Customer Reviews

Logitech Cordless TrackMan Wheel

5 star:		(315)
4 star:		(97)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

I had the original TrackMan Wheel mouse (with a cord) and loved it. I regretted letting my mother-in-law have it the very second I agreed to it.

I purchased this one as a replacement once I realised I didnt like a normal mouse any more. Plus I purchased a laptop and thought the cordless would be handy.

This model works excellent and is great for use at home with a desktop computer. Unfortunately, it doesnt mention in the description or photo that the receiver which plugs into the USB port is HUGE, its almsost as big as the mouse itself. The size of the receiver and length of cord that comes with it is the same as having a mouse, completely defeating most of the purpose of a cordless mouse. It is too bulky to carry around and setup on my laptop like I had hoped. The receiver is much larger than the ones that come on the other cordless mice I have seen.

If you like the TrackMan Wheel I highly recomend this one, it is top quality and functions flawlessly, as long as you dont want to rely on portability. If you plan on carrying it with your laptop, I would recomend a different cordless mouse.

This cordless mouse simply feels great in my hand. I've owned about 10 different mouses and this one pleases me because it feels like part of my hand rather than part of the PC. I find that my thumb moves the trackball effortlessly while my index finger shifts almost without thought between the wheel and buttons. I seem to get consistent communication between the mouse and the receiver as I've not noticed any performance problems. Batteries last about a year and the mouse tells you when they are getting low by posting an alert.

Also, I share this mouse with my two children. It's been dropped on a hardwood floor more than I probably know about. And it still works.

Excellent design and reliable service. I hope this review helps.

One of the most popular pastimes in Singapore - after shopping, of course - is sending SMS messages on a mobile phone. The kids here really have trained thumbs. It's a good qualification for users of the Logitech TrackMan.

This gadget helped me clean up my desk - one cable less, mouse-pad out of the way. My two-year-old loves the red trackball although he misses yanking at the mouse cord. However, my PC co-user (and wife) cannot get used to the new toy. The shape of the Logitech TrackMan is too large for her hand, and she simply hates moving the cursor with the trackball. I have to plug in the traditional mouse for her whenever she wants to use the PC (the software supplied with the Logitech TrackMan handles this operation nicely, no big deal).

I'm quite happy with the Logitech TrackMan, but it has some weaknesses: (1) the sender unit has to be on the table for the mouse to receive the signals properly. It can not be placed too far away from the mouse; (2) for precision work the traditional mouse is superior to a trackball device - moving the cursor with a movement of the mouse-on-a-cord yields more precise results than using the thumb on the trackball, especially for click-and-drag operations; (3) speed - I move the cursor faster with the old mouse-on-a-cord.

Bottom-line: a product with good value for its price, very useful if you have only limited space on your desk - but you have to get used to it. One thumb up (the left one, the right one is on the trackball).

I am a trackball fan from way back since I was first introduced to them by my physical therapist after having a shoulder operation that made moving my arm next to impossible. I find moving a mouse around a desk both clumsy and unnatural and just don't understand how people can accept them. This is my third trackball from Logitech and it is by far the best one I have had.(I gave the old ones to friends or family who are now converts to the trackball way!) It took a little while to get used to having the ball on the left side as opposed to the standard center position, but once I got used to using my thumb, things really flew. Set up was snap and the documentation was great. The design is very comfortable and the buttons and scroll wheel fall easily to hand. It has operated flawlessly for the year+ that I have owned it and I have only had to change the battery once in that time. The cordless feature works great and is a real boon to me because of my cluttered desk. Its RF signal does not interfere with my other IR controlled equipment(i.e. stereo and cordless keyboard). My only quibbles with this trackball (and the reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5) is that it needs a greater range and they need to use ball bearings in the ball seat like their other trackballs. Right now I have to have the reciever within a foot or so of the trackball to work consistantly and it would be much more convenient if I could stick it someplace out of the way. Using ball bearings instead of the current nylon mounts in the ball seat would give the ball the super smooth action that their other trackballs have had and that I'm used to. In the end, I would certainly recommend this to anyone looking to make their computing a more pleasurable experience, but be warned...trackballs can be addictive!

