You can watch these trackball reviews on youtube for a month and never see a person with tiny hands. It’s honestly fascinating how much large hands and trackball usage correlate.
Thanks for the detailed review! My Gameball is arriving today so I watched your video as a sort of "primer"; I was already convinced to purchase it by folks on Reddit but your video really sealed the deal. I'm confident I'm going to love this trackball.
I really like that this is not thumb operated and can be used with the left hand. I injured my right hand last month and have been using a Kensington Orbit with the scroll ring with my left hand while my right hand heals. This seems like a nice upgrade.
Thanks for the video. I'm replacing my second Kensington Orbit. Seems to be a weakness in the design of the left click button. Either it doesn't click, clicks prematurely, or double-clicks on its own. Same thing on the first one before I replaced that one. Like you, I have big hands, so I need something that will fit. As a trackball user, I keep my index finger and middle finger on the ball, left-click with my thumb, and right-click with my ring finger. When I need to use the scroll wheel, I use my middle fingertip. Your review showed exactly how I use my Orbit, and after watching this video, I just pulled the trigger.
Recently discovered this trackball.. very intrigued with it. Been primarily a trackball user for many years. Not so much for gaming per-se, I do that less these days. I've been daily driving the Kensington Slimblade Trackball, and am yet to find its peer for me. This one is very interesting and I might give it a spin.
I'm still on the fence about some of the newer trackballs. I used a MS Trackball Explorer for over 15 years before it really started having issues which were the bearings that the ball ride on were wearing down a bit. I think Microsoft really nailed it with the design on that mouse. It has the left and right click buttons mapped like this one, but scroll wheel is in between them similar to a regular mouse and the forward and backward buttons are on the right side where they can be operated with the ring and pinky fingers. Your whole hand can rest on it, but its strictly right-hand. I feel like you get better ergonomics when its specific to left and right hand models. The biggest reason I'm not sold on the Gameball yet is the touch pad. I like the design of it and that the buttons can be remapped, but having the scroll in the touchpad right next to the trackball seems like it would take some getting used to. If you're in a game and you use the scroll wheel to cycle weapons, items or whatever and you're bumping it when you move the trackball, it seems like it could get pretty annoying. I have considered the Sanwa Gravi because it's more like the MS Trackball Explorer, but I can't find a lot of info on it.
Something I've learnt about those smooth rubbery coatings is that they'll degrade into a sticky mess that can't be fixed. Unfortunately all the gear I've had with that finish ends up nastying up in 4 years or so.
I feel like with trackballs, one of the bigger issues is dealing with different hand sizes since there's no adjustments you can make other than hand placement. Also having buttons that press IN rather than down for super important right click(when using right handed) seems like an ergonomic nightmare. To me it would make more sense to have a right click that presses TOWARDS you, angled in a more vertical way so that your middle/ring finger can do the pulling action while being at an angled at-rest position, if that makes sense.
I cut up an old mouse pad and added layers to the left and right click so they would stand out a little more and make it easier to press. Right clicking on this thing is a nightmare. Top buttons are too large and require a lot of strength to click, and are basically worthless. Clicking anything will move the cursor. I'm told that overtime the muscle memory will kick in and this will go away. without modifying, I wouldn't use this.
Im excited to try the Gameball. It seems prefect. Though I’m super interested in the Ploopy classic. I just have bad luck with 3d prints so, until I get my own printer for quick repairs and such, I won’t be getting a Ploopy. Soon though, after some sales.
I also pre-ordered the Gameball directly and have had it here for some time now. I also love the quality, as a classic Logitech Mx Ergo user, the button arrangement takes a bit of getting used to. The ball does indeed roll much better than all my (Logitech, Perixx, Elecom) other trackballs. I personally love the horizontal scrolling, which is great for video editing. The only negative thing is that I find the Gameball too light. It has happened to me several times that I move the device when clicking. What I do not manage at all to control as precisely and accurately as with my thumb ball (Mx Ergo). I don't know if that's just getting used to it or the nature of it is that the thumb is more precise.
As an MX Ergo user, this was informative. Thanks! Lately, the Ergo scroll wheel has been driving me crazy. I really wish there was an upgraded MX Ergo with the same scroll wheel that's in the MX Master.
