As Good As It Gets - Microsoft Trackball Explorer Review
It would be a disservice - me doing a trackball extravaganza, and not trying what's widely regarded as the greatest one ever made: the Microsoft Trackball Explorer. But despite this thing's glowing reputation, it's still a two-decade old peripheral. Is it still deserving of all the praise, or did time finally catch up? Let's find out.
Microsoft, despite predominantly being a software company had a pretty illustrious history manufacturing it's own computer peripherals. Odds are, you probably used an IntelliMouse at work or school, or played around with one of the ergonomic keyboards at a store back in the day. Hell, I consider their oddball Arc Touch mouse to be the best portable mouse ever made.
But Microsoft also put out a range of trackballs back when the devices were still serious contenders for something you'd actually want to use on your PC. Their last offering was the Microsoft Trackball Explorer (MTE), sharing it's name, optical tracking and overall styling with the wildly popular IntelliMouse Explorer. Released in 2001, it quickly amassed a sizable fanbase; a fair number of whom still swear by the device to this day.
I bought two of these trackballs, both starting with X08 model numbers. This is significant because the older X05 model MTEs had a lower 1500 Hz polling rate than the 2000 Hz of the X08 and the ABS plastic body tends to get more brittle than the X08 with age. Some people have even said the X05 has a slower sensor than the X08, but I haven't seen anything that confirms this.
My two X08 MTEs were in varying states of disrepair though, so I took the best elements from both to make the best stock example that I could. Namely, I pulled the flat-spotted bearings and rotated them to fresh, round metal. I also used the body and least worn buttons between the two of them, and replaced the rubber feet. Once I had my ideal device, I put it through it's paces.
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| A Microsoft logo from a... less shitty era. |
The MTE is an ergonomically shaped finger operated trackball with two buttons for the ring and pinkie finger, and two buttons by the thumb, plus a scroll wheel. The trackball has a sharply angled, sculpted palm rest intended to relieve wrist tension and a moderately high, rearward set arch. The body is finished in a matte silver paint, which feels nice to the touch, but based on images of MTEs I've seen, it doesn't really appear to hold up well after extensive use.
This trackball is roughly the same size and form factor as the Elecom Huge - which the MTE probably inspired in no small part. It's actually a bit like a middle ground between the Huge and the Logitech Trackman Marble FX. The MTE is nowhere near as flat as the former but a lot less extremely sculpted compared to the latter.
In other words: it's the ergonomic goldilocks zone. If anybody has nailed the overall shape and layout for a trackball, I'd say Microsoft came pretty damn close with this.
What's great about the shape of the MTE is how my fingers fall exactly where they're supposed to when I let my hand rest naturally on the shape of the trackball. I don't have to shift my hand around to find a usable sweet spot - it just immediately feels right. The body of the MTE is also contoured away from the ball; which is also fairly elevated from the body of the trackball, so your fingers are pretty unlikely to hit anything by accident with a fast swipe.
Of course, a good feel is not a guarantee for every person, and I could see users with smaller hands having a little bit of a hard time with this one, but the MTE feels like a generally more accommodating design than the Huge or Marble FX.
The ball is a decently sized 46 mm with a cool surface pattern that's lit up by the unique red LED glow ring surrounding it: a relic of a time when optical mice commonly used red LEDs to help with surface readability. It rotates on three 2 mm static steel bearings and moves very smoothly. I didn't notice any stiction and it coasts quite well if you flick it for quickly traversing the screen.
What surprised me the most was how much I actually liked how this smaller ball felt versus the 52 mm ball of the Huge. It sits better between my pointer and index finger, and the extra elevation from the body makes it just a little easier to move. Despite the smaller size of this ball, I honestly don't feel any less precise with it.
But as I mentioned before, I have not been able to confirm what exactly the MTE's sensor speed is. That being said, it does feel noticeably faster than the 300 DPI sensor in the Logitech Trackman Marble FX, which probably puts it closer to the 400 DPI I've seen some users state it has. I found it more comfortable to use on my 3440 x 1440 ultrawide display with the pointer speed in Windows 11 turned up slightly, but it actually feels completely adequate on the default setting as well.
Moreover, the sensor is far less prone to stalling compared to the Marble FX when you quickly flick the ball. I have to flick the MTE's ball inhumanly fast to induce any kind of stall into the cursor's movement which makes it far more acceptable for use on high resolution displays and for gaming.
