Kensington's Legendary Trackball Mouse Just Got an Insane Upgrade
Kensington just revealed the Expert Trackball Mouse TB800, a redesigned and upgraded version of the legendary Expert Trackball Mouse K72359WW. Available later this year (so, in like a month or two), the TB800 features a slimmer design than its predecessor, plus a wealth of new buttons and scroll wheels.
Like the classic K72359WW mouse , the new Trackball Mouse TB800 features a prominent four-button layout and a scroll dial around its trackball. The top two buttons correspond to left-click and right-click, while the lower buttons act as page-back and page-forward by default—the buttons on the K72359WW were customizable, of course, and that remains true on the new TB800.
But Kensington has slimmed down the TB800's design to the point where it almost looks like a Kensington SlimBlade trackball mouse. It's also gained a top row of four customizable buttons that are pre-programmed for media control, and there are scroll wheels on both sides of the TB800 to accommodate zooming or side-to-side horizontal scrolling (the classic K72359WW can also perform horizontal scrolling, but only when holding down a hotkey).
A set of three hardware switches on the mouse's underside allow you to disable each individual scroll wheel. Plus, there are switches for adjusting DPI and scroll behavior (smooth or staggered). Kensington also swapped the AA batteries for a rechargeable battery with USB-C, which is convenient, though it cuts the battery life to about four months (down from the K72359WW's nearly year-long battery life). Naturally, the mouse supports Bluetooth connectivity and comes with a 2.4GHz wireless USB dongle, though you can also go wired if that's what you prefer.
I've owned the original Expert trackball mouse since 2020, and it's really one of my favorite mice of all time. The four-panel button layout looks awkward, but it's incredibly comfortable and easy to use. Plus, I've set up custom "chords" with SteerMouse—essentially mouse gestures. I can cycle through my virtual desktops by pressing the two buttons on the right side of the mouse in tandem, for example. The four customizable buttons added to the Expert Mouse TB800 EQ should open some new possibilities on this front.
Of course, I'm also a big fan of the circular scrolling dial, which is the main thing that differentiates Kensington's Expert mouse from other trackball mice (it's also great for performing automations in music software, by the way). I'm curious to see how the redesigned Expert mouse's side-mounted scroll wheels will contribute to this product's legacy.
Kensington will begin selling the Expert Mouse TB800 EQ in November or December for $150. That's $50 more than you'd pay for the wireless version of the standard Expert mouse (or about $100 more expensive than the wired K64325 mouse ), but I think that the high price is easily justified by the wealth of new features.
Source: Kensington via The Verge