'I was not fond of those angled side buttons myself when I had mine, as it was too difficult to press long turn during gaming, even after months of getting used to it. But I loved the no software option and trackball itself as it's one of the best I've ever used. I have high hopes for the New trackball versions the company is currently working on that are set for release later this year & next. And I'll be purchasing on day one as the company makes solid performing trackball mice based on my time with Gameball.
A mechanical scroll wheel is a must. I also use my current trackball with my fingertips, so the fact that this dictates that you use it ham-handed makes it a non-starter. Thanks for the info. I almost ended up with one of these.
Good to see a comparison against the Logitech Marble Mouse. I've been using a Marble Mouse for many years, and the Gameball looks like the upgrade I've been wanting for a while. I always use the Marble Mouse with my hand pushed up like at 13:13, so I don't think I'll have too big of a problem adjusting to the Gameball's grip. I'm not totally sold on that touch-scroll though, because as mentioned in this review, I think I'd end up having my ring finger accidentally bumping up on the touch-scroll a lot. Also, I'm curious if the Gameball's buttons are harder/heavier to press compared to the Marble Mouse. If I only use a pinky finger to press the Gameball's right-side buttons, are they hard to press? Would it be hard to hold down a right-side button with your pinky while rolling the ball around? It's a shame the Gameball is so expensive though. I guess high quality trackballs are a niche market, so it would be hard to lower the costs. Hopefully there are discounts soon.
Funny that you had a problem with the sensitivity of the touchpad, because I didn’t even know it existed until watching your video. I think it must be a usability issue related to how you specifically hold/use it. I have never had to use the floating finger. I’m not a gamer, just a businessperson who went to trackballs when I had elbow issues with excessive traditional mouse use and didn’t like the amount of real estate the mousepad required on my keyboard drawer. I am exactly the person you say this trackball is NOT targeted to, but I’m happy to pay a premium price for a premium product. I have collected many trackballs over the years, including my previous go-to, the Microsoft Trackball Explorer, for which I paid an equally premium price for a USED model on Amazon. The Gameball has revolutionized my trackball usage, and the single most important design plus for me is the smoothness of the movement. The M570 and Ergo both became “sticky” pretty quickly for me, making it very frustrating to make small movements with the pointer. I’ve also not had to clean out the Gameball nearly as often. Overall, can agree enthusiastically with your review, with the proviso that the negatives you note are not negatives for me. I will be checking out the touchpad as I was using the small left button for that and it doesn’t always work as intended (often switches windows instead of scrolling because of the “click”). This has become the device I recommend to every other trackball user out there, and try to convert traditional users to trackballs using it, although the increased functionality in the firmware is welcome.
Between this and the Ploopy Classic, I wanted to get the Ploopy just to support its open-source nature, but... they're charging 50 bucks to ship it to Europe vs just under 11 for the GameBall. These trackballs ain't cheap in the first place, so to add a shipping cost that high on top of it just broke that deal for me. When it comes to the GameBall, however, I'm definitely going to be waiting for a showcase of their Pro version where the scroll wheel problem you had should be remedied, since they'll add a physical scroll wheel (similar to Kensington's, I imagine). I'm excited to see it.
i feel you're hard on the elecom trackballs.. especially the ruby bearings.. that's not what causes the jittery movement.. those balls are smooth as silk.. the problem is their placement.. see the ball isn't fully resting on them. it's resting on 3 plastic nubbins around the "use finger here to remove ball" hole.. they arn't bearings. just 3 little nubbins of plastic.. once you apply teflon dry lubricant to the ball and let it dry it is smooth as silk too
Appreciate the in depth review. I have wrist pain using a normal mouse while gaming and was considering options to help reduce it (vertical mouse, trackball) and the build quality sold me on this one.
How does the ball compare to the Kensington Expert Mouse, both in size and weight? I use the Expert Mouse as the gold standard to compare other trackballs to as u prefer bigger, heavy balls.
