While everyone else seems to be bashing and ditching their old, next-generation BlackBerry devices with trackballs, I still seem to find the trackball a very usable tool. I recently bought a Bold 9700 and have been using a Tour 9630 for about six months now. Before these two, I owned a Curve 8330, and a Pearl 8130, so I am very familiar with the trackball.
The optical trackpad seems to be much more responsive and much more “soft” on the finger. The trackball, which I have grown very accustomed to, offers a bit more control. With years of use of the trackball, I have learned exactly how far to roll it to be able to anticipate what I will select. Sometimes I feel that with the trackpad, it can be sporadic; at times it reads perfectly, sometimes it doesn’t.
With a little more use of the trackpad I may learn better ways to get the desired results like I have with my Tour. Pressing hard and rolling slow will allow you to move one icon at a time, and by “feathering” the touch and quick scrolling, you can skip through icons or lists.
In the browser, the optical trackpad wins, hands down. It is much more responsive and works much more efficiently than any trackball ever has. Going through lists, with the same sensitivity settings on both the trackpad and the trackball, I give it to the trackball. I feel there is more control to be had with the ball since there is a tiny bit of physical feedback. Finally, scrolling through your icons, I would have to give it to the trackpad due to a little quicker scrolling (which could also be OS or a few other factors), but it seems to work a little easier when changing directions.
The trackpad is a little easier on the eyes and the thumbs, but I also find myself overshooting it because it is nearly flush with the rest of the buttons. I wouldn’t say throw out your trackball BlackBerry for a new trackpad BlackBerry if you have no problems with your trackball. The trackpad, not being a moving part (other than the button feature) should definitely be able to take a lot more miles of wear and tear, but it doesn’t by any means blow a trackball out of the water…
What do you guys vote for? Sound off in the comments!
i have the first bold and i want to put a trackpad on it would i be able to do that
um, no.
HARD WAY go and google search look at results. EAST WAY buy an bold 9700 on tmo or at&t 3g works on both and woll be upgaded to 7.2 mbps when tmo launches hsdpa unts 3g+ in 2010
The Bold 9700 (in its current form) is an HSDPA 3.6 device, not an HSPA 7.2 device. When the enhanced HSPA rollouts come, they won’t be supported.
??
I didn’t think your carriers network speed really had much of an effect on the BB data speed since the data goes through BB RIM servers. Thoughts?
You are correct with your assessment. There will be a difference with the change and if you do have a 9700, you will not be left in the dark.
I have a curve 8330, and I have used optical trackpads before. I prefer the trackball it’s more accurate and less buggy, although you could very possibly have to replace them if they get dirty, they’re cheap. Plus you can get colored ones which is cool.
No, the trackpad and trackball are different sizes. If you look at the pictures of the Tour and the upcoming “Essex”, the keyboard has had to be changed because of the different sizes in the two.
I have the Bold 9700 and have to say that the trackpad is great. You may be used to the trackball, but once you get used to the trackpad you don’t want to go back to the trackball.
I agree.
I have a track ball. It’s pretty good. I saw an optical pad once and it looked cool. I might get it when it is time for me to upgrade. I might not. If I decide to get it, I will probably get used to it. But, I might not. If not, I think I’d just go back to the track ball (because that is what I am familiar with). If I get used to it though, I’ll probably like it and think it’s better than the track ball ever was. Some things are good though with the track ball, like moving it around on the screen and whatnot, but the track pad might be better for moving around on the screen a little faster, but I’m not sure because I don’t have one yet so I can’t really say. If I had a choice though, I’d get an iPhone/Droid phone combo.
The track pad is very easy to get used to. I would try it.
i would prefer a touchpad , the ball get sticky and you have to clean it with alcohol, pops out if you drop phone some time, and the lil silver ring just pops way to easy…
Track pad i think is 10x better than the track ball. What do you think?
I had a Bold and the trackball was great until it broke in september. When it broke I used an unlocked e71 until the bold 9700 came out however, I could not wait so I got a motorola droid its awesome. I have used blackberries with a trackpad and its really nice. It is a bit of a jump from trackball to trackpad but its fairly easy to get used to.
@tedy the blackberry internet does go through there servers however, it can only be sent as fast as the network allows. It doesn’t matter if you have 7.2 mbps hspa. Hope you understand
I tried using the trackball and sometimes it would move in the opposite direction. I could never quite get it to work right…. maybe the model i was using was broken. That being said, it definitely seems like a very breakable part. The trackpad was easier to use but found it a little too sensitive. i wonder if there is a setting to adjust this.
Yes you can adjust the sensitivity on the trackpad.
The trackpad is outstanding compared to the trackball. I upgraded from a Curve 8320 to the Bold 9700. The difference is night and day. It is like comming out of the Stone Age to the New Age. All I can say is if you try it, you will like it.
Lovin the trackpad! Once you get used to it there’s no comparison!
