ELECOM HUGE M-HT1DRBK Review (2024)

Tested using Methodology v1.2

• 7.9 Office/Multimedia
• 4.0 Video Games (FPS)
• 6.8 Video Games (MMO)
• 2.3 Ultra-Light Gaming
• 5.3 Travel

The Kensington SlimBlade Pro Trackball and the ELECOM HUGE M-HT1DRBK are wireless trackball mice designed for productivity. The Kensington has a minimal, ambidextrous design that allows for more flexibility in grip type. In contrast, the ELECOM has a right-handed design with more buttons and a dedicated scroll wheel. Both mice are on the large side and can be unwieldy for users with small hands.

The ELECOM HUGE M-HT1DRBK is a better stationary trackball mouse than the Kensington SlimBlade Trackball. The ELECOM connects wirelessly with a USB receiver and feels sturdier. It has a thumb and pinky rest and an integrated cushion on the palm area. It also has three CPI presets, six additional buttons, and a conventional scroll wheel with L/R tilt inputs. On the other hand, the Kensington connects with a braided USB cable has a free-scrolling scroll ring.

The ELECOM HUGE M-HT1DRBK and the Kensington Expert Mouse Wireless Trackball are both wireless trackball mice, but the ELECOM has better overall performance. The ELECOM has a conventional scroll wheel, much lower click latency, six additional buttons, and three CPI settings. It also has an integrated cushioned wrist rest. On the other hand, the Kensington has a free-scrolling scroll ring around its trackball and a removable cushioned wrist rest. It also supports Bluetooth.

The ELECOM HUGE M-HT1DRBK and the Kensington Orbit Fusion Wireless Trackball are wireless trackball mice with comparable performance. The ELECOM feels sturdier and has significantly lower click latency. It also has an integral cushioned palm rest, four additional buttons, and its scroll wheel has L/R tilt inputs. On the other hand, the Kensington has a free-scrolling scroll ring instead of the more conventional notched scroll wheel on the ELECOM. It also uses only a single AA battery, while the ELECOM uses two AA batteries.

The Kensington Orbit Wireless Trackball with Scroll Ring and the ELECOM HUGE M-HT1DRBK are wireless trackball mice that perform similarly. The Kensington has an additional CPI preset, Bluetooth support, and a removable wrist rest. It also has a free-spinning scroll ring, while the ELECOM has a more conventional notched scroll wheel. On the other hand, the ELECOM feels sturdier and has both a thumb and pinky rest as well as an integrated cushioned palm rest. It also has six additional buttons, lower click latency, and its scroll wheel has L/R tilt inputs for horizontal scrolling.

The Logitech ERGO M575 and the ELECOM HUGE M-HT1DRBK are comparable wireless trackball mice aimed at productivity and office work. The Logitech has a side-mounted trackball and its scroll wheel on top. It's also significantly smaller and only has a pinky rest, while the ELECOM has a thumb and pinky rest. On the other hand, the ELECOM has a side-mounted scroll wheel with its trackball on top. It's much larger, and it has five additional buttons, including left/right tilt inputs for its scroll wheel. Both mice are suitable for either a palm or claw grip, but neither is suitable for small hands using any grip type.

The GameBall Mouse and the ELECOM HUGE M-HT1DRBK are both stationary trackball mice, but the GameBall performs is designed primarily for gaming while the ELECOM is designed for productivity tasks. The GameBall connects wirelessly and uses a pair of AA batteries. It also has a higher polling rate, which is useful for smoother-feeling cursor movements, especially on higher-resolution displays. Unfortunately, its click latency is high compared to more conventional gaming mice, making it poorly suited for competitive gaming. On the other hand, the ELECOM is a wired-only mouse with two additional buttons. It also has a thumb and pinky rest, a scroll wheel, and customization software, which are all features the GameBall lacks.

The ELECOM HUGE has an ergonomic shape and feels very comfortable to use. Since it's a stationary mouse, you don't need to move your wrist or arm to use it, making it more accessible for users with limited mobility. Otherwise, it's large and fairly wide but has good button placement for medium to extra-large-sized hands. It also has a non-removable, cushioned palm area for added comfort.

If you're interested in an ambidextrous trackball mouse, check out the Kensington SlimBlade Pro Trackball.

LEARN ABOUT COMFORT OF USE

LEARN ABOUT PALM GRIP: HAND SIZE RECOMMENDATION

LEARN ABOUT CLAW GRIP: HAND SIZE RECOMMENDATION

LEARN ABOUT FINGERTIP GRIP: HAND SIZE RECOMMENDATION

Advertising material for the ELECOM HUGE claims a battery life of "about 534 days on low energy mode and about 325 days on high-speed mode."

Note: There are low and high settings on the operation switch on the bottom of the mouse, but neither of these settings increases or decreases the polling rate, which is usually how other mice achieve different battery usage modes. Given this, we're unsure if changing the battery settings affects the battery life. If you have this mouse and have any information on its battery life or the battery modes, reach out to us in the discussions.

• ELECOM HUGE
• 2x Tenerg Ultra Alkaline AA batteries
• USB wireless receiver
• User documentation

The ELECOM HUGE has a large number of buttons, most of which you can reprogram. By default, the left-click is the largest button in the button cluster on the left side, while the right-click is the button to the right of the trackball on top. All the function buttons are on the top of the mouse, the FN1 and FN2 buttons are on top to the left of the trackball, and the FN3 button is the furthest button on the right. The side-mounted scroll wheel has a middle click button, and while we don't consider them buttons according to our methodology, the scroll wheel also has L/R tilt inputs.

Also, there's a CPI switch located on the thumb rest with a Low, Mid, and High setting. There's also an operation switch on the underside of the mouse with an Off, High, and Low setting. You can reprogram all inputs except for the CPI switch, power switch, and scroll up/down inputs.

Note: The software has an option to assign gesture commands, but we weren't able to get this feature to work during our tests. We've found user reports that this is a known issue and that the feature used to work. We'll continue to monitor the situation in case a software or firmware update may fix the issue.

LEARN ABOUT CLICK LATENCY

LEARN ABOUT CPI

LEARN ABOUT SENSOR SPECIFICATIONS

The ELECOM HUGE trackball mouse has a conventional scroll wheel mounted on the left side of the mouse for vertical scrolling. It feels responsive and precise and has smooth, subtle steps and a notched rubber grip.

Note: Although it's designed for use with your thumb, the scroll wheel on the ELECOM HUGE doesn't technically fit our methodological definition of a thumb wheel, which we define as an additional scroll wheel typically used for horizontal scrolling.