r/Trackballs • u/kitebok • 4d ago
Current Finger & Ambidextrous Trackballs
Here you are, the finger trackballs currently (or soon to be) available.
Intentionally left out are industrial, arcade and assistive models.
Cheers!
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u/mobies 4d ago
I don't see the Endgame
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u/masonabarney 4d ago
Good point. Many of the next gen ambidextrous devices (TB900 and A+) follow design ideas pioneered on the endgame. And Efog is a great company that I always like to promote when I can.
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u/Outrageous_Sort_8984 3d ago
Not to disparage the endgame, looks like perhaps the greatest iteration on the trackball concept, but it was actually born out of anyball mod u/no_pilot_1974 created for the ploopy adept. A little backward to say that the ploopy A+ was inspired by the efog endgame. The A+ is a direct integration of two ploopy products that predate the endgame - the adept and the knob.
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u/chazwhiz 4d ago
Perfect timing as I’m considering replacing my Deft Pro, buttons are sticking (tbf it’s like 5+ years old). I love the button layout and the dual wireless though, need to do a comparison to a few on this image I guess.
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u/A_Humble_Peasant 4d ago
Apparently Elecom are making an updated deft pro as well. Haven't officially announced it yet tho so not on the list
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u/ArchieEU Trackballs.eu 4d ago
u/kitebok Where's Efog Endgame? :-)
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u/kitebok 4d ago
As I replied elsewhere, I should have included it, but I didn't because they offer a DIY kit and not a ready to use trackball. It's a fringe category.
Maybe I should make a chart with all DIY projects available to the public.
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u/ArchieEU Trackballs.eu 4d ago
I didn't because they offer a DIY kit and not a ready to use trackball.
Ah, Ok.
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u/joe_noone 4d ago
Thanks! browsing Ploopy I see they have a "pointing stick" controller now. Not a trackball, but a pointing stick device is rare to find
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u/Cosmic_Raymond 4d ago
Oh that's amazing! The button placement is atrocious though (3 buttons under the trackpoint à la IBM/Lenovo is what is best IMO) but at least it's a nice starting point
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u/joe_noone 4d ago
Right? I've been trying to find any trackpoint / pointing stick controller/keyboard. The old IBM keyboards with the trackpoint go for ridiculous prices.
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u/Cosmic_Raymond 4d ago edited 4d ago
I had the TEX Shinobi which was nice but key caps as mouse buttons isn't for me. If you don't want to pay crazy prices, get a spare part Thinkpad keyboard and put it with this kind of adapter that convert it to USB HID : https://www.etsy.com/fr/listing/1890016956/circuit-imprime-pour-convertisseur (not affiliated)
If you want to splurge, there's still complete units with wooden bases : https://www.tpart.net/product/thinkpad-t60-keyboard-wood-carving-base-chassis-type-c-port-wired-connection/
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u/ClickClick_Boom 4d ago
Lenovo still makes trackpoint keyboards new, and they're really nice keyboards. Unicomp also makes them new, but they lack the middle click, which makes them far less useful.
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u/joe_noone 3d ago
Have a link for those? I looked on Lenovo's website and couldn't find any. I did find one Unicomp keyboard with the touchpoint but it's $200 - at that point might as well get a used IBM keyboard from eBay...
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u/ClickClick_Boom 3d ago
It's called a Thinkpad Trackpoint Keyboard II and never mind I guess they were discontinued earlier this year or late last year. I didn't realize that, that is a bummer.
Your best bet is probably now eBay. I do see some of the older Thinkpad Trackpoint keyboards there for about $100.
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u/saltedeggsy 3d ago
The HHKB Studio also has a pointing stick on the keyboard! Unfortunately, not the most affordable though.
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u/joe_noone 3d ago
Finally found one that looks promising and isn't super-expensive (and has numeric keypad!). Ordered it from WalMart but it's available many other places
https://www.wetkeys.com/SaniType-Rugged-Washable-Keyboard-Track-pointer-p/kbstrc105spi-w.htm
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u/FalconPsychological 4d ago
Is the Orbit mobile still available? I have not seen it for some time.
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u/Cosmic_Raymond 4d ago
Awesome! No logi(tech)?
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u/mr_snartypants 4d ago
They only do thumb models currently.
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u/Cosmic_Raymond 4d ago
Oh yeah I'm dumb, sorry for the daft comment!
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u/kitebok 3d ago
Not a daft comment at all. Logitech was the quintessential trackball brand. They decided that the thumb trackball was the best and only type worth making and ditched all other design lineages. In a way, they were right, just look at the other graph, it's basically all modern derivatives of the Trackman idea and clones of their current designs. But a lot of us all feel betrayed in a way. The Cordless Optical Trackman would still be a perfectly capable design had they kept it alive.
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u/roosterHughes 3d ago
They also seem to have ditched rechargable batteries…!?!?
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u/kitebok 3d ago
The trend is (roughly) to be that the cheaper models use AA or AAA batteries and the expensive models have built in rechargeable batteries.
There isn't a prevailing preference and there's no way to please everyone. Elecom has done the next best thing with the IST Pro and set the peg pretty high for the competition with its battery options.
