Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman review

Logitech finally has a product that can compete with rival trackballs from Kensington and Microsoft.

Logitech has updated its trackball mouse range with the sleek, silver-and-black Cordless Optical Trackman. Rather than have the trackball positioned so it can be controlled with the thumb like most trackballs, this model is manoeuvred using your fingers.

As you might expect, the Trackman uses an optical sensing mechanism, so there are few moving parts that can become clogged up, plus wireless technology to provide a cable-free connection.

Like most mice and trackballs these days, it has a scrolling wheel that allows you to skim quickly through long documents. However, it also boasts two 'cruise control' buttons on either side of this wheel that perform a similar function. They allow you to continuously scroll up or down simply by pressing the button and holding it down.

Another uncommon feature is the Drag-Lock button, which simplifies the click-and-drag action that normally requires you to hold down the left mouse button while you drag items around the desktop. There's clearly been a lot of thought put into the design of the Optical Trackman. Its unconventional button layout may take a while to get used to, but features such as the Drag-Lock button are very handy.

We did notice a few rough edges. The scrolling wheel is recessed into the top of the unit, so you have to make a slight effort to push down and make sure that it scrolls properly. The cruise control and Drag-Lock buttons are also very small, so you don't always feel like you're making solid contact.

You can reprogram the buttons using Logitech's Mouseware program. This doesn't run under Mac OS X, though, and on a Mac with Mac OS 9 the software sometimes wrongly identified the trackball as an ordinary mouse, which makes it difficult to reprogram the buttons. This isn't a huge problem as most people will be perfectly happy to work with the default settings.

However, Logitech is working on a new control program called the Logitech Control Centre (LCC), which should sort out these problems and is also OS X-compatible. A beta version of LCC is already available on Logitech's Web site, and the final version should be available soon.

Trackballs are a matter of personal taste, so we'd recommend that you try before you buy. But with the Optical Trackman, Logitech finally has a product that can compete with rival trackballs from Kensington and Microsoft.