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9700 FTW! Best Bold yet.
trackpad hands down, have had issues with every trackball i have ever had, especially my tour, which verizon keeps replacing with reman phones. can’t wait till contract is up, gonna ditch the ball once and for all
I like the trackpad, but there was nothing wrong with the (black) trackball. It actually feels more solid when I use it. I have a 9700 (trackpad) and my wife has a 9630 (trackball). If I had to choose, I would choose the trackpad, but I would have no problem with the trackball if I had to go back to it.
I understand some owners had a problem with the trackball on the Pearl? I did not and pounded on it for two years with no problem. For the past year I’ve had the Curve 8900, Once again no problem, In fact I cannot flaw this handset at all, True it has no 3G but here in the UK loading up on EDGE is not that slow and the Wi-Fi connect is very solid with Hotspots in most of my Haunts. A partner in the same business has the Storm 9500 and wishes he had the curve. It is a solid workhorse no matter what anyone may tell you.
The trackpad simply outperforms the trackball!
Well the reason RIM went to the track pad was because the trackball was the most often fail point on any device with it. T-mo and others were getting a lot of returns on the trackball.
Since the trackball takes about three minutes to replace, on a slow day, it was a huge waste of labor and dollars to have people send in the phone simply to replace a $2 trackball.
I remember when the Pearl came out, we bought two of them. People who messed up their trackballs and wanted replacements had to pay $40 for just one.
Recently I sold my girlfriends Curve and I had to replace the trackball on my spare phone, a Pearl 8120. I bought three trackballs with a plastic tool for $8, free shipping. And that person was selling hundreds of them.
The trackball while revolutionary at the time is actually pretty cheaply made and it has a lot of fail parts. Dust, dirt, oil, can get inside. Oils can affect operation.
And like someone said, the chrome ring is actually painted plastic. The protruding pins holding that ring in place are super flimsy plastic and are easily broken if you force things in.
So the track pad was no doubt a desperate attempt to come up with a better mousetrap.
Bonus Hint: If you are going to disassemble your trackball, take a Scripto laundry marker and put a black mark on the chrome ring at 6:00, this so you know which way to reinsert the ring when reassembling. Do the same with the trackball mechanism.
After the ring is back in place, the black mark easily comes off with Windex or alcohol.
I love the track pad!
soo much better!
Will they be putting it on every new BB?
I have a Blackberry 8520, I bought the phone when the 8520 was the first blackberry with the trackpad?? Everyone I knew with pre existing Blackberry’s thought it was a horrible idea for me to purchase a berry with a diffrent style trackpad. A, because it was the first of its kind and B, because it was the AKA “BudgetBerry”. Who’s laughing now?? Replace them trackballs baby!!
I have the tour, the trackball is great on it (didnt they have a lot of issues with it?) I’ve sold people bold 9700s, I’ve sold people 85 series phones also, I myself seem to have issues with the trackpad on those blackberries. But again, it could be because I’m used to the trackball, because my entire family (mostly blackberry users) have trackballs.
hrmm..
I definitely know where you’re coming from, Amanda. I absolutely love my Tour. I would prefer to use it over my 9700. I love the size, shape, feel, and honestly, I love the trackball. Over the past two months of use, the hype is wearing off of my trackpad.
While it isn’t the most impressive to the existing BlackBerry users, the trackpad is a much more “peace-of-mind” selling feature to new BlackBerry customers. It’s more reliable technology. Not more efficient, or easier to use, simply more reliable. And right now, that’s what BlackBerry users are longing for, quality and durability.
I have the 9700 for work and the 8900 for personal and i’ve had both these phones now about 3 months but been using blakcberry 2 years now i’ve got to say the trackpad is awesome. for me reliability is key and the trackpad is so much better, when I use my 8900 i find that sometimes dust get in and i can feel the ball crunch which is never good.
Trackpad is a much better idea and solution to replacing trackballs.
i have the moto droid.. its a good phone… my cousin had a track ball.. she said small foregin objects alaways got in the hole, and it wouldent move.
Yeah, that seems to be the major issue with the trackball. Usually what you do to fix it is put pressure on the ball and then roll it around. It breaks loose any dust or particles that are causing the trackball to be stuck.
Home Phone FTW!!!
WHAT R U GUYS SAYING?!?!?!??!?! THE BALL IS SOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE BETTER AND PRECISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trackballs are so not the best, they always get gummed up and trackpads are far better as no moving parts to fail. Only takes about 2 days to get used to it
I’ve had the trackball on work bb for some time – no problems with it. While I liked the trackpad when I tried it out in the store, options are often based upon which provider you have. To me the other options with the bb are the most important. For example, are the keys big enough for me to type effortlessly or not? I like the pad on the Curve2 – 8530 offered by Sprint, but the keys on the tour 9630 are a little wider and easier to the touch, but it has a ball. Never seems all of the things you want come together; there’s some compromise that has to happen.
I’ve had both and I prefer the trackpad. I had so many problems with the ball but haven’t had a single problem with the pad although it does take a couple days to get used to. Love my trackpad!!