[gptoyz]

so the thing that prevents me from moving from my venerable 8700c to one of the newer berries is the crappy trackball.

the failure rate is amazing, it is such a piece of crap and its resolution/sensitivity is garbage

when will RIM move to a laser type marble instead of this bacteria accumulating lint ball?

[PedroTheGoat#CB]

Hmmm, mine seems to give me no problem. I've seen Berrys that have lost the texture and almost feel like you're rolling a booger or something. That's why I clean my berry daily. I haven't seen a trackball completely fail yet either. I'm pretty new though.

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[Xopher]

I haven't had my trackball fail either, although I do clean it regularly to keepit looking nice.

[kyriefurro]

A laser type trackball would require power, which would drain your battery even quicker than normal.

[Clintonde]

how do you clean your trackball? I've read the thread about taking it out, but am not ready to try that yet.. what solution do you use on it? do you use cotton swabs to apply it?

thanks.

[dskid807]

My BB trackball click sensor has failed once which was annoying but my BB was replaced under warranty.

[gptoyz]

so the consensus here is that everyone loves the trackball?!?!!

no improvement required?

[gptoyz]

A laser type trackball would require power, which would drain your battery even quicker than normal.

that's a cop out...if anything it would promote the development of low power ICs and further advance battery technology

your reasoning is tantamount to keeping the Model A ford because it does the job

[Tilton53]

that's a cop out...if anything it would promote the development of low power ICs and further advance battery technology

your reasoning is tantamount to keeping the Model A ford because it does the job

Ok then it would raise the price of developing these new technologies, which would in turn drive up the cost of a RIM blackberry past the reach of a normal consumer.

[Addicted to CRACKberry]

Is there any kind of solution to keep the screen or trackball?

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[trebb]

I love the trackball and it hasn't given me any problems at all. It's pretty interesting compared to most other phones.

[OptiPrime]

Yup love my trackball too! All the scrolling, selecting, and quickly editing email before I send them! Omgosh its great!

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[micjenks]

the trackball is hands down the best way to browse and email that i have used. I went from the pearl to the dash at one point and felt like an instant window licker trying to navigate, learn how to clean it and all is good!!

[gptoyz]

the trackball is hands down the best way to browse and email that i have used. I went from the pearl to the dash at one point and felt like an instant window licker trying to navigate, learn how to clean it and all is good!!

that's exactly my problem...I've been fixing my friend's berries everytime their curve curve/pearl trackball goes out of wack.

i am just amazed at:
a) how reliable everyone's trackball has been
b) how much they enjoy navigating with it

i still find my 8700c's side scroll so much more conveniet, especially for one handed operation

[micjenks]

I don't know about the curve, but the palmability of the pearl combined with the multi-directional capabilities of the trackball is perfect for one handed navigation. I actually decided to upgrade to the 8120 instead of the curve.

[wikes82]

i still find my 8700c's side scroll so much more conveniet, especially for one handed operation

One handed huh ??
When your selecting text or move left to right how many hand do you use ?
One to hold Alt button and the other the trackwheel. While using trackball, you can use one hand to do that

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[TimSez]

A side scroll only gives you vertical motion. A trackball gives you full screen movement. I love the trackball. No problems.

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[thebigt]

The trackball is love hate for me I love useing it but I've had two fail me so far. Maybe a click joystick would be nice.

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[eBud]

I work in a hospital . . . found that alcohol prep pads are perfect for daily cleanings of the screen, keyboard and trackball. No bacteria on my berry!

[sn3w14]

I love the navigation of the trackball but it has failed on me and I had to get a new one. I also clean mine with alcohol prep pads as well.

[kyriefurro]

I work in a hospital . . . found that alcohol prep pads are perfect for daily cleanings of the screen, keyboard and trackball. No bacteria on my berry!

I love the navigation of the trackball but it has failed on me and I had to get a new one. I also clean mine with alcohol prep pads as well.

I found out the hard way that alcohol can disolve the painted-on circuits on a circuit board. So be careful how much your using since you don't want to get it down inside the berry.

[dirkdigital]

My only complaint with the track ball is when I got my replacement 8830, I noticed how yellow my old trackball was...it was kinda emarrasing.

[Mamaluka]

I navigate using one hand on the whole phone, typing, trackball, everything to do with navigating online I do with one hand. That side scroll wheel doesn't seem precise at all, having to click to go from horizontal to vertical, F that. I don't give 2 chits how dirty the thing gets as long as it works. Besides, I discovered my feminine side and colored it red with a sharpie along with both my daughters 8330's. Now I don't have to worry about facing that icky wicky brownish hue when I whip it out at the garbage transfer station where I dump my trucks.
You know what would be better than this dinky little ball? Those mini button rubberized joysticks that older laptops used as mice, maybe?

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[eBud]

sn3w14:
I found out the hard way that alcohol can disolve the painted-on circuits on a circuit board. So be careful how much your using since you don't want to get it down inside the berry.

Thanks for the heads up...! "Alcohol abuse" is a bad thing! But prep pads seem to be more damp than drippy... Thanks. ;-)

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[dknyberry]

so the thing that prevents me from moving from my venerable 8700c to one of the newer berries is the crappy trackball.

the failure rate is amazing, it is such a piece of crap and its resolution/sensitivity is garbage

when will RIM move to a laser type marble instead of this bacteria accumulating lint ball?

I have the 8120 with the trackball and the 8700 with the thumbwheel (issued by my workplace), and I much prefer the trackball to the thumbwheel. As others have posted, the thumbwheel has limited motion in comparison to the trackball. This makes it more difficult to navigate certain web pages at times. Also, when you are trying to click on an application icon in your home screen, if the icon is all the way at the other end, with the thumbwheel, you have to scroll in sequence one icon at a time to get to the icon you want. With the trackball, you can bring it straight down to the icon you want quicker, and bypass the icons you normally would have to individually scroll thru with the thumbwheel.

And don't think that the thumbwheel doesn't fail either... I have had two colleagues with thumbwheels that busted on them (the springs gave out). Finally, models with the thumbwheel to me, looks too old fashioned, as my first Berry- the 7290 also had the thumbwheel, and it is way outdated now. Lol.

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