand to not slip off easily, where as the new trackball has a steeper slope to its sides, and it takes more effort to keep ones hand on top. I actually fear I will succumb to carpal tunnel syndrome if I continue to use the new product. I agree with the other review that posted similar to mine, I love the old style, it was the best design out there. I would not buy the new style, I would tell others to try to find the older wider/longer white with red roller Trackman Marble Wheel or Trackman Marble Plus design for sale somewhere.