Written by Jin May Soo
Different types of Ergonomic Mouse in the market
Pros versus the cons of each mouse
Best selling ergonomic mouse for each category
Pros vs. Cons
Top Picks
Our Winner
Logitech Mouse - MX Vertical Advanced Ergo Mouse
The Runner Up
Anker Mouse - 2.4G Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Mouse
Trackball Mouse
Trackball mice come in types of designs. The thumb-operated trackball mouse looks like their horizontal mouse siblings with a sphere ball at the side. Whereas the sphere ball for the finger-operated trackball mouse is in the middle. Its left and right buttons are often positioned close by or surrounding the ball itself.
Pros vs. Cons
Additionally, the ambidextrous design of the finger-operated trackball mouse comes with flexibility. Not only can you choose which hand to control the mouse, but you can also rotate the sphere ball with your fingers or palm.
The downside to these mice is most probably its precision. As the trackball’s mouse cursor is controlled very differently than other mice, proficiency at accuracy is one of the common obstacles faced by new users.
Top Picks
Our Winner
Logitech Mouse - M570 Wireless Trackball Mouse
The Runner Up
Kensington Mouse - Orbit Trackball Mouse With Scroll Ring
Pen Mouse
Not to be confused with the stylus used on the touchscreen, the pen mouse is just a regular mouse in the shape of a pen. It does not offer the same pixel-to-pixel precision, haptic feedback or pressure sensitivity as a stylus.
There are two kinds of pen mouse styles in the market. The first one looks like a dip pen left in the ink bottle to which you grip like a pen and drag its whole body across the surface to navigate. While the second one looks like a big stationary blade with a laser pointer where you hover over the surface as you would with a stylus.
Pros vs. Cons
The pen mouse keeps your wrist resting on its side during usage with little forearm pronation, mainly focusing on the fingers and arm muscles to navigate the mouse - similarly to how one writes or draws with a real pen. As the wrist is often at its natural angle, there is less pressure on the tendon compared to when manoeuvring the horizontal mouse.
PCMag did raise a concern that curling your fingers around the pen mouse for long hours a day over a period of time may seem like a recipe for repetitive strain injury, especially in the thumb, forefinger and middle finger.
That being said, the grip strength required to hold the pen mouse pales in comparison to that of a standard mouse. Moreover, as the pen mouse resembles the manipulation of a pen, one can alternate between gripping styles to prevent overexertion of the same muscles.
The problem with the pen mouse stems from its clumsy control due to its awkward button placements and thick, chunky body (for some designs). Additionally, there is a tricky learning curve accompanying the pen mouse. For instance, keeping the pen mouse steady while performing the left or right-click is a real struggle for many.
Perhaps a seasoned stylus user may be more adept at adapting to the pen mouse but it is likely you won’t be able to achieve the same level of productivity in comparison to a standard mouse in the short run. A point to consider if productivity is of concern.
On the bright side, the pen mouse is slim and light making portability a breeze! You can easily squeeze the pen mouse into any corner of your bag or simply toss it into your pencil box together with your other stationery.
Top Picks
Our Winner
Sadocom Mouse - Pen Mouse with Universal Adapter
The Runner Up
Decisions, Decisions
So, there you have it.
These are the different kinds of ergonomic mice available out there, it’s good and it’s bad together with their bestsellers. Hopefully, this will aid your decision making and ease your shopping experience now that you have an idea of the kind of ergonomic mouse you want and need.
We have also discussed the benefits and the drawbacks of going wired or wireless to which you may want to consider before buying a mouse. If you are looking for a keyboard to accompany your mouse but don’t know where to start, PCByte has got you covered with our guide on choosing the perfect keyboard.