The Apple Magic mouse can be the best among a lot

By: Pallab Jyotee Hazarika

Is it the best mouse ever?

Apple has always been the one to guess the trend before others. Even this time is no different. Apple was quick to realize that people are now becoming used to the notebooks and netbooks, and the trackpad in those. So it made sense to make a mouse which is actually a detached trackpad. And that’s what Apple is offering with the magic mouse.

This two button laser mouse (one button and no scroll wheel) has a multitouch surface which will obey your finger swipes rather than the clicks. Engadget reports that it will be just like a Trackpad on a notebook, supporting two-finger swipes as well as single-finger horizontal and vertical scrolling, complete with a software-based inertia (see a video here). It won’t support zooming though.

Gizmodo team has got a chance to review one of these beauties, and they promptly conclude it to be the best mouse Apple has ever created. It has a piece of clear white plastic on the top, curved. It has both the usual right and left clicks, but unlike the mighty mouse, these buttons respond to your swipes, along with clicks. That the USP of this mouse.

It is run on two AA batteries and gives up to 4 months of life on one charge. It is really low and doesnot fit in your hand properly – as reported by Gizmodo, but that’s about it. You’ll really forget it in no time because of the sexy look and the style of use. It uses laser to track along.

Flicking up and down a page is really a breeze with the magic mouse. It gets you up and down web pages fast, as long as you have "momentum" turned on in the settings. To get a finer scrolling, turn it off. It also supports clicking and scrolling together, enabling you to click and then select an amount of text. You might miss the middle click though if you use that much.

One thing missing here is the multitouch capacity we have seen in recent trackpads. Also so far the Magic Mouse is only compatible with the iMacs that they ship with, but will get broad support soon.

Overall although functionality –wise it is not a great improvement over the mighty mouse, but the usability is a hell lot better. So those of you who hated the mighty mouse with their life, can get one of these.

You shell out a hefty $69 for it though.