Kensington SlimBlade Review Trackball Mouse With Scrolling And Programmable Buttons
A few things, out of many, that can be said about trackballs are that they are odd and futuristic looking contraptions, even going back to the first computer trackball ever made - roller ball - which looked like a dome-shaped alien spacecraft concocted in Area 5!
Aside from the large five-pin bowling ball the roller ball used, the basic trackball design hasn't really changed all that much and newer trackballs are still very much eye-catchy like the Kensington SlimBlade trackball mouse and its startling red ball reminiscent of a yummy red gumball!
The SlimBlade ball is about 2 inches in diameter and 116 grams in weight; hence it is much smaller than a five-pin ball, which is about the same size and weight as a duckpin ball (5 inches diameter/ 1.5kg weight). The SlimBlade ball is made of the same hard plastic (phenolic resin) as snooker balls and bowling balls; hence the SlimBlade ball also doubles as a mini bowling ball.
Just like most trackballs, the SlimBlade ball can be lifted off with the fingers since the ball is not attached to the body frame of the SlimBlade trackball. The ball fits snugly inside the inverted dome socket, about three quarters into it so, the ball won't fall out under normal use unless you tilt the trackball on its side or turn it upside down. The silver ring around it, it's made of plastic with a chrome finish. The ball doesn't made any noise when rolling; hence it's silent.
According to the specs, the Kensington SlimBlade uses a fixed 1600DPI dual laser sensor tucked away inside the crevices of the ball socket to track movement so, it appears the SlimBlade uses both optical and laser tracking to track movement, which is a rather unique setup since most mice use either optical or laser. For instance, the SureTrack mouseand the Expert Wireless trackball are optical mice as they use an optical led sensor. There is no mention of the DPI resolution nor can it be adjusted.
The entire base of the Kensington SlimBlade is also made of plastic and has a 15 degree incline; hence the SlimBlade sits at an upright angle towards you. There are small rubber feet on each bottom corner and a large rubber ring in the centre, all of which help to stabilize the trackball securely on a desk. The buttons are located on top and they are four of them surrounding the ball, one located on each corner. Scrolling if performed by twisting the ball clockwise or anticlockwise, although twisting the ball also has the function of zoom in/out (when in document/view mode) and volume control (when in media mode). All four buttons make a loud sharp clicking noise. The SlimBlade buttons have the same wide design as the left/right click buttons on a regular mouse. In fact, the SlimBlade has technically two left click buttons and two right click buttons because any of the four buttons can be assigned as a left click button and/or right click button, as well as other functions such as keyboard shortcuts and snippet inserter (can store up to 10 snippets).
The keyboard shortcuts are limited to the following: Page Up/Home/Page Down/End, Auto Scroll, Track Scroll, Scroll Left/Right/Up/Down, Media playback, Web browser (back/forward/stop/refresh), Editing (copy/paste/undo/redo/cut/select all), Window tabs (maximize/minimize/close/show desktop), Window snapping (left/right), change virtual desktops, Open File/Folder and System shortcuts (task manger/lock screen/task view/show system search/show run dialog/copy screen to clipboard/open explorer window).
The button remapping is done via KensingtonWorks software, which is compatible with Windows (Win 10/ Win 8.1/Win 7), MacOS computers (10.8 or later) and Chrome (OS44 or later). The KensingtonWorks software lets you also adjust the pointer speed, acceleration speed, scrolling speed and orientation (clockwise/anticlockwise).
The edge perimeter of the SlimBlade body has been rubberized and integrates a rubber tag with Kensington branding and a "mystery slot" on the right side. A non-detachable 1.3 meters long fabric cord has been attached to the front left side of the SlimBlade trackball and features a USB-A rubber plug connector terminal. The total weight of the SlimBlade is 305 grams, including the ball and cable which has a medium stiff fabric sheath. Without the cable, the trackball weighs 196 grams.
Being a trackball, the Kensington SlimBlade mouse is almost exclusively for productivity purposes, improving workflow and hand ergonomics to alleviate carpal tunnel. Because of the ball design, the Kensington SlimBlade shares the same advantage as all other trackballs and that is being a true ambidextrous computer mouse that fits perfectly whether you're left handed or right handed. If you do suffer from carpal tunnel or wrist pain, it's worth looking into a vertical mouse such as the Pro Fit Ergo, which is also a trackball. You can buy the Kensington SlimBlade trackball mouse from Kensington amazon UK, Amazon Germany and Amazon France.
The game is not over until it is. And, more often than not the game can be over before it even begins when your headphones aren't up to scratch! The G4 TE are Edifier's latest gaming headphones designed to emphasize positional audio in games (i.e. footsteps and bullet whizzes) for games like Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (R6 Siege) and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) where anticipating your opponents' position from their footsteps gives you a distinct advantage. If you're a series esport player though, you should check out the GM3SE - a true esport gaming headset! The G4 TE boom arm microphone is detachable and has a twist lock connector plug to secure the connection to the headset. The boom arm measures 13cm long, weighs 9 grams and, it integrates memory wire so, it stays bent at any angle you want. The microphone housing integrates a 6mm electret capsule with a unidirectional pickup pattern, which is uncommon since the vast majority of gaming headsets u...
A successful backpack looks nice, fits well and has enough organization to carry one's belongings. There is no question that the style and aesthetics of a backpack is the key selling point along with performance! The Samsonite Litepoint ticks all the boxes and has a classic square shape, which may not be everyone's cup of tea but, it maximizes internal space. This is why travel bags (e.g. suitcases) are shaped differently to backpacks, usually with a rectangular design. The Samsonite Litepoint backpack has a total of six external access compartments, one of which is directly on the front of the backpack. The front facing compartment opens up vertically via 23cm long single zip slider, which is waterproof with reverse coil teeth and reflective material. The front facing compartment is fully padded all-around with closed cell foam and, it's suspended 2 inches above the bottom of the backpack. The front facing compartment measures 25cm wide and 25cm high and has a narrow inte...
Moore's Law was enacted some 50 years ago and, i's still holding validity to this very day because technology is, indeed, becoming faster and smaller! The Hidizs S9 Pro dac amp is a perfect case example. It's about the size of two cigarettes so, it takes little to no space. Yet, it has the power to overmatch a full size desktop amp. The S9 Pro dac is very small and, just like the S3 Pro dac, the S9 Pro also supports microphone input, which means you can use a gaming headset when playing online games on your computer without having to use an external soundcard as a mic input. The Hidizs S9 Pro has a single-ended 3.5mm port with 100mW (at 32 Ohms) output power and a balanced 2.5mm port with 200mW at 32 Ohms output. Both single ended and balanced outputs deliver plenty of power for driving a range of headphones (6 ohms to 300 ohms), including low impedance and high sensitivity headphones such as planar magnetic headphones (e.g. HE400i and Sundara ). The S9 Pro is also perfec...
