Kensington Orbit Wireless with Scroll Ring trackball review

Our Verdict

76%

A fantastic ambidextrous trackball for a great price, though it could do with more buttons.

With its much more modest price than the Kensington Expert, the Kensington Orbit Wireless with Scroll Ring is unsurprisingly a more compact unit with a modest feature list. However, it’s still a very capable and comfortable device.

Like the Expert, the Orbit’s most prominent feature is its ambidextrous central trackball design. Here, though, instead of four buttons flanking the ball, there are just two, representing the traditional left and right-click mouse functions. They’re just as oversized as on the Expert, making them very easy to hit, even for those with limited individual finger dexterity.

However, having just two buttons feels limiting. After all, you’re already missing out on the middle button you’d normally get with a scroll wheel, and you can’t even have the standard back/forward functions for navigating webpages that are now standard on mice. Having to actually click the back and forward buttons in the browser, or use the keyboard shortcut feels like a real throwback to a worse era in computing. You can combine button presses to trigger another action, but that only nets one extra function here.

Otherwise, the Orbit is largely a delight to use. Its low-slung design and long, gently sloped rubber wrist rest make for a minimum of wrist awkwardness, keeping forearm and finger pain at bay. We also liked using the trackball without the wrist rest (which just clips onto the back of the trackball), as it feels a little more stable without your hand and fingers stretched out.

The trackball has a 40mm in diameter so it sits between the smaller thumb-operated trackballs of the likes of the ProtoArc EM01 and Logitech MX Ergo and the larger Elecom M-HT1DRBK and Kensington Expert designs. The drop in size is surprisingly noticeable, as you have less room to comfortably fit three fingers on the ball. Instead, it’s easier to mostly use two at a time, though you can roll the ball sideways from your little finger all the way to your thumb, which you can’t do on the Elecom.

Having only two digits on the wheel at a time feels less stable than the larger trackballs (not least because the ball rolls so smoothly), and feels about on par with thumb-operated units, though the exact difference will depend on the relative dexterity of your fingers and thumb. The Orbit certainly feels more relaxing to use than thumb-operated units, though, as it doesn’t rely on the thumb for every movement.

Meanwhile, the two lonesome buttons aren’t as snappy as gaming mouse buttons, but they’re on par with the other trackballs on test and are responsive enough for desktop use. Meanwhile, the Scroll Ring is as lovely to use as on the Expert, feeling smooth and effortless to use and natural to reach with any digit, again reducing the strain on any one finger.

Both the wired and wireless versions currently cost the same price, so we’d recommend the wireless version – it’s one less cable stretched across your desk. The wireless version can also connect via Bluetooth – a switch on the underside slides between Bluetooth, off, and 2.4GHz wireless USB receiver modes, making for an easy connection to tablets and other mobile devices.

Also on the underside is the DPI button that cycles between four sensibly low DPI settings (400, 800, 1,200, or 1,600), along with the battery compartment that houses two AAA batteries (included).

Kensington Orbit Wireless pros and cons

Pros

• Solid trackball performance
• Comfortable design
• Great value

Cons

• Only two main buttons
• Not as stable as larger trackballs

Kensington Orbit Wireless specs

The Kensington Orbit Wireless specs list is:

Kensington Orbit Wireless price

The Kensington Orbit Wireless is $50, making it a decent value trackball despite having just two buttons.

Price: Expect to pay $50 (£65).

Kensington Orbit Wireless review conclusion

The Kensington Orbit is a fantastic, low-cost trackball. Its ambidextrous design is super comfortable and its trackball is effortless to use. The Scroll Ring is also a great improvement over a scroll wheel for reducing RSI. The trackball isn’t quite as stable and easy to use for finer movements as an even larger unit, but it certainly does the job.

For more trackball options, check out our best trackball guide.

Do you own the Kensington Orbit? If so, what do you make of it? let us know your thoughts and questions via the Custom PC Facebook page, Twitter page, or by joining our 400,000+ member Custom PC and Gaming Setup Facebook group.