Logitech Marble (904360-0403)

The Kingston trackball on my secondary workstation is physically shot. I attempted cleaning to no avail. The tracking forward, backward and to the right work reasonablely well, but it's nearly impossible to move the cursor to the left or in a diagonal movement. Therefore, I opted for a new purchase.

The Logitech Marble® (BC21)(904360-0403). Logitech has served me well for several years. My main computer system has the predecessor to this model. I believe from the initial offering of the trackballs in an ergonomic design (BC14).

Logitech is a solid company producing high-quality functioning products. My experience has always been right-out-of-the-box with them. Remove the packaging, make connections and play. The only product I have of theirs that I actually installed the supplied drivers is a wireless keyboard.

The Marble Mouse is no exception. Installation was as simple as plugging in the USB/PS2 connection (I elected the PS2 because the port was in use and to keep an USB port free), boot the system and continue as if nothing had changed.

I did approach device manager with a look at the Windows XP Pro installed drivers, to change some of the default settings and insure I could wake my system from standby by moving the ball. The factory settings were fine so I closed out of the windows maintaining my routine.

The Logitech Marble® (904360-0403) has style, flair with an elegant ergonomic design that is very comfortable. I have carpal tunnel and this little gem truly has eased much of the pain associated with carpal tunnel.

First thing you notice is the clean crisp hues of charcoal grey body with a deep grey teardrop shape buttons on the left and right sides with to smaller buttons on the larger two edges and the large red marble ball. The body when standing directly over it and looking straight down has an angle sculptured appearance of modern art.

The huge red marble ball accurately controls movement of the cursor in all directions. The two large buttons function in the same manner as on a regular mouse. You'll use the left button for the majority of your clicking needs and the right one for the selective properties clicking. Two smaller buttons adjoined to the two larger buttons provide additional functions. Reducing cursor movements even more -- by clicking on the small left-sided button web pages turn back to a previous page with each click and the right-sided small button locks the cursor while you move the marble ball up or down to scroll the page. Depressing the right-sided smaller button again returns the Logitech Marble® (904360-0403) back to its normal functions.

Should you install the software and drivers that are provided in the retail package with this trackball. You will probably have the capability of reprogramming the buttons functions. I haven't read the documentation on this because I've no need to for the Logitech Marble® (904360-0403) beyond the factory settings.

Another advantage of Logitech's Marble® (904360-0403) is the unit remains in a stationary position at all times. No moving it around merely to have your cable tangled. With a mouse, I'm positive you have experienced it on more then one occasion -- you never have enough desk real estate for the mouse to roam, you have to take time, lift the mouse to the original orientation in which you started, then a several times latter untangle the mouse tail. It seems like no big deal at the time but the amount of time it takes to reposition and untangle adds up quickly. Time you could have better spent on computer task or with your family. Those few minutes a day over years turn into days, weeks and months.

Size is an important issue, some mice are to small and some are to large. Same holds true for other cursor controlling devices as well. But I've found the Logitech Marble® (904360-0403) fits well to almost everyone. A child's hand to an adult male's.

As I mentioned earlier, I purchased the Logitech Marble® (904360-0403) as a replacement for a trackball gone bad. Because I had the earlier version of the Logitech Marble® (904360-0403) there was no question in my mind of what the replacement would be. Since this is the newer trackball from Logitech I have moved it to my main workstation and placed the older model on the secondary computer. I have a strong feeling that I'll be receiving a lot of use from the smaller two buttons sported on the Logitech Marble.

In the retail box, you will find one Logitech Marble® (904360-0403), with one USB to PS2 connector, a CD ROM with software and drivers, installation booklet, setup flyer and an available products booklet/page. Packaging is a at minium and secures the product.

The prices on these type of devices have drastically drop over the years. I remember when I spent $100 for my first trackball on sell. Today I acquired the Logitech Marble® (904360-0403) for $20. Fallen prices, improved technology, and ergonomics to keep us all happy and healthy.

I highly recommend you replace your mouse with one of these babies. Even if the mouse is working well -- you'll be delight you did.

Overview:

1] Small, compact, lightweight

2] Stylish, contemporary hues that fit well with traditional decor.

3]High-quality, dependable, a fully functional

4] Ergonomically designed for an improved computer experience.

5] Takes little desktop real estate. No cables to untangle, no repositioning to original point of origin.

6] There are no moving parts to malfunction or degrade over time. Optical tracking is outstanding.

7] Cleaning is a breeze, remove ball and wipe with a damp cloth, dry and reinsert ball again.

8] Most likely will never need replacing. Saves you money.

9] Logitech offers a 3-year limited hardware warranty.