The black
trackball seems to be set perfectly in the device so that it doesn't allow for «gumming up» or the build up of dirt - which is a common problem for all other devices - even the Bold.
Not exact matches
This
seems to be a signature RIM design, but maybe in the next round of devices it will go the way of the
trackball and disappear.
The optical trackpad has now moved into the 9700, ousting the «Pearl»
trackball that now
seems destined to the recycle bin.
I used to think that Android will eventually get this feature since all the early devices had
trackballs or optical pads but they
seem to be missing in the newer ones.
It just
seems that the Canon
trackball / calculator is meant to be plugged directly into a computer and little else.