Our Verdict
76%
This massive trackball isn’t perfect, but it’s surprisingly capable for the price.
Elecom offers a wide range of trackballs, including both thumb-operated and finger-operated units in a range of sizes. The M-HT1DRBK is the largest of the lot and is described on the packaging as simply a ‘Huge Trackball’, a descriptor that’s entirely accurate – it is indeed enormous.
The trackball housing measures a whopping 115 x 182 x 57mm and incorporates a lengthy dense foam-padded wrist rest over its rear half. Meanwhile, the ball itself has a diameter of 52mm. The Kensington Expert Mouse Wireless Trackball has an even large ball, measuring 55mm but the one here is still massive.
While the whole unit and its ball are indeed very large, the main convex portion that your hand envelopes and interacts with isn’t. With the base of my 20cm-long hand nestled into the concave dip of the padded wrist rest, my fingers extended about one inch beyond most of the main controls. In comparison, the much shorter but more bulbous Logitech MX Ergo and ProtoArc EM01 really filled the underside of my hand, putting the controls at my fingertips.
The solution is to just slide back your hand a little – there’s still plenty of wrist rest padding further back, but this requires holding up and slightly bending your fingers into more of a claw position to reach the controls. As such, despite its name, this trackball is slightly better suited to those with small to medium-sized hands rather than those with giant mitts.
Crucially, what the large trackball allows is effortless and accurate movement. Your fingers naturally fall onto it, allowing for all three of your longest digits to work together to accurately move and stabilize the ball.
Arranged around the ball is an astonishing array of extra features, considering the modest price. On the top, facing upwards there are four buttons, with the one immediately to the right of the ball being the default right-click button, and the further three being extra programmable buttons.
On the sloped side, where your thumb naturally rests, are the forward and back buttons, a scroll wheel that includes left and right tilt and the main left-click button. Finally, a sliding switch on the base of the unit switches between low (500 DPI), medium (1,000 DPI), and high (1,500 DPI) sensitivity settings.
The button arrangement is certainly logical and efficient, but there’s a notable learning curve. We regularly slipped up, hitting the wrong button, even after several days of use. We also found the scroll wheel sits too far back. Again, this is a hand-size issue, but even with my hand set further back on the trackball, my thumb still had to bend too much to reach the wheel.
Most of the larger buttons have just a bit more flex to them than we’d like before the button is pressed as well, although some build quality compromises are to be expected at this surprisingly low price.
Meanwhile, on the underside is a 2 x AAA battery compartment (batteries included), the power switch (with high-speed or low-energy connection modes), a slot for stowing the wireless dongle, and a hole for inserting a pencil or similar to pop out the trackball for cleaning.
Elecom Huge Trackball M-HT1DRBK pros and cons
Pros
- Large trackball for easy, accurate tracking
- Loads of extra buttons
- Scroll wheel with tilt
- Great value
Cons
- Not ideal for those with large hands
- Not the tightest button response
- Confusing button layout
- Right hand-only design
Elecom Huge Trackball M-HT1DRBK specs
The Elecom Huge Trackball M-HT1DRBK specs list is:
| Weight | 260g (without receiver) |
| Dimensions (mm) | 114.7 x 181.9 x 57.2mm (W x D x H) |
| Sensor | Optical |
| Buttons | 8 (left, right, scroll wheel press, back, forward, three extra programmable buttons) |
| Connections | 2.4GHz USB dongle and Bluetooth |
| Extras | Three extra programmable buttons, tilting scroll wheel |
| Battery life | 235hrs (low energy mode) or 137hrs (high speed mode) while operating and 1,851 days in standby for both modes |
Elecom Huge Trackball M-HT1DRBK price
The Elecom Huge Trackball M-HT1DRBK is $58, making it an exceptionally good value trackball for the features it includes.
Price: Expect to pay $58 (£50).
Elecom Huge Trackball M-HT1DRBK review conclusion
The Elecom M-HT1DRBK is a fantastic-value trackball with a brilliantly accurate, easy-to-use ball and masses of extra features. Getting used to its layout takes some learning time, but it’s still an excellent option for this price.