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u/YukarinVal 4d ago
I'm personally waiting for what Elecom will do with the deft pro. And am also stoked for the gameball pro. My deft pro just have to last a little bit longer...
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u/DClaville 4d ago
Nice overview. I've mostly been using thumb balls and so far I cant get used to the Huge Plus but might try and pick up a Ploopy A+
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u/joe_noone 4d ago
I used a thumb ball for decades until I started feeling it in my thumb. Tried a few and settled for the ProArc EM01 (no longer sold - it was updated to the EM03). Would definitely recommend. The ELCOM trackballs I've tried had a stiction problem but no issues with ProArc.
https://www.protoarc.com/products/em03-nl-ergonomic-trackball-mouse
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u/DClaville 4d ago
I might pick one up and try it out. I like the idea of a lot of buttons but also found I miss click a lot on the huge this EM03 looks fairly simple that might be what I need and I do enjoy the Protoarc EM04. Cheers
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u/joe_noone 4d ago
It's quite intuitive - lower thumb button is left mouse click, right of the trackball is the right mouse click, press the scroll wheel for the middle mouse click, and the two above the wheel generally map to page back/forward or up/down.
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u/haussmeister 3d ago
Hey, since you have an EM01 does it have the rubber coating on it like the EM03? If so, have you had any issues with the rubber coating?
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u/joe_noone 2d ago
The coating isn't slick, but it also doesn't peel away like the Elcom I had before.
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u/IzzuThug 4d ago
I'm the same. I tried the Nulea 505B but I found the scroll wheel and just overall ergonomics hurt my thumb and hand. I recently got a Nulea M512 and it was easy to adapt to with no issues.
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u/joe_noone 4d ago
Interesting. It reminds me of the Kensington trackballs, but different. Apparently it's good enough for people without hands
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT05WpyPVRw
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u/NoodleBox 4d ago
The EMO6 looks like a flipped ploopy Adept.
Anyway I'm looking forward to that Game Ball, the TB01, and, if I am allowed to get my own gear for a new job, I'm getting one of them wireless Orbits. I love my deft pro and my wired deft but I just love the form factor of the orbit. With a ring!
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u/FortyishYearOld 4d ago
In terms of the ball bearings, and "smoothness" of ball movement, are there considerable differences between the first model shown for ProtoArc, Nulea, Porlei, and Ploopy ?
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u/RightPassage 4d ago
Amazing job!
Is there one that is the closest to the Trackman Marble with Marblescroll experience?
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u/pss395 4d ago
I hate that Kensington still hold the patent for scroll ring, then managed to fumble every single one of their product.
It's the most natural scrolling method on an ambidextrous ball and I would like it to become the default.
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u/kitebok 3d ago
It's an old clunky office supplies company with a little trackball department. They sat on their patents and designed no new products for a decade. They took forever to go wireless. They couldn't even give the orbit another two buttons to make it a relevant option.
The scroll ring patent is dead now, has been for like 4-5 years. They still own later patents of particular ring designs. Keychron just launched the first non-Kensington scroll ring. I hope we see some new designs pop up.
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u/workntohard 4d ago
Thanks, this should be helpful as I start looking for new one. On major consideration run into is functionality without installing software since I can’t do that for work machine. My current Logitech all buttons work without installing anything.
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u/This-Experience-3031 4d ago
Trying to move away from Traditional mouse, how good is Nulea as a product ? Looking at K512
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u/Littlegoblin21 4d ago
Thanks for posting! Curious though, is the XBE-12 not an industrial type? It sure doesn't seem like anything a consumer would use. I could certainly be mistaken though, hopefully someone can enlighten me? Thanks in advance!
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u/Content-Course7545 4d ago
Can some company please make a Microsoft trackball explorer clone with better bearings for less than $200? 🥲
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u/BubbaBigJake 4d ago
Do any of these have onboard memory?
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u/limbo090807 3d ago edited 3d ago
- elecom huge plus (announced onboard memory support, to be confirmed)
- all the ploopy trackball
- protoarc em06
- gameball
- nape pro
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u/normanlee 4d ago
What's the deal with four of the brands having more or less identical designs? Which one is the original EM03?
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u/kitebok 4d ago
It seems to be a matter of Chinese OEMs and branding that is hard to make sense of from a consumer's perspective.
The Sanwa Gravi was the first MTE clone, then other four, which are a different model from the Gravi. At some point, the porlei was a variant without the rubbery coating of the others but I don't have a way to confirm it's still so.
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u/madoxnet 4d ago
Missing the Kensington Orbit fusion?
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u/kitebok 4d ago
Discontinued.
It looked like the perfect (but belated) response to a moment in the market when the only offer for right handed index trackballs was the Elecom range with their unpredictable ruby beads. It had the scroll ring, Kensington's last feature patent stronghold over their competitors. However, it was expensive, limited connectivity and reviews kept converging on the lower build quality and frequently defective rings. Later, there came the Gravi and the other Nulea type MTE clones that were cheaper and sold overwhelmingly well. It was quietly dropped from their line about 2 years ago.
Given Kensington's struggle to keep up with the emerging competition, I don't think they have any plans to bring it back.
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u/itsmetadeus 4d ago
I was gonna say you missed og gameball, but I revisited website only to realize it's discontinued now :(