Crave

Today's cornucopia of technology is perfect for when you travel to visit your family for the Thanksgiving holiday. Some tech makes getting there safer and capturing the moment easier. Other tech was meant for your escape from the in-laws.

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Apple's new Magic Mouse

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

At first glance, Apple's new Magic Mouse might change your thoughts about love at first sight. The curvature of the soft white shell paired with the speckled silver underbelly is enough to make any Applehead salivate, but we warn prospective buyers to head out to your local Apple Store before taking the plunge, because you might be disappointed.

The first issue we raise with the Magic Mouse is its size and shape. While there's no way anyone can dispute its simple hotness, we struggled through a difficult learning curve due to its uniformly narrow profile that sits too low for comfort. It might be because we're so used to the Logitech MX 1100 cradling each of our fingers with a designated resting point, while the Apple Magic Mouse just feels like a chunk of finely carved polycarbonate.

Next, we also had a problem with the multitouch functionality. Specifically, we felt awkward and unnatural sliding our middle and index fingers across the flat surface of the shell to navigate through several Web pages. Even worse, if you don't have a uniform grip on the sides of the mouse with your thumb, ring, and pinky fingers, the shell can easily get away from your hand--this is why a touch surface with no hard buttons just doesn't make sense on a mouse. Although Apple's instructions tell you otherwise, we did find it easier to use our middle and ring finger to swipe from left to right.

Finally, the Apple mousing preferences don't allow you to reassign the action that happens when you swipe. We'd love to be able to direct the mouse to open a program or advance a track in iTunes with a simple finger gesture, but as it stands, the custom preferences for the Magic Mouse only include check boxes to turn off the secondary click, momentum scrolling, and screen zoom, as well as options to alter tracking, scrolling, and double-click speed.

Want to hear more? Check out our full review of the Apple Magic Mouse.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Along with a redesign of the iMac, MacBook, and Mac Mini, Apple today also unveiled its new Magic Mouse, a departure from the underwhelming Mighty Mouse Wireless that flew beneath the consumer radar back in 2006. The new Magic Mouse is also the next device (after the iPod, iPod touch, and MacBook Pro) in line to receive a dose of multitouch capability.

Check out various Apple Magic Mouse gestures.

(Credit: Apple)

We've only had a day to play around with the multitouch features, but so far we're still on the fence about switching from our Logitech Performance Mouse MX. There's certainly no denying the aesthetic appeal: the bottom half is sleek aluminum and the top shell is made of a milky white shade of polycarbonate with a subtle gloss. The entire surface is a single button (no Mighty nipple, of course), but you can also change the settings to recognize a right-click or a lefty orientation, as well.

The multitouch user area is spread across the entire surface of the mouse, so you can swipe your finger anywhere and expect uniform results. Aside from the two main buttons, you can also scroll 360 degrees around a Web page, photo viewer, or document using a single finger, or quickly navigate forward and backward in a Web browser by simply swiping two fingers horizontally across the top of the mouse. The last feature is basic, but useful: holding down the Control key on the keyboard while scrolling up and down with a finger lets you zoom in and out of virtually anything onscreen.

Like the Mighty Mouse, the magical sibling connects to your computer through a simple Bluetooth pairing, and it works with any Mac running OS X version 10.5.8 or later, as long as it has the latest Wireless Mouse Software update 1.0. Windows users will bemoan its inability to work with non-Mac PCs.

Check out more pics after the jump and look for a full review coming soon.

(Credit: Logitech)

Years ago, we reviewed the Logitech Gaming Keyboard G11 and found that it was pretty great, except for being unfortunately large and lacking USB 2.0. The company's newest update, the Gaming Keyboard G110, certainly looks to have addressed those issues with a much slimmer base and a more efficiently compact key layout.

Backlit LED keys can be set to red, blue, or "any shade between," meaning a veritable spectrum of purples are yours to savor. Twelve programmable G keys can store macros up to 36 characters long, and an MR button allows adding macros spontaneously, in case any new ones come to you midgame.

