Logitech Announces A New Tilting Trackball – MX ERGO

Strange as it seems, trackballs are still a thing. While they are often seen as archaic and bring up bad memories from 90s style laptops, trackballs still have a purpose and are enjoyed by many people. Choices are limited, with Logitech being one of the few companies out there to manufacture them (Kensington being another). Still, a new Trackball has been released some seven years after the last one, with Logitech’s MX Ergo.

Trackballs are not strange to me, as I have used, and occasionally, still use them. Logitech’s last trackball was the wireless M570, and sells surprisingly well even today, despite being seven years old. I used the older sibling of the M570, the wired Trackman, which is positively ancient by today’s standards (3 buttons, not 5). So it’s nice to see Logitech creating a fresher incarnation of such an old peripheral.

Trackballs may not be as popular as classic mice, but they still serve a purpose, with a big one being space. While a trackball is considerably larger than a normal mouse, they don’t need any desk space to use. Stick it to a wall in a server room, plonk it next to your keyboard on a desk with very tight space, or use it on your lap with an HTPC system; you don’t need to move them around. The other benefit is ergonomics, as they don’t need you to use your arm to move, and can help relieve strain. Trackers are great for desktop work, but I will warn you now, don’t use them for gaming, unless it’s an RTS.

The MX ERGO has a number of modern features as part of the refresh, with one being related to its namesake, a tilting mechanism for improved ergonomics. A magnetic hinge lets you tilt the trackball up to 20-degrees for those that prefer a more upright position to track with. This can reduce stress on the forearm, for those with RSI.

There is now a sniper mode as well; wait, no, this is a business/pro device: The MX ERGO now comes with a precision mode button that lets the user drop the DPI for improved accuracy and finer control. This is something that would have been nice several years ago, as monitor sizes grew, requiring higher DPI settings for better tracking speed, but ultimately lost some precision.

The MX ERGO, like the recent MX Master 2S, also comes with some new software that lets the mouse/tracker interact with two computers, allowing you to copy and paste between two systems. Something like this could be achieved with other software like Synergy, but having it available with the mouse directly is an added bonus.

The price tag on the MX ERGO of $100, does put it as a bit steeper than its predecessor, the M570. Both are wireless, with the MX ERGO lasting up to four months on a single charge, but when the M570 is less than half the price at $30, then you’ll have to decide if the tilt, precision mode, and multi-computer KVM capabilities are worth it to you. It is kind of sad that Logitech didn’t include its incredibly useful clutched scroll wheel used in its other premium mice, as that feature would have made the MX ERGO even more ergonomic. Perhaps an MX ERGO 2, Logitech?