The software side is surprisingly fleshed out for how lightweight it is. It's integrated into the existing "Mouse Properties" page in Control Panel, and features complete button remapping and automatic profile switching for specific programs - everything you need to turn the MTE into your ideal tool.
However, the latest version of the now discontinued IntelliPoint software is now pretty difficult to find as Microsoft no longer hosts it on their website. And you'll want it too, as the default button mapping for the trackball is pretty weird; with right click mapped to the the thumb cluster instead of your ring finger - but it's an easy fix with the configurator.
All this adds up to a trackball that's just a joy to use. The shape, size, and button placement all feels very well thought out and it strikes the best balance of functionality and comfort of the trackballs I've tested so far in extended use. I think it also just looks really nice - the sculpted silver and gray body looks very slick, and the red LED ring adds some extra flair that you don't really see on trackballs outside of this one. I think the MTE is definitely deserving of it's glowing praise in those regards.
That said, my main personal complaints with the trackball are that I find the buttons and scroll wheel too light to the touch. Compared to the Elecom Huge, I find it's a lot easier to inadvertently trigger them. A lot of people like the light touch, but I'm more partial to a bit of extra weighting.
The exception to that is the primary left-click thumb button, whose extremely sculpted shape I sometimes find difficult to hold down while I work the ball. I feel like I have to really jam my thumb into the button in order to do things like select text or take snippets of the screen without accidentally lifting off it - but it could just be something that takes some getting used to.
And if I'm being completely honest - even with the fact this is supposedly the more robust X08 model, the build quality of the device feels a bit on the cheap side. Every time I handle the MTE, the plastic housing creaks like the deck of an old ship. Also, when I lift my ring finger off it's button, it bounces and rattles. That's annoying, and while none of this really affects usability, the MTE just doesn't feel that solidly put together - especially compared to the Marble FX.
I'm especially not fond of the fact how the bearings are not designed to be replaceable and effectively require the a hole drilled behind them so the bearing can be pushed out. It's not a particularly difficult job to do, but it shows a lack of consideration in regards to the longevity of the design from Microsoft. If it breaks; you're pretty much expected to buy another one.
Or that would've continued to be the case had Microsoft not opted to discontinue the device with no subsequent replacement. That's left fans of the MTE - much like the Marble FX, being forced to find ways to prolong the lifespans of their old trackballs, either by cannibalizing others for spares or performing DIY modifications and repairs like my aforementioned bearing rotation.
Prices have shot up as result, with used examples sold on eBay occasionally cracking $100 and new-in-box examples often going as high as the $300 mark. Those prices might sound ridiculous for a two-decade old peripheral, but given how nicely it still plays with modern systems and the relative lack of modern equivalents, it all kinda makes sense.
So why the hell doesn't Microsoft just bring it back like they did with the IntelliMouse a few years ago?
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| Source: trackballmouse.org |
Unfortunately, Microsoft decided computer peripherals wasn't a sector of the market they wanted to continue actively pursuing and they've since licensed away the manufacturing rights for their current and unreleased non-Surface branded products to Incase. While Microsoft still retains ownership of it's designs, it seems unlikely they'll be bringing back more of it's classic products anytime soon, especially given the quiet discontinuation of the revived IntelliMouse.
That pretty much leaves the future of the even more niche MTE in limbo. The good news is that more modern and in some ways, better trackballs have appeared since that take some inspiration from the MTE such as the Elecom Huge and Sanwa Gravi. But these don't capture the same elements that made the original a fan favorite quite like the 3D printed, open source Ploopy Classic, but between the high price and boutique nature; it's very much an enthusiast level product.
Thankfully, these old trackballs are still perfectly viable on present day hardware. Even though the sensor isn't really up to current standards, you hardly notice it in actual practice and the shape is so good that you probably won't be chomping at the bit for a modern alternative after you try it. If you can only get one trackball, the Microsoft Trackball Explorer is it. It just rules.
What's Good
- No-nonsense design that's still the king of comfort.
- 46 mm ball strikes a nice balance between speed and precision.
- Remappable buttons with switchable software profiles.
- Sensor is still completely usable on modern high-resolution displays.
- Somewhat cheap feeling build quality.
- Buttons might be too light feeling for some users.
- Bearings are not easily replaceable.
- Questionable value compared to more modern alternatives.
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