gdgt

I have used the Logitech Trackman Wheel (gdgt.com­/logitech­/trackman­/wheel/) for years. I think I'm on my third one now. Have had to give them away to folks who used mine and loved it. I second skifellows' assertion. It fits the hand nicely. Many years ago i used one o the finger controlled balls (rather than this thumb controlled one) and this one just works better. I found the finger one rquired too much involvement of my wrist.

I configure mine so that the traditional button layout is swapped and my middle finger is the left click and my index finger is the right click. The wheel is middle click and I set up browsers to launch links in a new tab when that button is clicked.

I am not a gamer.

I'm using a Microsoft Optical trackball, which has a thumball, and switching between a mouse at home, and trackball at work is no problem, though when I installed the trackball, the contours encouraged me to move it like a mouse, at first. I'm surprised that nobody (other than Apple) has yet released a mouse+thumball combo, though maybe if we start seeing 3d desktops becoming popular, along with the new wave of 3d monitors.

That being said, it all comes down to how it feels under your thumb, which none of us can answer for you, and what you're going to be using it for, as I find Minesweeper unplayable with the trackball, but basic application stuff works out well enough.

I've used a Logitech Trackman for years (the thumb controlled variety). Love it!! The only thing that's made me put it down has been switching to Macs and now I've gotten so used to the touchpad gestures I can't live without those. The advantage of any trackball is it's stationary so takes very little room. You can put it in a spot that's ergonomically correct and leave it there. It doesn't move. Choosing between a thumb-operated or finger-operated version is probably going to be exclusively a matter of taste. I personally like moving the cursor with my thumb (the ball is optically read so there is virtually no friction) and using my index and middle finger to manipulate the buttons and wheel. It just feels very natural. Therefore, I'd recommend the thumb-operated variety, but go to a local store where you can demo them and try them both. See what you think...

I have been using a Trackman with thumball for years also. Most comfortable mouse device ever made. I liked it so much I bought a 2nd one to use with my laptop, even though it's not very portable. Because it's stationary, it fits in fairly small places, like next to your keyboard on a keyboard tray.

To be honest, I don't get the finger-controlled version -- it just doesn't look comfortable. The thumb version fits nicely in the hand, with thumb on ball, forefinger and middle finger on the two buttons, and the wheel accessible by the forefinger. But that's just me...

I've had years of experience with trackballs of various sorts from Logitech, Microsoft, Kensington, and others. Some of them have been great, some have been absolutely horrid. I would agree with the others here that a thumb-operated trackball is generally superior. My favorite is the Logitech Trackman Wheel, but Microsoft made a pretty good one as well.

I have used a Trackman Marble and never found them very comfortable or ergonomic. I find that I have to lift my index and middle fingers at an uncomfortable angle/height to manipulate the ball itself, and it tends to cause aching muscles in the wrist after a few hours. Plus, the mouse buttons are so far down on the base that your hand is held, even at rest, in an unnatural and uncomfortable position.

The thumb-manipulated trackball mice are much more comfortable to me, personally. My hand can rest in a very natural position draped over the mouse and my thumb rests right on top of the ball at a natural height. Plus, I still have a fully functional scroll wheel.

As someone else mentioned, the advantage of a trackball over a mouse is primarily twofold, less desk space and you can find a comfortable position for your arm/hand and leave it there. However, when you're gaming, there can be problems. Trackballs are useless for FPS games as you can't get both the speed and precision that you need out of them. Strategy or other slower games do fine (e.g., Civilization) and may even do better since there will be less fatigue from moving your hand around so much.

For reference, though, Kensington makes a slim mouse with a trackball where the scroll wheel would normally be (or they did, not sure if they still do). It could be converted on the fly from trackball mode to normal mouse mode, but the trackball was so small that it was nearly useless as that. Otherwise it was shaped like a traditional old-school mouse in that it wasn't ergonomic at all and was rather uncomfortable to manipulate. I didn't use it more than a few days before ditching it.

By the way, I mostly use a regular mouse or the Apple Trackpad nowadays. I'm comfortable switching between them all, and find the trackball to be the most comfortable, but the trackpad is also good and offers some multitouch gesture support that's difficult to replicate with a mouse or trackball.