Totally agree on the scroll ring issue: should never be touch (this is so obvious and I really wonder why touch scroll rings ever got around any trackball as this inevitably puts a serious limit to ergonomics)
What you said about how the Gameball dictates where you hold it explains my issues with it so well I hadn’t thought of it that way. I wanted to like it so bad, but I could never get a position where the buttons and ball where both comfortable at the same time Also hated the touch controls. It’s just in the way of resting fingers, and touch controls are just inferior for my personal usability Great review!
just getting into trackballs for wrist pain related reasons. i'll hold off on this one (maybe will check out the next generations) because wireless is a must for me. macbooks nowadays don't come with regular usb because apple decided you're not supposed to use them, and i hate dongles because they're clunky and they break.
Great review. In my case you've been preaching to the choir - I was planning to get GameBall for a long time and I'll get it as soon as my budget allows :) I don't think that the "average customer" would be using a trackball - any trackball. I see them being used in a very specific jobs and applications like CAD, video and sound editing or by people with very specific tastes or needs. I mean, I've been using trackballs for over 20 years now and I've never met personally anyone else using them. It seems we are few and far between. All the better that the premium product like GameBall is now available.
My thoughts: Very similar to my Logitech Trackman Marble Wish they would make a Bluetooth version Wish they sold the Red Version too I made my Logitech Trackman scroll by holding down modifier key and click or click hold left and right with the AWESOME Mac software. SteerMouse I can scroll. Left right in my DAW. And I can Zoom in my daw with same buttons. Different modifiers. That software is unbelievable. Why is this mouse called gameball Yes I know gamers But it is as much a musician or video mouse. I think gameball is selling itself short concentrating on only gamers. I love the Logitech Trackman And am thinking of getting this Gameball for my audio editing IF and only IF the SteerMouse software supports it. If you’ve never hear of the software. TH-cam it. I’m afraid. That scroll on Gameball may accidentally get touched as I edit. Promote this to the working audio and video guys!!!
I use the elecom huge. love it. went and bought a thumb ball ergo M575. Love the index middle finger track balls more. Thumb was ok for just day to day operations but for gaming it sucked lol. But my elecom is getting old and quiet literally falling apart now. This looks like a decent mouse and looks to have near the same hold style as the elecom huge. How is the dpi vs gaming though?
I'm going to wait until their second product to see what they improve. The Linux jank and touchpad put me off enough to return this model. Also while most of the build quality is great at least in my unit the cable connection to the body felt flimsy, although I suspect that may just be unit to unit variance. Definitely good to see some more competition in the market though!
Their second product, at least from a video of theirs a while back, is going to be a thumb ball trackball for ergo users... I kind of wish they'd do their ORIGINAL ergonomic design that was right-hand-focused (and make a smaller # of lefty ones if possible) since it was really lovely in shape and basic/easy to get to everything without a ton of weird positioning like elecom ones require (and this one to an extent)-the indiegogo version... but the thumb balls are impossible for me to use without pain.
No one ever mentions what MY eyes land on first seeing the back: "Made in GB" which I'm fairly sure doesn't mean GameBall though that's handy... How rare to have something made in the UK in this era... there's your reason for quality (unless they DID make a lawsuit blunder which I doubt they're so dumb to do since it'd be a massive headache getting handed fines from a nation abroad).
Thats exactly where I am at, like, I spent a hundred bucks thinking itd be worth a hundred bucks. There are 10 dollar micr around every floor in our office slung in drawers and beaten about with switches that may outlast the cockroaches who outlast a nuclear fallout. But these logitech mice are so damn frail from literally, regular use
You can watch these trackball reviews on youtube for a month and never see a person with tiny hands. It’s honestly fascinating how much large hands and trackball usage correlate.
So Trump doesn’t use a trackball?
Jk, but my hands are kind of medium sized and I like them
Thanks for the detailed review! My Gameball is arriving today so I watched your video as a sort of "primer"; I was already convinced to purchase it by folks on Reddit but your video really sealed the deal. I'm confident I'm going to love this trackball.
I really like that this is not thumb operated and can be used with the left hand.
I injured my right hand last month and have been using a Kensington Orbit with the scroll ring with my left hand while my right hand heals. This seems like a nice upgrade.
