Customer Reviews

Crayola Kids PC Trackball

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just bought the Kids Trackball for my 2.5 year old and he was immediately drawn to the oversizd ball and bright colors. I currently use an Intellimouse track ball which is too difficult for my child to operate but I didn't want to give it up to get him a "regular" mouse. That is why this product is so perfect for us...it is easy for him to operate and it can be hooked up to a serial port while still allowing me to use my mouse. This is the only mouse I have seen that allows for two mouses to operate at once. After I adjusted to the size of the mouse, it is about 5" square, I can only find two problems with it...the cord to attach the mouse to the port is extremely short making it difficult to position the mouse in our computer armoire and it is difficult to manipulate if you need to hold down the left click button and move the trackball at the same time (you must use two hands.) This is my child's first experience with a computer mouse and I think that as soon as he understands the concept of the mouse he and I both will really enjoy the Kids Trackball.

My daughter (24 months) could not use a regular mouse so I bought her a child size mouse. She still couldn't use it properly so I tried this trackball. Now she has no problems at all! No longer does she call me to click the right thing in her game. She can do it herself without any hesitation. It is perfect for little hands. And if it needs to go on the family computer, you don't have to uninstall the grown up mouse, they can both work on the same computer at the same time.

I know others have had difficulty with running on higher version OS, but I have my daughter's Crayola trackball running on Windows 2000 without any problem at all. The driver is irrelevant, just use the Microsoft driver for a regular 2 button mouse - it's that simple. Beyond that, I love the excellent precision you get with a trackball. My daughter started working on a computer when she was less than a year, and on a standard mouse it's hard to distinguish the buttons. Many of the smaller chid size mouses aren't very well made. Since all the younger child software is based almost solely on constant left mouse button clicking, we had one mouse before this and the left mouse button gave out in a very short amount of time, especially when the child is first learning and clicks too much. I have had this mouse for over a year now, and it's been nothing but great.

My 2 year old son, for whom I bought this device, can't properly use it. I believe that this problem stems from both the track ball's design for small hands and with his lack of patience.

The design does not allow someone to "accidentally" push the mouse's buttons. So, the user must make a concerted effort to press the button, which takes about the same amount of effort as flushing a toilet. As the distance between the track-ball and the mouse buttons is so great and the required effort so large, my child must lift his hand from the track-ball to press the mouse's buttons. And, in doing so, he generally drags his arm over the button, which moves the pointer.

This might not be a disaster for an adult, but most educational games are mouse, and not keyboard, intensive. These games require that the user click on the letter, number, shape, etc... So, if the pointer moves off of the target, the game doesn't function.

So, in short, for adults, this trackball probably functions as it should. However, for kids, it doesn't meet requirements.

BTW- I think that I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $80 for this mouse, not the $40 listed in amazon for the Crayola model.

I have been looking for this product ever since Microsoft took their EasyBall off the market. The new BIGtrack is awsome. I have my 4 year old and my 2 year old both using it and their accuracy is amazing. I just wish that someone would update the information on Amazon. This product has been updated to a USB connection and the name was changed to BIGtrack. I used it on a win and mac machine and it is just plug and play.

Buyer beware: This product doesn't support anything past Win 95 or Win 98, maybe even ME (not sure about the latter -- doesn't say anything on the box). Checking their driver site, they don't have any drivers online either, and don't seem interested in producing any (at least based on the silence).

I have to say, it was a disappointment to me that they aren't supporting anything more modern.

Buyer beware: This product doesn't support anything past Win 95 or Win 98, maybe even ME (not sure about the latter -- doesn't say anything on the box). Checking their driver site, they don't have any drivers online either, and don't seem interested in producing any (at least based on the silence).

I have to say, it was a disappointment to me that they aren't supporting anything more modern.