Kensington Slimblade Trackball Expert Reviews

Kensington's Slimblade Trackball is a pointing device of a dying breed, but one that deserves a trackball enthusiast's attention. Read on to see how Kensington did with this last Mohican.

Quality design & aesthetics, Smooth scrolling, Some media / application support

Non-customizable button programming, Larger footprint than other trackballs, Relatively expensive

The design of the Kensington Slimblade Trackball is pretty simple, not saying that it's boring, but very simple and sleek. It looks like it was meant to be caressed, and thankfully, it likes to be. There are four tactile buttons on the trackball ...

The Kensington SlimBlade Trackball's clever Media and View modes take advantage of the unique attributes of a large trackball to make it easy and intuitive to work with many documents and media.

Large, comfortable trackball ; stationary design ; large, easy-to-press buttons ; unique rotating-ball feature ; Cursor, Media, and View modes

Trackball feels sluggish ; rotating-ball feature less convenient for scrolling than a traditional scroll wheel (or the scroll ring used on Kensington's Expert Mouse) ; buttons not customizable ; expensive

Like most previous Kensington trackballs, the SlimBlade features a relatively heavy billiard-size ball surrounded by four large buttons, and connects to your Mac via an integrated USB cable. The new model has a lower profile than its predecessors, as ...

Thinking of ditching your mouse?

Excellent build quality, innovative scrolling technology, accurate for moving and scrolling

Expensive, not portable, needs drivers for extra buttons

The Kensington SlimBlade TrackBall is a really nicely made piece of kit but comes at a hefty price tag of nearly £100. If you've never tried a track ball and struggle with a normal mouse, they are worth a shot - but at £100, it's not something you are ...

An alluring, but awkward alternative to the mouse

Promises lots but doesn't deliver

An alluring, but awkward alternative to the mouse

Attractive design; five-year warranty

Uncomfortable and expensive

Promises lots but doesn't deliver

Kensington's new SlimBlade Trackball is a slick way to get your cursor precisely where you need it.

Silky smooth cursor-racing operation, coupled with some good integration with a number of common programs, make the Kensington SlimBlade Trackball a winner. We only wish its extra View mode functionality would work with all apps, but this doesn't stop ...

Comfortable for those physically unable to use a standard mouse, Heads-up display conveniently shows the current mode

Toggling between three modes complicates work flow, Expensive, Lacks Bluetooth, Can't customise buttons or alter trackball sensitivity, Large footprint

Kensington resurrects a dying breed with the SlimBlade Trackball, but the potential of its unique shortcut buttons devolves into a mess of clumsy extra functions and awkward movements that restrict productivity.

kensington slimblade trackball review: Kensington resurrects a dying breed with the SlimBlade Trackball, but the potential of its unique shortcut buttons devolves into a mess of clumsy extra functions and awkward movements that restrict productivity.

Comfortable for those physically unable to use a standard mouse ; Heads-up display conveniently shows the current mode

Toggling between three modes complicates work flow ; Expensive ; Lacks Bluetooth ; Can't customise buttons or alter trackball sensitivity ; Large footprint

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 ...

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 ...