Thanks for the video. I'm replacing my second Kensington Orbit. Seems to be a weakness in the design of the left click button. Either it doesn't click, clicks prematurely, or double-clicks on its own. Same thing on the first one before I replaced that one. Like you, I have big hands, so I need something that will fit. As a trackball user, I keep my index finger and middle finger on the ball, left-click with my thumb, and right-click with my ring finger. When I need to use the scroll wheel, I use my middle fingertip. Your review showed exactly how I use my Orbit, and after watching this video, I just pulled the trigger.
Recently discovered this trackball.. very intrigued with it.
Been primarily a trackball user for many years. Not so much for gaming per-se, I do that less these days.
I've been daily driving the Kensington Slimblade Trackball, and am yet to find its peer for me.
This one is very interesting and I might give it a spin.
Been waiting for this! Hope you had a great vacation man!
I picked it up from the post office last Saturday and am very pleased with it.
I'm still on the fence about some of the newer trackballs. I used a MS Trackball Explorer for over 15 years before it really started having issues which were the bearings that the ball ride on were wearing down a bit. I think Microsoft really nailed it with the design on that mouse. It has the left and right click buttons mapped like this one, but scroll wheel is in between them similar to a regular mouse and the forward and backward buttons are on the right side where they can be operated with the ring and pinky fingers. Your whole hand can rest on it, but its strictly right-hand. I feel like you get better ergonomics when its specific to left and right hand models.
The biggest reason I'm not sold on the Gameball yet is the touch pad. I like the design of it and that the buttons can be remapped, but having the scroll in the touchpad right next to the trackball seems like it would take some getting used to. If you're in a game and you use the scroll wheel to cycle weapons, items or whatever and you're bumping it when you move the trackball, it seems like it could get pretty annoying.
I have considered the Sanwa Gravi because it's more like the MS Trackball Explorer, but I can't find a lot of info on it.
Something I've learnt about those smooth rubbery coatings is that they'll degrade into a sticky mess that can't be fixed. Unfortunately all the gear I've had with that finish ends up nastying up in 4 years or so.
I feel like with trackballs, one of the bigger issues is dealing with different hand sizes since there's no adjustments you can make other than hand placement. Also having buttons that press IN rather than down for super important right click(when using right handed) seems like an ergonomic nightmare. To me it would make more sense to have a right click that presses TOWARDS you, angled in a more vertical way so that your middle/ring finger can do the pulling action while being at an angled at-rest position, if that makes sense.
I cut up an old mouse pad and added layers to the left and right click so they would stand out a little more and make it easier to press. Right clicking on this thing is a nightmare. Top buttons are too large and require a lot of strength to click, and are basically worthless. Clicking anything will move the cursor. I'm told that overtime the muscle memory will kick in and this will go away. without modifying, I wouldn't use this.
If I didn't already have a Ploopy Classic, I'd get one of these for sure.
Im excited to try the Gameball. It seems prefect. Though I’m super interested in the Ploopy classic. I just have bad luck with 3d prints so, until I get my own printer for quick repairs and such, I won’t be getting a Ploopy. Soon though, after some sales.
I also pre-ordered the Gameball directly and have had it here for some time now. I also love the quality, as a classic Logitech Mx Ergo user, the button arrangement takes a bit of getting used to.
The ball does indeed roll much better than all my (Logitech, Perixx, Elecom) other trackballs.
I personally love the horizontal scrolling, which is great for video editing.
The only negative thing is that I find the Gameball too light. It has happened to me several times that I move the device when clicking.
What I do not manage at all to control as precisely and accurately as with my thumb ball (Mx Ergo). I don't know if that's just getting used to it or the nature of it is that the thumb is more precise.
As an MX Ergo user, this was informative. Thanks! Lately, the Ergo scroll wheel has been driving me crazy. I really wish there was an upgraded MX Ergo with the same scroll wheel that's in the MX Master.
Nice review, you definitely deserve more attention
'I was not fond of those angled side buttons myself when I had mine, as it was too difficult to press long turn during gaming, even after months of getting used to it. But I loved the no software option and trackball itself as it's one of the best I've ever used. I have high hopes for the New trackball versions the company is currently working on that are set for release later this year & next. And I'll be purchasing on day one as the company makes solid performing trackball mice based on my time with Gameball.
A mechanical scroll wheel is a must. I also use my current trackball with my fingertips, so the fact that this dictates that you use it ham-handed makes it a non-starter. Thanks for the info. I almost ended up with one of these.
