Firstly, I would not have had to pay for the mouse, so money was not the deciding factor (my medical insurance gives me rewards for exercising along with a 20% discount which would have covered the full cost).
I liked the idea of the trackball mouse, mainly for the ergonomics and supposed accuracy. I don't have shaky hands, but for someone who has, for example, lifting your finger off the trackball means zero mouse cursor movement while pressing the button. It also uses no movement on the surface, so can potentially take up less desk space (or be wired without the wire restricting any movement).
I had just decided on the Logitech MX Ergo Advanced mouse, when I read the linked article below. What clinched it for me was the following:
* A Standard mouse is quicker and more intuitive to jump directly to an area right on the other side of the screen (or your second or third screen) especially if you have your mouse acceleration set up correctly. There is no second or third finger scroll required, and your stop is more precise.
* The above is an absolute requirement for many games, especially first shooter games.
* Also highlighting text along a straight line, or drawing something across on a more straight line, can be easier with the standard mouse movement.
The ergonomics issue does require some further explanation, though. I don't have the sore wrist or other syndromes whilst using my standard mouse, mainly because I have a mouse pad with a raised wrist rest. My wrist stays static, and I just move my palm left/right or up/down. I'm pretty certain that without that good wrist pad, I would have a sore wrist or arm.
I have noticed some minor issues the last few weeks, where the cursor tracking loses itself slightly (which I why I thought about a trackball mouse). But I see that my mouse pad surface has warped a bit over time, and some contact gets lost nearer the edges.
So what I'm actually going to do, is to spend some time now looking for a good mouse pad replacement, with a good wrist rest as well.
I won't say I'm never going to get a trackball mouse, but I'm not rushing into it any more. I'll maybe try testing one out properly first to see if the issues above would really be problematic for me.
Furthermore, I realise there is a learning curve to optimally using a trackball mouse, and it also seems some thought is really needed about whether a thumb operated one vs fingers operated one is best. I'm actually now leaning more towards a fingers based one than a thumb based one. I do see a good Kensington model that is about 30% of the cost of the Logitech MX Ergo, which may be worth just getting to try out.
See
Trackball vs a Regular Mouse- When and For Whom?
On the fence about buying a trackball mouse? Read our point by point comparison between trackballs and regular mice in terms of ergonomics, productivity, and whom each one is best suited for.
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