There have always been people who prefer trackballs to mice for controlling the screen pointer. Those with little room to swing a mouse, for example and, unaccountably, those controlling nuclear power stations, seem to have had a penchant for trackballs since they were first invented.

The trackball has advanced a lot since the early days, when close relations of snooker balls lumbered around in cradles with roller wheels used to detect movement. A lot of the advancements have come from companies like Kensington, and its new SlimBlade Trackball still has at least one innovation to add to the mix.

The SlimBlade Trackball consists of a sculpted, glossy gunmetal plastic pad, containing a silver-flecked, red trackball, sitting in a chrome ring just to the rear of its centre. The pad is divided into four segments, two behind and two in front of the ball and each segment acts as a mouse button. The ones in front of the ball are the left and right mouse buttons, while those behind switch modes of operation: Cursor, View and Media.

The ball is supported on three tiny ball bearings inside its hemispherical cradle and an optical source and detector read the movement of the flecks in the ball, as you roll or twist it. Motion is wonderfully smooth and can be very precise; you can easily operate the ball with a single finger.

Yes, we did say twist it. The key difference between this trackball and those that have gone before is that it can detect a twist action, when you rotate the ball with fingers and thumb. This motion is used to good effect to zoom in on images or to control audio volume, depending on the operating mode you have selected.

The extra functions are designed to work with specific applications; Media mode should work with Media Player and iTunes and View mode works with a selection of graphics editors. But while we had success with Paintshop Pro, even in old versions, we couldn't get Media Player 11 to recognise special functions like a twist for controlling volume.

Although the SlimBlade is an excellent trackball, this kind of static controller doesn't suit everybody or every application. It's good for browsing and general-purpose application work, but wouldn't be good for gaming and might be awkward for some graphics editing. It's not as easy to use thumb and middle finger for the trackball buttons as it is to use index and middle fingers on a mouse.

Verdict
If you prefer a trackball to a mouse for day-to-day work under Windows or OS X, the SlimBlade Trackball is a fine example of the species and the new twist action, which acts much like a mouse clickwheel, is a useful bonus. Priced at a similar level to a premium mouse, it’s a
quality controller with an interesting twist.

Company: Kensington

Contact: 020 7949 0119

Tags: trackball itunes media player kensington mouse logitech pointing device xerox