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Review: RollerMouse StationReviewed By: Kirk Hiner Review Date: December 6, 2002
I consider myself lucky, I suppose. Despite the amount of time I spend using a computer, I've never had much trouble with the discomforts many feel after using a keyboard and mouse for a prolonged period of time. And although I'm not opposed to trying out new devices designed to make computing more comfortable and more efficient, the trouble is that there aren't many products that can effectively do both. Ergonomic keyboards with track pads may be better for the wrists, but their awkwardness tended to slow down my productivity. This is why, at Macworld Expo NY 2002, I was eager to attend Contour Design's press conference regarding their new RollerMouse Station. There may be no company that better understands the trade-off between ergonomics and efficiency. Throughout the demo, I was skeptical; the RollerMouse Station looked like nothing I've seen before, and--as an American--I'm duty bound to fear and destroy that which I don't understand.
You see, here's what you have to get the hang of... The RollerMouse Station sits underneath your current keyboard (its underside is padded to prevent slipping). The front end of your keyboard rests against the base of the RollerMouse where two gel palm supports provide a comfortable resting place for your hands. Directly in front of the space bar of your keyboard sits a padded bar you can spin up and down and slide left and right. This, of course, is the main innovation here. Using my Macaclly iMediakey, the rollerbar sits only about an inch away from where my thumbs are placed during normal typing. This provides easy, comfortable access to typical mouse functions with either thumb...eliminating the need to reach across the desk for a mouse. Aside from controlling horizontal and vertical movement of the cursor, the rollerbar can also be pressed to serve as a left click on a mouse. Double clicking also achieves the same purpose as a double click on a mouse, and you can select text or other items by pressing the RollerMouse and holding it down as you make your selection.
Wide areas are the problem with the RollerMouse, actually. The bar can only slide so far, after all, so those using larger monitor resolutions will often find themselves "hitting a wall;" your cursor is in the middle of the screen, but the rollerbar cannot be moved any further to the side. Contour Design has addressed this issue by allowing the user to bump the rollerbar a slight bit more to the right or left. This forces the cursor to slide in the commanded direction even though the rollerbar isn't actually moving. This is the equivalent of picking up and replacing the mouse, but it's also a bit more awkward. More often than not, I'd find myself accidentally making selections or switching to other applications when performing this procedure. Although the RollerMouse works well for general use, I had difficulty using it for precise movements. For instance, tracing images in Photoshop was next to impossible. And gamers shouldn't even think of using the RollerMouse Station as a replacement for the mouse. To be fair, though, I'm sure Contour Design didn't have gaming in mind when designing the RollerMouse Station. There are already plenty of other ergonomic gaming devices out there. And finally, two other minor complaints. The gel support pads in the RollerMouse Station base collect dust and dirt particles as if they're building a nest. The base is easily cleaned, but the gel pads require a bit more work. They're removable, however, and can therefore be replaced, but that's actually my second complaint. The left gel pad, the smaller of the two, wouldn't lock in properly and would therefore rattle as my hand shifted positions on it. Not a big deal, but something I hope Contour Design will address in the future. Now, that being said, the RollerMouse Station is easily the most productive ergonomic keyboarding solution I've used. By keeping your hands on (or at least near) the keyboard, they've eliminated the potential strain and time lost by constantly reaching for the mouse. And, unlike track pads, the RollerMouse and the buttons/scroll wheel below it are intuitive and simple to use for basic mousing functions. The little time you lose teaching yourself to use it will be quickly made up by the time saved using it. It's not a great solution for those who need very precise cursor control, but it could be a blessing for those who use their computer for typing or general computing functions. More importantly, if you are experiencing discomfort in your hands and wrists from too much computer use, the RollerMouse Station has been shown to reduce pain anywhere from 47% to 70%. That, of course, will raise productivity, so everyone's happy. Especially that little girl from the demo.
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At the end of the demo, we were allowed to test the RollerMouse Station. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a feel for it. As I stood there fumbling with it, the daughter of one of the developers--a bright, young girl who couldn't have been over the age of seven--brushed me aside and showed me how to use it. She zipped around the screen as if she had served as Contour Designs QA department on this project. "Okay," I thought, "if she can get the hang of this..."
Directly beneath the rollerbar are three programmable buttons that served me quite well for single, double and control-clicking. There's also a scroll wheel that works out of the box in OS X but that needs the support of 
Now, before we get to the RollerMouse itself, let's talk about set-up. OS X users will not need to install any special software for the RollerMouse Station; just plug in the USB cable and you're all set. If you don't have one available...no worries. The RollerMouse Station comes with a PS/2 port, and they provide a PS/2 to USB adapter for those who don't want to completely give up their USB mouse. This is a good thing, because...well...
Okay, the rollerbar. It's soft to touch, but firm enough that you don't have to apply too much pressure. The motion is incredibly smooth and provides the accuracy of an optical mouse...no stuttering or jumping that sometimes happens with a standard mouse. Pressing the bar serves as a mouse click, and the sensitivity can be adjusted (or shut off all together) if you find yourself accidentally pressing it when you don't intend to. You can also press and hold the bar down to select items, just as you would with a standard mouse. This becomes somewhat tricky to do, though, if you're selecting a wide area.