I love this trackball mouse. I have been using Trackman Marble Wheel version for the past few years. It was great also, but with limited desk space at work, the Cordless version is better. With a keyboard, calculator and books/binders/papers needed on my desk, it is easy to get the mouse out of the way and still use it. My next goal is a cordless keyboard!

The only complaint that I have is that the "wheel" button from the Cord to Cordless has been reduced in space. It used to occupy a almost full size button space, and now only the wheel itself is placed in between the R and L buttons. Your hand used to be able to rest with index, middle and ring finger on L, Wheel, and R buttons. Now, you really can only use your index and middle fingers on the R and L and move one of them to the wheel when you need it. I do not find it as comfortable. But, I can live with that inconvenience in comparison with the benefits.

I have had this trackball for over one year now. I've used the wired-USB version for my work laptop, so I wanted the wireless for my home laptop. The ergonomics are great. Like many others, this mouse fits your palm like a glove. Originally when I first started using trackballs, it took some getting used to, but once you get the feel for it, you'll be a trackball (more appropriately a "thumb-ball") pro.

The buttons are well-located, convenient, and comfortable. You really don't feel like you need to hyperextend or move any of your digits to perform functions. The only digit of your hand that is active is your thumb.

At its best, I have found the range on the trackball to be excellent. I have a desktop docking station for my laptop. I have the RF station hooked up to my dock. I can sit on my couch on the other side of my home office (6 - 7 ft away) with my laptop undocked and the trackball responsive at my side. Great responsiveness for a reasonable range.

Now the quirks (keep in mind I have had this for over one year): sometimes the mouse becomes unresponsive and sluggish; the mouse pointer slows down, clicking may not work, and sometimes entire sections of a page may highlight simply by moving the pointer over a page. If the mouse is acting up, I've also found that shaking it around kind of helps ;-) That is my first line of triage for the mouse. If that doesn't work, I've found myself replacing the battery maybe 3-4 times over the past year, "resetting" the RF signal (you simultaneously push these little buttons on both the RF station and on the actual mouse).

Another quirk/maintenance: mouse-lint builds up inside the trackball on the little nubs that hold the ball up. Also, its good to clean the optical sensor window now and then as that can accumulate dirt and oil as well.

Since I have both the wired and wireless versions of this trackball, I can say that the wireless one is not as crisp and responsive as the USB-wired one, but it is not noticeable when the wireless is working at its peak condition.

This is a great trackball for ergo-lovers. The quirks are tolerable. I'd love to see a bluetooth version and see what the performance difference would be!

I purchased this TrackMan with expectations of getting a small USB receiver and the TracMan without any wires. It turns out that the receiver has a cord as long as a typical mouse cord. That isn't what is advertised. I'm sure it is a good quality device if you can deal with the extra wired component. I was looking for wireless to use with my laptop. This is worse than buying a wired device if you are using it with a laptop. You still have the fairly large receiver tethered to your USB port on a long wire plus you have the TrackMan device. That makes less sense than just getting a wired TrackMan and have one less component to have to manage.

It would be better if Logitech gave a good picture of the receiver with the long wire on the outside of the package. I didn't learn a wire was included until I got it opened up.

RickL

I've used just about every pointing device available. Trackpoints are the worst. Touchpads are pretty bad, difficult to control, and you keep scrolling in areas and clicking on things that you never intended. Mice are okay, except (among other things) that fairly often I have observed people (including myself) clicking and missing--the pointer was on the target, but when you released the left button, you twitched and so nothing happens. Also, mice will wear you out after a while; I find a lot of muscle tension at the end of a day. Trackballs avoid these problems. With these devices, when you've got the pointer exactly where you want it, take your thumb off the ball and then click--this is especially good for novices. Trackballs generally give greater control and, when it comes to moving the pointer across the screen, just a tiny thumb movement takes you from corner to corner (if you adjust the motion properly in the control panel).