On the back is a USB 2.0 hub port, along with dedicated headphone and mic jacks so gamers can also plug in their headset of choice and any other mouse, control pad, or other peripheral that comes to mind when fragging.

The G110 comes out in November for $79.99.

Logitech Gaming Keyboard G110

Nokia's X3 makes music.

(Credit: Nokia)

It's been a busy week here at Crave with a whole lot of gadget news coming out of IFA 2009 in Berlin, including Toshiba announcing a touch-screen tablet called the JournE. This is, perhaps, Toshiba's effort to take on Apple's mythical machine before it's even official. Begun, the tablet wars have.

• We also saw some new photo and video gear from Panasonic. The company's betting quite a bit on the future of cinema being in 3D, and we think that's a good bet to make.

• Nokia's World Conference, also in Germany, was the venue for the debut of a pair of new high-end music phones, the X6 and the X3. Nokia's phones usually have boring names, but we're glad they're now naming them after experimental aircraft. Go, Nokia, go.

• Logitech's new Wi-Fi radio is an improvement on its already awesome lineup and includes Flickr integration, which, while pointless, is rather cool. I want one.

• The PS3 and the Xbox 360 have finally--finally--bested the Wii from Nintendo in U.S. sales. It was a tough road to get to the top, but they made it. Welcome to the big league, guys.

What can we say, except awww?

(Credit: Will Wagenaar)

• Just when I was sick of Auto-Tune and the millions of songs that abuse it, and just when I thought it was going away, T-Pain brings an app to the iPhone that Auto-Tunes everything. Thanks, Shor-tay. Thanks a lot.

• These robot sculptures are adorable and I wish they were real and I had one as a pet. I would name him "Clanky." Or "Josh."

• Oh, and there was some stuff going around about the iPhone getting MMS or something. I may have missed it.

See anything else we missed? Write to us at crave at cnet dot com. We always love to hear from you.

(Credit: Logitech)

Logitech is adding a touch-screen model to its line of Squeezebox streaming audio products. Unfortunately, the upcoming Squeezebox Touch has a design flaw (in my opinion) that will likely relegate it to the periphery of the burgeoning home digital audio market.

At first glance, the Squeezebox Touch has a lot to like. Basically, it's the trusty Squeezebox Classic, but with that model's monochrome vacuum fluorescent display replaced by a 4.3-inch color touch screen. Connect it to a stereo (or a pair of powered speakers), and you've got access to your entire home music collection (streamable from any networked PC) as well as access a wide variety of online music services--including Pandora, Rhapsody, Last.fm, Sirius, Slacker, and the full range of free Internet radio stations and podcasts. The Touch connects to home networks via Ethernet or 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, and--unlike earlier Squeezebox models--it can play digital audio files from an SD card or USB flash drive.

Sounds like this $300 model could be the one-room Sonos killer we've long been longing for--except for the fact that the touch screen is built into the base unit. That means you're stuck with either getting up and walking over to it whenever you want to change a tune or pick a new stream, or opting for the little wireless remote (which provides far less detailed control than the touch screen). Why Logitech went this route instead of opting for a touch screen remote that you could hold in your hand is anyone's guess. (Who knows--perhaps Logitech is planning to offer a Harmony remote with built-in Squeezebox functionality instead.)

We can envision the Touch garnering interest from those who want a nifty countertop music controller in the in the kitchen, or one that's wall-mounted in various rooms in the house. But as it currently stands, we're far more excited about today's other Squeezebox announcement, the $200 Squeezebox Radio. We just hope that Logitech is busy working on a successor to the Squeezebox Duet (with a Touch-like remote). At the very least, we'd like to see Logitech offer an iPhone app to control their Squeezebox line that would effectively turn any iPhone or iPod Touch into a touch-screen remote as well. Apps like iPeng and Squeemote already exist, but--unlike the equivalent Sonos app--they're not officially blessed by Logitech.