Good to see a comparison against the Logitech Marble Mouse. I've been using a Marble Mouse for many years, and the Gameball looks like the upgrade I've been wanting for a while. I always use the Marble Mouse with my hand pushed up like at 13:13, so I don't think I'll have too big of a problem adjusting to the Gameball's grip. I'm not totally sold on that touch-scroll though, because as mentioned in this review, I think I'd end up having my ring finger accidentally bumping up on the touch-scroll a lot. Also, I'm curious if the Gameball's buttons are harder/heavier to press compared to the Marble Mouse. If I only use a pinky finger to press the Gameball's right-side buttons, are they hard to press? Would it be hard to hold down a right-side button with your pinky while rolling the ball around? It's a shame the Gameball is so expensive though. I guess high quality trackballs are a niche market, so it would be hard to lower the costs. Hopefully there are discounts soon.
Great review. I agree about the scroll wheel, I'd buy this immediately if it had a physical one.
Funny that you had a problem with the sensitivity of the touchpad, because I didn’t even know it existed until watching your video. I think it must be a usability issue related to how you specifically hold/use it. I have never had to use the floating finger.
I’m not a gamer, just a businessperson who went to trackballs when I had elbow issues with excessive traditional mouse use and didn’t like the amount of real estate the mousepad required on my keyboard drawer. I am exactly the person you say this trackball is NOT targeted to, but I’m happy to pay a premium price for a premium product. I have collected many trackballs over the years, including my previous go-to, the Microsoft Trackball Explorer, for which I paid an equally premium price for a USED model on Amazon. The Gameball has revolutionized my trackball usage, and the single most important design plus for me is the smoothness of the movement. The M570 and Ergo both became “sticky” pretty quickly for me, making it very frustrating to make small movements with the pointer. I’ve also not had to clean out the Gameball nearly as often.
Overall, can agree enthusiastically with your review, with the proviso that the negatives you note are not negatives for me. I will be checking out the touchpad as I was using the small left button for that and it doesn’t always work as intended (often switches windows instead of scrolling because of the “click”). This has become the device I recommend to every other trackball user out there, and try to convert traditional users to trackballs using it, although the increased functionality in the firmware is welcome.
Between this and the Ploopy Classic, I wanted to get the Ploopy just to support its open-source nature, but... they're charging 50 bucks to ship it to Europe vs just under 11 for the GameBall. These trackballs ain't cheap in the first place, so to add a shipping cost that high on top of it just broke that deal for me. When it comes to the GameBall, however, I'm definitely going to be waiting for a showcase of their Pro version where the scroll wheel problem you had should be remedied, since they'll add a physical scroll wheel (similar to Kensington's, I imagine). I'm excited to see it.
i feel you're hard on the elecom trackballs.. especially the ruby bearings.. that's not what causes the jittery movement.. those balls are smooth as silk.. the problem is their placement.. see the ball isn't fully resting on them. it's resting on 3 plastic nubbins around the "use finger here to remove ball" hole.. they arn't bearings. just 3 little nubbins of plastic.. once you apply teflon dry lubricant to the ball and let it dry it is smooth as silk too
Appreciate the in depth review. I have wrist pain using a normal mouse while gaming and was considering options to help reduce it (vertical mouse, trackball) and the build quality sold me on this one.
So, how did it go? Did you stick with it?
How does the ball compare to the Kensington Expert Mouse, both in size and weight? I use the Expert Mouse as the gold standard to compare other trackballs to as u prefer bigger, heavy balls.
scrolling on chrome books you hold left and right mouse. works awesome on the trackman
Totally agree on the scroll ring issue: should never be touch (this is so obvious and I really wonder why touch scroll rings ever got around any trackball as this inevitably puts a serious limit to ergonomics)
What you said about how the Gameball dictates where you hold it explains my issues with it so well I hadn’t thought of it that way. I wanted to like it so bad, but I could never get a position where the buttons and ball where both comfortable at the same time
Also hated the touch controls. It’s just in the way of resting fingers, and touch controls are just inferior for my personal usability
Great review!
just getting into trackballs for wrist pain related reasons. i'll hold off on this one (maybe will check out the next generations) because wireless is a must for me. macbooks nowadays don't come with regular usb because apple decided you're not supposed to use them, and i hate dongles because they're clunky and they break.
