ELECOM HUGE Trackball Mouse, 2.4GHz Wireless, Finger Control, 8-Button Function, Palm Rest Attached, 52mm Smooth Red Ball, Windows11, MacOS (M-HT1DRBK)

Don’t be put off by the reviews on this page, which at first sight are horrifying news for anyone considering buying the Elecom M-HT1DRBK “HUGE” wireless trackball. A third of the purchasers found it unsatisfactory or barely good enough (up to three stars). There clearly is or was once a quality control problem with the artificial ruby bearings for the trackball. On the other hand, two thirds of the buyers are extremely satisfied or even ecstatic, and there is no problem returning an item to Amazon. Besides, the cure for the bearing problem is known, cheap, safe and quick, a ten minute job with a screwdriver and instructions freely available on YouTube. In addition, the choice of solid large, multifunctional trackball mice is basically this Elecom or its sister, the Elecom EX-G Pro, which is built with the same upmarket components, including the ruby bearings. I decided to take the small risk.My Elecom HUGE is one of the good ones (or later ones, if it was a batch problem, now solved), with a creamy-smooth action on the trackball, feather light switches, one heavier switch just where I want it, and a slight stiction on the scroll-wheel which adds to the precision. You’ll see I gave five stars, so count me among the happy customers. If a finer grading were available, my rating would be 4-3/4 stars because one of the switches is too light for it to be ergonomic in that position — for me. Also, the mostly plain black styling with just the big metallic red trackball (diameter 52mm!) and a smidgin of chrome on the scroll-wheel, while intricate and extravagantly curved, in the eyes of an artist like me should have been further relieved of its blackness. So the quarter-star deduction is for personal ergonomic preferences and to mark an overdose of Japanese “professional” styling, a.k.a. too much bloody matt black, not fundamental faults.Obviously, I consider the Elecom HUGE good value for money; the nearest comparable Kensington costs twice as much and offers less. The HUGE is solidly built and feels like quality in the hand. I wonder, however, whether the self-skinned soft polypad which adds so much to the comfort of operating the HUGE will last the decade or more of hard use the rest of the trackball seems good for. (If the memory foam skin does wear while the trackball survives, I’ll glue on tan leather cut to shape.)The ergonomics are excellent, with large, huge and massive buttons, and would suit a hand of any size, including very large hands. The hand is spread across the big expanse of the aptly-named HUGE, with the thumb operating three of the buttons plus the four-function scroll wheel, including yet another button function, which I instantly allocated to the left click because it is heavier and louder than the other switches, in the instance of the left click a very good thing. An ergonomic error — for me anyway — was making one of the assignable buttons, the piano key under my little finger, as light as the others. The little finger is just not as controllable as the other fingers. In fairness, it must be said that the designer apparently intended the ring finger to operate this button, with the little finger being unallocated. I therefore assigned no function to this button. As a result I control the ball with my two middle fingers, which is another big win in precision, especially since the HUGE offers three resolutions (500, 1000, 1500dpi) selectable on-the-fly with a slider button under the thumb, so that you can make pixel-perfect adjustments on any size of screen, useful in making fine art or graphic design, indispensable in engineering work, and even in typing or editing when the cursor needs to be placed precisely but quickly every few seconds. I’ve also reassigned the default left-click thumb button to the Mac’s COMMAND modifier key (the propeller) because it is too easy to press such a large, responsive switch and get unwanted results if a direct action is assigned to it. This trackball is so customisable and feature-rich, it reminds me of nothing so much as a puppy eager to please.A word about the control assignment software: The earlier software has been rewritten and repackaged, including into English, and is now excellent, regardless of what you may read in the reviews here. It is easy to make the basic button assignments, and you can even use the trackball for gestures, similar to gestures on Apple’s Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad. Counting the scroll-wheel’s click and tilt functions as buttons, there are ten buttons, which with the variations and the gesture programmer give no fewer than 160 possible functions. It is well worth spending some time reading the help files for the function allocation software accessible through the software dialogue box. For those with much more intricate needs (games players, perhaps?) I’ve also tested the HUGE with USB-Overdrive aftermarket peripheral management software (free with advertising, $20 without), which is potentially more powerful than Elecom’s free software, but only if you know what you’re doing. On the whole, I think most buyers of the HUGE will find Elecom’s layman-friendly software serves them well.So who is the Elecom M-HT1DRBK “HUGE” wireless trackball recommended for? I’m a writer, an editor, a typographer, an industrial designer, and a painter both in traditional media and digitally. In each of those avocations by itself Elecom’s HUGE would be worth the money and considerably more to me, so for each of them the trackball adds far more convenience than the trivial cost per job. Music and video editing, which I occasionally do, also uses the same facilities and speedy precision. The question isn’t really whether the HUGE is great value for money, but whether each individual buyer would get on better with the HUGE layout of the trackball on top and the scroll-wheel at the side, or with the reverse layout of the sister EX-G PRO, which has the scroll-wheel on top and the trackball at the side, which when you change over to the trackball is a straight transition from the common Microsoft-style mice with a consequent shorter learning curve. Personally, I think the trackball on top with the scroll-wheel on the side, as in the HUGE, offers the best ergonomics — and the learning curve was anyway pretty short.The Elecom M-HT1DRBK “HUGE” is definitely recommended.

So you are prob like myself. a firm lover of the Microsoft Trackball Explorer's. Having owned both versions of the MS trackball, i have always been a firm believer in them. in fact i have 4 at home. one in the workshop. the rest used for my normal PC.the thing is. they arent cheap.. even when brand new they were almost £80. and now because of the rarity of them, you find Brand new ones or 2nd hand but almost perfect ones for almost £200.Scary prices for a device..Logitech made an alternative. personally i never like them. they were always the lesser of the brands out there. there was a couple of others, but they didnt last long in the scheme of things..so when my last trackball was wearing out, i went on ebay and then Amazon looking for a new one.By Luck i found this Beasty..Size wise its almost the same.the Ball is almost in the same place.but it looked really nice..Programmable buttons, soft padding, Wireless.and CHEAP... well almost £40.. but for a trackball thats Cheap.SO ordered it. turned up today..First thoughts..Wow.. everything is in Chinese/japanese (made in China but i think its japanese branding)that matters not. has the dongle, has batteries..10 mins later its on the PC and running.right away its smooth.. like fluid smooth..the ball is like nothing is there. it floats within the housing.the mouse icon glides effortless across the screen.i start flicking buttons.. its got some interesting defaults..downloaded the latest software for it.so easy to program the extra options.first thing was to go and play some games on steam.which it handled without issues.flicking from screen to screen, was a breeze..i think the Microsoft one has met its match.whilst i will keep my old ones. im going to buy a couple of these new HUGE ones.not just for spares, i have systems in the workshop and else where that i need one for..So if you are looking at this, wondering if its worth getting hold of seeing as the Microsoft one has worn the bearings out, or the buttons have jammed up.. Go for it.. Well worth it