We'll have a complete review of the Squeezebox Touch when it becomes available later in December.

Logitech already owns the Editors' Choice award for Wi-Fi radios with the Squeezebox Boom, but it looks as if the company may be competing with itself for the award with the newly announced Squeezebox Radio ($200 list price).

From the initial news release, the Squeezebox Radio looks to pack most of the functionality of the Boom into an even smaller package; that means you can stream your MP3 collection plus thousands of internet radio stations and music services like Rhapsody, Napster, Pandora, Sirius, and Last.fm. It also one-ups the Boom by adding a color screen, and the capability to display album art, artist/track information, and Flickr slideshows. Logitech also mentions Facebook integration--a first on Squeezebox products--so you can share your favorite tracks with your friends.

Aside from the feature list, the Squeezebox Radio also looks to have one of the most attractive designs of any Wi-Fi radio we've seen. The controls are clearly labeled and smartly positioned, and as we've seen on the Philips NP2900 and VTech IS9181, a color display really makes using a Wi-Fi radio more enjoyable. One of the big hurdles for the Squeezebox Radio to clear is whether it can fill the duty of a full-time alarm clock. Most Wi-Fi radios include alarm functionality, but it's rare that they measure up to the reliability and ease of use of traditional tabletop radios.

The $200 price may seem like a lot for a radio, but it compares favorably to the existing competition. (Logitech will also offer a $50 supplement that adds a wireless remote and a battery pack for true cordless operation.) As much as we loved the Boom, it's hard to recommend a Wi-Fi radio that costs nearly $300. We'll save our final judgment for the hands-on review; we're expecting to get a review sample later this month. Until then, the Squeezebox Radio will be one of the most highly anticipated products for us of 2009.

The results were conclusive in our mouse head-to-head. Logitech's Performance Mouse MX and its new Darkfield sensor boldly went where Microsoft's Explorer Mouse and its BlueTrack sensor could not. We tried two different glass tabletops and Logitech's new mouse tech had no trouble maintaining signal integrity. Microsoft's mouse stopped dead.

Logitech was also able to handle all of the new surfaces Microsoft's BlueTrack blazed when it surpassed the traditional laser sensor at the end of 2008. And while Microsoft is right to point out that its BlueTrack mice are available for less, Logitech's $99 Performance Mouse MX not only gets you the best mouse sensor on the market, it also happily marries its wireless and rechargeable battery technologies into a seamless whole.

Throw in a tiny USB receiver that works with other Logitech products, Logitech's innovative variable-speed scroll wheel, and a host of useful buttons placed around the comfortable design, and the result is an Editor's Choice-winning product that we'd recommend to anyone who takes his or her desktop input devices seriously.

Read our review of the Logitech Performance Mouse MX.

In non-Logitech or Microsoft mouse news, we have to hand it to Razer for its ability to read an audience. If you've played World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online, Eve Online, or other MMOs, you've most likely felt overwhelmed by the number of hot keys required to attack, communicate, and manage your inventory.

Razer's new Naga gaming mouse targets MMO gamers by incorporating a 12-button keypad into the side of the device.

The Razer Naga gaming mouse targets MMO gamers with a built-in 12-button keypad.

(Credit: Razer)

Aside from the keypad, the Naga looks like a wired version of the Razer Mamba from earlier this year. Like the Mamba, the Naga has all of the speeds and feeds common to high-end gaming mice, including a 5,600 dpi laser sensor and 1,000MHz polling rate. You won't really need those high-precision settings to master the assisted targeting and timed-attack mechanics in a MMO, but it's hard to find a gaming mouse these days without such crazy settings, so you might as well have them.

Razer also boasts in-game configuration add-ons for World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online for the Naga, which will hopefully simplify mapping the various key commands. And if the Naga is reasonably comfortable and intuitive to use, we can see how it might appeal to other gamers, digital media artists, or users of any other hot key-heavy software.

Razer lists the Naga for $79.99 on its Web site, and says it will be available online "soon."