Great review. This would be a fairly nice trackball, but that touch scroll is a huge dealbreaker for me, exactly for the reasons you mentioned.
Great review. In my case you've been preaching to the choir - I was planning to get GameBall for a long time and I'll get it as soon as my budget allows :)
I don't think that the "average customer" would be using a trackball - any trackball. I see them being used in a very specific jobs and applications like CAD, video and sound editing or by people with very specific tastes or needs. I mean, I've been using trackballs for over 20 years now and I've never met personally anyone else using them. It seems we are few and far between. All the better that the premium product like GameBall is now available.
This finally looks like a really nice trackball mouse, but great dealbreaker for me is the price and availability on the European market
thorough review
My thoughts:
Very similar to my Logitech Trackman Marble
Wish they would make a Bluetooth version
Wish they sold the Red Version too
I made my Logitech Trackman scroll by holding down modifier key and click or click hold left and right with the AWESOME Mac software. SteerMouse I can scroll. Left right in my DAW. And I can Zoom in my daw with same buttons. Different modifiers. That software is unbelievable.
Why is this mouse called gameball
Yes I know gamers
But it is as much a musician or video mouse.
I think gameball is selling itself short concentrating on only gamers.
I love the Logitech Trackman
And am thinking of getting this Gameball for my audio editing IF and only IF the SteerMouse software supports it.
If you’ve never hear of the software. TH-cam it.
I’m afraid. That scroll on Gameball may accidentally get touched as I edit.
Promote this to the working audio and video guys!!!
I use the elecom huge. love it. went and bought a thumb ball ergo M575. Love the index middle finger track balls more. Thumb was ok for just day to day operations but for gaming it sucked lol. But my elecom is getting old and quiet literally falling apart now. This looks like a decent mouse and looks to have near the same hold style as the elecom huge. How is the dpi vs gaming though?
I feel like I’m in early on a good thing.
I would love this mouse in white
Thank you for the video. Would you recommend this over the L-Trac trackball?
it seems a bit too prescriptive in how it wants you to use it. I'm with you in preferring more open-ended designs like the expert.
I'm going to wait until their second product to see what they improve. The Linux jank and touchpad put me off enough to return this model. Also while most of the build quality is great at least in my unit the cable connection to the body felt flimsy, although I suspect that may just be unit to unit variance. Definitely good to see some more competition in the market though!
Their second product, at least from a video of theirs a while back, is going to be a thumb ball trackball for ergo users... I kind of wish they'd do their ORIGINAL ergonomic design that was right-hand-focused (and make a smaller # of lefty ones if possible) since it was really lovely in shape and basic/easy to get to everything without a ton of weird positioning like elecom ones require (and this one to an extent)-the indiegogo version... but the thumb balls are impossible for me to use without pain.
So unfortunate that there's no seller nor delivery in my region.
Same :(
Not available in my country :(
No one ever mentions what MY eyes land on first seeing the back: "Made in GB" which I'm fairly sure doesn't mean GameBall though that's handy... How rare to have something made in the UK in this era... there's your reason for quality (unless they DID make a lawsuit blunder which I doubt they're so dumb to do since it'd be a massive headache getting handed fines from a nation abroad).
Yes I think they have a branding issue... "Gameball" for €140,- ex. customs...
I don't think so.
Can you order all your Trackballs in the order you like?
No more rubber devices in my home. It always peel off.
😢They don't ship to Brazil
There aren't any discount code? :D
The price is still too high. They also don’t sell on any online retailers with easy returns. Worried I won’t like it and won’t be able to return it.
Now we need it in wireless
Donde lo puedo comprar
Comparing it to logitech its a disservice, their trackballs are almost disposable with the crappy switches logi uses.
Thats exactly where I am at, like, I spent a hundred bucks thinking itd be worth a hundred bucks. There are 10 dollar micr around every floor in our office slung in drawers and beaten about with switches that may outlast the cockroaches who outlast a nuclear fallout. But these logitech mice are so damn frail from literally, regular use
Why do I keep getting recommended this?
I don't know
it's a sign lol