Mice - Bluetooth

[RichardN]

Thank you, nblack.  I sent an email to Logitech asking about this quite awhile ago and got a standard non-commital response.  Thank you for your effort to try to get Logitech's attention!  Please let us know the response you get.

[midnytsnx]

I would buy 6 tomorrow.. 2 for my own laptops, 4 to be given as Christmas presents. Geek @ BB says laptops are outselling desktops 2-to-1 now.

 I have a theory that LT THINKS the trackball is not a big seller, when in fact it is so "bullet-proof" (I've owned mine for almost 10 years with NO problems) that people don't need to buy a new 1 every year like all the other mice out there...

[trackball]

Most mice don't wear out now a days, as bad as they use too. Most of the reason people replace their mice now is because of new features. People would replace their trackballs just as much if we had feature updates like what has been mentioned in this forum. There hasn't been an update since.... at least 6 years. No wonder sales are drying up. Funny how they are still in places like best buy/ect when you don't see any mice that are over 2 years old there. And space is at a premium. What are the statistics on sales of trackballs?

[Donald1800]

I have used two Kensington Bluetooth Slimblade Trackball/Mouse - both failed, after 9 months for the first and 3 weeks for the second.  They didn't seem concerned about the failures nor were they interested in finding out what the failure mode was.

I too contacted Logitech and received the exact same boilerplate "...not interested..." response.

I am now considering buying a USB 'Corded' TrackMan Wheel.  If no one is interested in producing a reliable Bluetooth thumb-wheel trackball and the available 'Cordless" trackballs ALL require a USB port, I see no advantage in a RF version - especially after using a RF 'Cordless' mouse and found interference with my Bluetooth keyboard signals.

With the Logitech retail price for the corded TrackMan Wheel (P/N 904353-0403) dropping to $30 and Amazon selling them for $24, it looks like Logitech may be getting out of the trackball field.  If this is true, trackball lovers may want to invest in a spare/backup unit just in case.

After years of '...not interested...' replies from Logitech, I've given up on them for a Bluetooth Trackball.  I can only hope that someone else produces a reliable Bluetooth Trackball.

Donald1800

[jvanus]

Just another vote for a high quality bluetooth trackball. In my experience, digital artists use macs and prefer trackballs, macs have bluetooth. RF is almost useless due to the interference, and plugging a big dongle into a usb port defeats the purpose of wireless. Trackballs are great with laptops where you often do not have a good surface to mouse on. Really it can't be hard to make: 

1) Add some buttons to the current trackman shell

2) Throw in a bluetooth transmitter from one of your other BT-mice

3) PROFIT!

[neiat]

I am a personal fan of trackballs, I would love to see a bluetooth gaming trackball that i could actually travel with. It is horrible to try and travel with limited desk space and trying to move my arm a foot in either direction while trying to use a regular mouse. I don't know why logitech hasn't produced this and the fact that this thread has been going for two years is pretty depressing. Hmm wonder if it would be possible to modify a few of there models so that I could use it as BT. Eh... Well I suppose that I am preaching to the chorus, but I would like to see something done about this, it is a good product that could make money.

[jrjespersen]

It is depressing.  And I think we're going about it wrong.  Obviously, Logitech is either getting out of the trackball business or not interested in cannibalizing an established product line even at what should be relatively low costs for a new product.  If the line of thinking is "Logitech doesn't make a bluetooth trackball, then I'll keep using/buying the RF or corded trackball" what is Logitech losing?

I also don't understand how Logitech cannot see the gains.  Sure there are research and development costs, but you take the existing shell, remove RF, add Bluetooth, integrate driver code from your other Bluetooth products, (and maybe add a few buttons to help out the agile-fingered), and then you sell it for a premium price that most of us would pay anyway.  We don't settle for trackballs, we choose to use them.

They could even follow up with striking a few deals to bundle the best BT trackball as an option with major vendor's laptops at the point of sale.

Alas, I don't see that happening, not with a 2 1/2 year thread and only one post from a Logitech support person who disgraces the thread by not even attempting to assist the company's customers by trying to ferret out information that will affect their customer's purchasing decisions.  So instead of threads about converting old/current Logitech products to bluetooth, we should go in the direction of finding non-Logitech products that do-it-yourselfers can make into decent bluetooth trackballs.

Message Edited by jrjespersen on 11-26-2008 12:56 PM

[1stwarrior95]

Personally I think we've already gotten our answer. Logitech just isn't going to build a bluetooth, (or small transmitter), Trackball.

If I had the know how to build one myself or convert an existing one I'd sure try, but that's way out of my league...

I think it's time to approach some of the other companies and see if they would consider building them. And of course linking the requests to the other companies back to this thread.