ELECOM M-XT3DRBK Trackball Mouse

A few days ago I saw this thing on sale on SMZDM.

So I bought it, and I dragged along Ginio, who holds 99% of the global ass-selling market monopoly, to buy one too.

Didn’t expect it to arrive so fast—it landed on the last day of 2016, and three mice plus a CD somehow dodged customs. Probably used up all my luck for 2016.

First things first, I have a thing for trackballs. I bought three Logitech M570s just because of the trackball, but Logitech keeps dragging its feet on an update, and the current product has issues—the biggest being the middle button sucks.

I use the middle button a lot, especially when browsing the web, so I just put up with it.

And all three of my M570s have middle button problems—double-clicking, or just not responding. Replacing it yourself is a pain, nowhere near as simple as a normal microswitch, so I figured I’d try this Japanese one.

Been using it for almost a week now. The pros and cons are both pretty obvious.

• SMZDM’s description is full of crap—this is a 2.4G wireless mouse, not Bluetooth.
• The middle button is way better than the M570’s. The M570’s is just absurdly stiff, no exaggeration.
• The curve and sides are different from the M570, so you need some time to adjust. I didn’t get used to it at first—took me 3 days.
• Precision isn’t as high as I expected. It offers DPI adjustment, but it’s useless—the effect is barely noticeable, and for fine movement it’s even worse than the M570.
• The ball rolls way smoother than the M570’s. Way smoother, you’ll feel it the moment you touch it.

Overall I’m basically satisfied with this trackball. For detailed work I’d still suggest switching to a mouse—at least a high-precision one. For casual browsing, simple file operations, and not-too-detailed work (or maybe detailed stuff once you’re used to it?), it’s more than up to the task. And if nothing else, it’s cheap: 188 RMB.

By the way, the ball on this thing is interchangeable with the M570’s. Though I heard swapping in a red ball is the best? Improves precision? Probably just superstition.