NEWS / TRACKBALLS IN FILM AND TV – 21 December, 2019
Kensington Expert Wireless 8-Ball and 9-Ball
Kensington has created a few prototypes of balls in 8-Ball and 9-Ball (pool ball) colors, specifically made for the Expert Wireless. I was one of the lucky ones to receive a set so can show you them in detail here.
As you might remember, a wired grey Kensington Expert trackball device with number 9 pool ball is used by the character “Nine Ball”, played by Rihanna in the movie Ocean’s 8 (2018).
Rihanna using the 9-ball on the Kensington Expert in the movie Ocean’s 8
photo © Warner Bros. Pictures
Rihanna as Nine Ball is a technical genius whose real name is Leslie. Her nickname refers to the fact that she uses a Nine Ball in her trackball mouse. The grey ball in the Expert trackball has been replaced with a 9 pool ball with yellow stripe.
The idea of the pool ball in the film is not new: trackball fans have used US pool balls, or billiard balls, of exactly the size 55mm (2.16″) to ‘mod’ their trackball device for years. US size pool balls have reportedly not always fit properly though, so you might need to do some modifications to the device for it to actually work. Good tracking results are not guaranteed, but it will look nice!
Kensington has now, for fun and as a test, created two balls, 8 and 9-ball, based on their large ball for the Expert Wireless. They sent me, as a Kensington Brand Ambassador, the set as a Happy Holidays gift this year (thank you, Kensington!).
The 8-ball and 9-ball were part of a nice Christmas gift set from Kensington to its brand ambassadors.
photo © TrackballMouse.org
With these two official Kensington balls, a perfect fit is guaranteed. Kensington has created these prototype balls ONLY for the Wireless Expert (not the ‘wired’ version).
I have put both the 8-Ball and 9-Ball in my Kensington Expert Wireless and they work just like the regular red ball.
The 9-ball fits perfectly and works and looks great in the Kensington Wireless Expert Trackball.
photo © TrackballMouse.org
But of course, I had to try and put the ball in my (more than 10 year) old and trusted USB Wired Expert as well. The ball fits perfectly (it’s the same size)… but the optical tracking didn’t really work, especially on the white / yellow 9-Ball, and the white parts of the 8-Ball. It results in stop and go movement of the mouse cursor.
The 9-ball fits perfectly, but doesn’t really work (yet) in the wired Expert.
photo © TrackballMouse.org
It’s a shame the pool ball designs don’t work on the wired Expert, because then you can’t recreate the exact same trackball as in the movie Ocean’s 8…
But maybe a solution will be found if these balls ever make it into production.
Speaking of which, would you like to see Kensington produce these 8-Ball and 9-Ball trackballs? Or even other designs? If so, please send me a message or add a comment below!
I’d also like to hear about your experience of using a real pool ball, or other balls in the Expert or Expert Wireless.
Which one would you prefer: 8-ball or 9-ball?
photo © TrackballMouse.org
Happy Holidays to you all, may you find a Trackball underneath your Christmas tree!
Mini survey: which ball do you prefer?
I’ll post the updated results here as soon as there are a few entries. The Survey is completely anonymous, no data is stored except for the selected choice).
UPDATE 8 June 2020: Thanks to everyone submitting their preference! Here’s the count so far:
8-Ball: 40%
9-Ball: 12%
I want both: 48%
Enter your choice below:
The Kensington Expert is one of the best selling trackballs, and one of my favorite trackballs.
Read my full review of the Kensington Expert here, or check out the Wireless version here.
Read more about Trackballs
The advantages of a trackball mouse are plentiful: it takes much less effort to use compared to a regular mouse, it takes up less space as it doesn’t have to move, and it gives you more control and accuracy.
On Trackballmouse.org you can find extensive reviews of all popular trackballs. Read the reviews here, or if you just want to know which trackballs are the best, see the Top 10 Trackballs, or Editor’s Choice winners.
A functional billiard-ball trackball has been on my bucket list since before USB was invented. Never found a commercially available ball that would fit though.
The old mechanical Kensington Turbo Mouse Pro and Expert Mouse Pro (model numbers 64240, 64214, and 64213, possibly others) use a 57mm (2 1/4 inch) diameter ball, which is the same as a regulation billiard ball. Downside is that they use old-school rollers instead of an optical sensor, with all that entails. They’re long-discontinued, but can be found on eBay pretty easily.
hey so i use a speckled gearshift ball as a replacement in my slimblade without any issues, i dont know about an expert as its deeper, but its worth trying!
ps, 8 ball for sure (also if you dont want it, can i have it? lol)
Thanks for the preview! Saw the balls on Instagram and I just can’t wait for Kensington to release them. I love my Expert Wireless with the red ball but spicing it up a little from time to time wouldn’t be bad. Hope they’ll release other colors too
kensington need to do a 13 ball too, fir those that like all things 13, but wouldnt it be easier to make the base unit handle any regular US pool ball?
I’d love to get both! I couldn’t imagine that it works. It would be so cool on my table.
Reading this May 2020 and considering getting a trackball – and I was inspired after seeing Ocean’s 8!
If Kensington started offering these balls I’d get them – replacement balls are a must have anyhow.
Is there any information about when they will be publicly available?
Unfortunately not yet… as soon as more is known I’ll post it.
a friend of mine a long time ago had a kensington trackball that an actual pool cue ball would fit into. i’ve had my wired expert mouse for over a decade and it still works perfectly. they are not cheap and you get what you pay for.
I bought my first trackball around 1995 (?) could have been a year later the design changed and it became a little more soft with rounded edges and 4 buttons around the ball. I then bought one to my office also and this must have been -96 -97 the reseller then offered a black 8-ball just like the one in your pictures so the idea isn’t new but still cool! 😉
Will this ever be sold? (we’re one year after now…)
No news about this yet, but it looks like they are not as accurate with the laser tracking, so until that is solved, they might not be available unfortunately…
The old Kensington trackball mice used to work great with an actual pool ball. I had two of them and used them for years. The weight of the ball made the movements smooth and felt great. However, Kensington changed the size and they will not fit now.
I’d like to get the 8-ball for my Expert wireless mouse. What would I need to do to get that?
How about an eyeball ball? One that look bloodshot and really veiny.
I thought I would drop by 2 see of there was any updates in releasing the 8 and 9 trackball. My setup is coming along and I know the 9 ball would AWESOME!! I just bought a standard 9ball just 2 see what it would look like. And it looks great. Come Kensington, don’t leave us hanging. We need those balls released! 😀
I would by the 8 Ball in a heartbeat. Come on Kensington! Bring it!!