There are two types of Linus Tech Tips viewers:
The ones who can't remember trackball mice, and... the ones who are old...
...like me.
That's right, kids! In the late 90s, these bizarre
pointing devices were almost as popular as a
standard ball mouse—y'know,
the kind that... had its balls down below,
But then fell into obscurity as optical and laser mice gained dominance.
But are trackballs
bouncing back? Well, Logitech... err...
...Lo-Logi? Logitech... is giving it a shot.
Meet the MX Ergo, their first trackball in nearly a decade.
And the video is brought to you by... TunnelBear,
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At 260 grams (9.17 Ounces), the Ergo is twice as heavy as your typical mouse.
But... that's fine. Like other trackballs, it is not used by...
sliding it around the desktop.
Instead, you actually move the pointer by spinning this optically-tracked ball with your right thumb.
The Ergo is beautifully designed; the soft touch rubber finish that covers the entire
top of the mouse gives it a premium look. And... as for the feel;
well, it can leave your hand a little hotter than you might be used to, but
we're inclined to overlook this, because with the base set to its upright position,
reducing pronation or scissoring of the arm bones, it positions the user's hand similarly to a vertical mouse.
It is extremely comfortable. I guess that's probably where the name comes from.
With that said, what's good for the wrist isn't always good for the thumb.
Moving the cursor, especially a long distance downward, feels kinda like doing... thumb crunches... unless you reposition your hand.
Let's take a look at the buttons. The left and right clicks are rated for 10 million and are otherwise...
pretty darn standard. These back and forward buttons are both easily accessible with your index finger,
as long as you don't have child-sized hands like I do, and the scroll wheel is rubberized,
moves smoothly, and it comfortably tilts to either side.
Now, we've got a couple of more interesting buttons. This one toggles precision mode, which, like a sniper button on a mouse,
shifts the sensitivity for precision pointing, and this one is a Logitech easy switch, so that you can switch easily—
—haha, I see what you guys did there—between devices, with one of them using the included 2.4 GHz dongle,
and another one connected via Bluetooth.
And you might actually find yourself doing just that.
Trackballs are great for travel, because they require very little area to use.
Air-go and airplane tray table or armrest
will actually work nicely for much more comfortable mousing compared to trying to use a touchpad.
And thanks to the Ergo's four-month battery, you won't even need a charging cable with you.
Fun fact though: If it does die, it boasts a full workday's worth of battery after just one minute of charging.
"Okay then, Linus, that's all well and good, but what is it like to actually use it?"
Well, if you've never used a trackball before, you might actually be surprised at how easy it is to convert.
Our writer James went into this thing with zero experience, and after a few days, reported it's... become second nature.
And some actions, like middle-click scrolling, are actually even easier with a trackball.
With that said, it's not like there wasn't a slight learning curve,
and it has some clear disadvantages. If you use a multi-display setup or an ultra-wide monitor for example,
you might find yourself having to crank the sensitivity just to cover all of that desktop real estate.
And while "Okay, that's true of any mouse,"
on the trackball in particular, this really made accurate pointing on fine things a feat of concentration, since it does tend to...
jump a bit when being turned very small amounts. The solution, as it turns out though, is to turn on mouse acceleration, which uhh...
...how about that? It turns out that setting does have an actual use.
Though you will want to disable it while you're gaming on your trackball.
Wait, gaming on a trackball?
Yes, that's right. You can use a trackball for gaming.
And it actually doesn't suck either.
Our resident CS:GO guru Ed was actually up and pwning noobs in no time,
though he did say that he was a little disappointed in the Ergo's tracking speed, which may prove to be insufficient for players who like to
whip their mouse for quick turnarounds.
"Okay then, Linus, I'm interested. You got me. But why should I buy it then?"
"The $100 MX Ergo over Logitech's own competing wireless trackball, the M570?"
"Is the precision button, easy switch, and the smoother ball action
really worth the extra $50?"
Maybe not.
But they are nice to have, and the 20° tilt really is a lot more comfortable.
And surely, there is no solution that exists to prop up the M570.
Okay, but in all seriousness though, does the MX Ergo belong in your future?
Well, there is still room to improve. A stepless scrolling mode on the wheel,
a low-latency lightspeed connection,
higher endurance switches, and the dedicated DPI switch would all go a long way towards making this feel like a true
flagship. Maybe a, a G-series trackball is on the horizon
But with that said, it's really good. If you're a trackballer, it's easy to recommend.
As for if you're not; well, it is the kind of thing you do have to experience on your own, but...
Logitech has a 30-day return policy, so...
...if you're a little ball-curious, then there's nothing to lose from...
...giving it a spin.
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