The Logitech Cordless Trackman Wheel is the best trackball I've seen, and I've owned a bunch of them. It has all the features mentioned above and is very ergonomic and relaxing to use. When I cruise the internet, I sit almost motionless, concentrating totally on the information being displayed. Oddly enough, I do recommend playing some solitaire to develop the unconscious feel for the device. One nice feature (a point of distinction): this device uses radio frequency communication and does not require line of sight. I have used it on a table in the middle of the room, the desk being against the wall, without problem (I have a fairly large monitor).

Could the Logitech be improved? Yes. There's room for another button under the ring finger. The scroll wheel could be a little smoother (sometimes you move it one notch and nothing happens, but it's not a big deal, just move it another notch). Something that probably could not be improved is its apparent indestructability; it fell from my hand as I was changing batteries and, trying to catch it, wound up slamming it into the hardwood floor. I was somewhat awed to find that it still worked.

All in all, I recommend this pointing device above all others.

This leftie with "piano fingers" is very satisfied with the Logitech Cordless Trackman Wheel. I use it right-handed (and think of it as left-brain crosstraining). Ergonomically I find it very comfortable - my hand rests easily over the unit with the forefinger on the left button, middle finger on the wheel, and ring finger on the right button. The cordless connection works flawlessly in both the PS/2 and USB ports. I've noticed no degradation in response at four feet of separation even when I rest the Trackman on my knee and the signal has to pass through an oak desk to get to the receiver. In terms of comfort, the lack of wrist and finger movement required by the design itself is greatly enhanced by the ability to place the Trackman at any angle, level, or orientation. My favorite is on my thigh beneath the desk.

There is a bit of a learning curve if you've never used a Trackball device before. It's not unlike being used to driving a stick shift and then finding yourself in an automatic groping around for a non-existent clutch. For a while I caught myself instinctively sliding the Trackman in certain circumstances. But when you get it down, it is easier, more comfortable, and more efficient than mousework.

In terms of accuracy, I would say that with the proper configuration, it is just as accurate as a mouse. It takes some time to get used to the trackball and you may need to tweak the acceleration and speed settings until you find the right balance that works for you.

A couple things I'm not so crazy about:

The scroll wheel doubles as a programmable third button. It is so close in height to the left and right buttons and sandwiched so tightly between them that I find it difficult to use it as a button without inadvertently hitting the left or right click button (and I have long, skinny fingers).

And finally, if you're using this on a laptop with a built-in pointing device, you may not be able to fully tweak the Trackman settings if you run it through the PS/2 port. I got that warning when I set it up on my Thinkpad (with an integrated touchpad and trackpoint). Fortunately I had a free USB port I could dedicate to the remote receiver (the adapters you need for either the USB or PS/2 connection are included). So laptop users who don't have a free USB port may find that they are unable to fully configure the Trackman. This could be a problem because it's something you'll really want to get just right.

And skip the CD-ROM installation and just go to their website to register and download the latest version of the drivers and software

Four years ago I changed from the standard mouse to the wired version of this trackball. Yes, it took 2 days or so to get used to it, but then it became second nature. I love not having to pick up the mouse to get the cord out of the way, or running out of room or off of the mouse pad. With this wireless trackball and my wireless keyboard, I set my laptop on my coffee table and kick back on my couch doing all of my work and internet surfing. I've never had any problems with this model, in fact, I own three at home and one at work. The three at home, one for my laptop, my wife's laptop, and my kids' computer. I hope they never discontinue this style, for it is the most comfortale to use. If you're still using a regular mouse, it's time to try out a trackball. Again, it takes a day or two to get used to, but you will not be sorry. I just can't wait for a bluetooth version of this trackball so that I don't have to plug the receiver into a USB port.