Kensington pronounces two new trackballs at CES

Trackball stans, rejoice! Kensington, one of many few remaining producers of premium trackball mice, has introduced two new choices for the ergonomic diehards on the market. Kensington launched a pair of extra budget-friendly choices at CES 2023 with its new Pro Fit Ergo Trackball lineup, the $69.99 TB550 and $49.99 TB450. They be part of the $119.99 wi-fi SlimBlade Pro Trackball in Kensingtons’ trackball lineup, however the place the SlimBlade Pro is manipulated by the person’s fingers, the brand new choices depend on the thumb to get the cursor transferring.

Both the TB450 and TB550 provide the identical ergonomic form with the trackball stationed underneath the thumb and are suitable with Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS by way of both Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz wi-fi connections. The similarities finish there, nonetheless, with the TB450 outfitted with 5 programmable inputs and the TB550 utilizing seven. The dearer TB550 additionally features a tilt-capable scroll wheel and might be recharged by way of USB-C, whereas the TB450 is reliant on disposable batteries for energy.

Inputs for both trackball might be custom-made by way of the KensingtonWorks software program, which permits customers to regulate elements like DPI sensitivity, acceleration, and button mapping.

While trackballs positively fell out of favor with the appearance of extra superior optical sensors for mice, trackballs nonetheless take pleasure in a modest however extremely devoted following. Getting anybody to ditch their present mouse for a trackball in at present’s setting is a tall order, particularly contemplating how few choices exist on the market.

Kensington isn’t the one place that also makes trackballs, with Logitech nonetheless providing devoted trackball peripherals with the $49.99 Ergo M575 and $99.99 MX Ergo and Ploopy providing open-source trackballs that require somewhat soldering know-how. Here’s to hoping that with the TB450 and TB550 getting into the market someday in Q2 2023, we would see just a few extra individuals adopting trackballs into their residence workplace.