Kensington Slimblade Trackball USB 2.0 for PC and Mac, K72327US Review

I've been using the Slimblade now for a week and the hardware compares favorably to prior devices, even if the missing functionality in the driver seems like a "New Coke" style marketing decision.

The good news is the device itself is mechanically and aesthetically everything a long-time Kensington trackball user could ask for. I'm at the computer most of the day, and have been using Kensington trackballs for at least three generations of the product line. The Expert Mouse has been a staple for me, and I even travel with one in my laptop bag when away from the desktop.

The Slimblade is simply much more comfortable than the Expert Mouse. The ball sits lower to the desk and the pitch of the device housing allows your hand to address the ball with less wrist tilt. My forearm now rests on my desk as opposed to hovering slight above it while using the Expert Mouse. My impression immediately was that the device simply "felt better" than the older device.

The fit and finish is also superior to earlier generation devices. Much attention has been paid to the ball well and an opening at the bottom seems to be intended to prevent build up of "gunk" that gets caught in the bearings and sensors over long term use. The sensors are located higher up in the well probably for similar reasons, and the bearing points appear to be designed better.

The housing itself has a more consistent design. The mix of colored plastics, textures and the confounded wrist pad are gratefully replaced with a consistent and elegant finish. It is a little bit of a finger-print magnet, but the plastic has enough subtle sparkle that it's not terribly noticeable. The nylon braided USB cable is a nice finishing touch.

The device doesn't have a scroll wheel, and you instead rotate the ball in the plane of your desk to simulate scroll wheel behavior. Some people have complained that the setup creates an unnatural hand motion, but you can turn the ball this way with one finger after a tiny bit of practice and it's not any more ergonomically challenging than a conventional scroll wheel. The simulated mechanical clicking noise it makes the device emits when doing scroll wheel activities wasn't any more offensive than a mouse click to me.

Some people have objected to the red ball, but it grows on you. Kensington indicated in their support forums that the ball's finish is used to track the movement so you have to use it in lieu of a billiard ball, but it is similar to the dark silver finish on the Expert Mouse ball and that ball works fine if you have an older device and want to go with a more sedate color scheme.

As others have commented here, the device itself is outstanding and the Kensington hardware folks should be proud of their efforts.

So, the bad news. Yeah, I know I'm not the target market for this device. I really thought I wouldn't miss the ability to program the buttons, but the reality is I've had "copy" and "paste" wired into the top two buttons of my trackball for eons and I simply didn't realize how extensively I used that until it was gone. In my case, I've traded improved comfort in my right hand for the return of "Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V cramp" in my left. I read the reviews here and kinda knew what I was getting into, but living through it now... Well, it's irritating to say the least.

It doesn't seem to me that any of the new "media" functionality the Slimblade provides couldn't have been implemented easily in the old MouseWorks software, perhaps as a default to appease the marketeers. That said, removing long established core functionality from a new generation product is simply stupid. It's like someone at BMW thinking cruise control was too complex for the masses, so they pulled it out of their 2010 models. Long time Kensington users are right to be appalled. It may well be that the company is targeting a different market segment with this device, but that also implies they're leaving their established customer base (and potential new "advanced users" or however you label them) out in the cold.

Here's hoping that Graye's review here is correct and that Kensington is soon releasing updated Slimblade software with programability restored. If they do, Kensington deserves praise for having listened to a loyal customer base and I'm sure this device will enjoy well deserved success in all segments of the market.


Buy it here now!