First Look: Apple conjures up Magic Mouse with a dose of multitouch
(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.
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.
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Justin Yu covers desktop computers, printers, and peripherals for CNET. When he's not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast. E-mail Justin. 
I use that a lot while browsing to open a link in another tab.
One huge problem with the logitech mouse is that it's only for right handed people while the magic mouse can be used with either hand. Plus, the magic mouse is bluetooth, so you don't have to worry about any extra dongles to carry around with you. The "holding down the control key to zoom" feature is actually part of OSX and will work with any mouse that has a scroll wheel. Being able to scroll 360 is a really nice feature, but I am concerned about how the low profile will feel.
Microsoft already showed off 5 different multi-touch prototype mouses about a month ago, so Windows will have these very soon.
Great initial review, Justin. I like how you were on the 404 blog while you were showing off the "magic mouse" features.
anyway, having used this on my mac, i find it as way buggy, waste of money, and time! besides that, windows versions have spawned months ago... oh well
The "uncomfortable to use" is a matter of personal preference. I have no problem with it because the ergonomics of the rest of my workstation are pretty good.
This is likely to point with Apple this month as they sit stunned that Windows 7 is doing so well and they are left looking foolish with products priced out of the segment. Their big news this week was a couple of PCs, a new keyboard and a multi-touch mouse. This last will likely go down in history as one of the lamest devices yet as they should know, given the iPhone, that touch is connected to the screen and not anything else. They likely would have done better putting fir on the damn thing and building it to fart the star spangled banner at least that would have been patriotic.
I smell a Magic Rat !
Oh yea...forgot...with Apple , it`s all about STYLE.
- by Dean81299 December 23, 2009 12:44 PM PST
- The dude doing this review must be completely blind to innovation. "Chase your mouse around?" ARe you kidding me?! You hold it like you do any other mouse and swipe. This guy comes off like someone who has no idea of how advanced this mouse is. Tell me another mouse that has touch technology. You really must not know anything about tech. OR you are a PC user which you admit in the review.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(20 Comments)Stop dissing Apple's advanced tech. Watch how many touch sensitive mice that come out in Apple's wake of their version.
Overall, this guys an idiot. Misses the advanced tech inherent in the mouse,. And he is doing reviews? ****!