March 30, 2012

REVIEW: Apple Magic Mouse


Apple has moved their multi touch technology on a device that no other company has though of before, the mouse. Apples new magic mouse has added the multi touch platform on to a mouse. The mouse has a seamless multi touch surface along the top and has many gestures to go along with it. The whole mouse itself acts as a button similar to how the old apple mouses worked, but the new addition of the multi touch surface adds the ability to include a virtual right mouse button. Swipe your finger across the surface to navigate through web pages or slide your finger down the middle to scroll, those are some of the gestures that can be used on the mouse to easily navigate through the internet or around your mac.




The mouse features a powerful laser that is far more sensitive and accurate than the previous apple mice and is capable of tracking on most surfaces. It also connects to your mac via blue tooth so there is no need for an extra dongle that you need to plug into your mac.

I found that the mouse was very attractive because of its seamless design of the multi touch surface and its typical apple styling. The Magic mouse has a very low and streamlined shape which I found to be quite uncomfortable after extended periods of use due to its low shape that doesn't contour to your hand and support  the palm which most mice do. The flat shape does make the mouse a lot easier to slip into your laptop bag and carry it around with you. It also connect to your mac via Bluetooth so it eliminates the need to carry around a dongle as well. The mouse is powered by two AA batteries which I quite like as opposed to what apple usually does and sticks a battery in that is charged with a cable and hard to remove without dismantling the entire device (which is already quite difficult). The two AA batteries should last about 4 months according to apple but I found them to last about 3 months with constant use and never touching the off switch.


Moving the mouse around is fine except for the fact that I found the mouse to make a lot more noise when on a plastic mouse pad then my normal Logitech mouse, which I found to be slightly annoying. The mouse glides on two black bars located on the bottom of the mouse that helps reduce the surface area that makes contact with the table or mouse pad. There are no clear definitions between the left and the right mouse button, but the magic mouse can differentiate from the two if the preferences is selected on the mouse options. Apple claims to have included a new powerful laser into the mouse but I found it to be a improvement over the previous apple mice but not a huge leap. The mouse does track on many surfaces including your pants but it cant track over glossy surfaces such as my shiny white table, my glass coffee table, or the screen on my 15 inch MacBook pro.  The laser still doesn't have the same tracking capabilities of my Logitech MX mouse which tracks on almost anything.

The multi touch surface has made scrolling feel very natural and fluid. The swiping gesture are quite good but they are slightly limited to them as you can only use up to three fingers (or you wont have any left to hold the mouse). It is also quite hard to tell the difference from top and bottom when you first grab it because it has a very symmetrical shape. I also found the multi touch surface to be easily scratched. It doesn't affect the mouse's functionality, I just found that the scratches annoy me as I have OCD.

Overall, I found this mouse to be a large improvement over the previous mighty mouse and looks very stylish. Apple could have created it with more ergonomics in mind. The magic mouse would make a great mouse for both desktop users and laptop users as it has many useful features added with the multi touch surface as well as being slim enough to put in a laptop bag. This would also be good for PC users who wouldn't mind the lack of ergonomics and purchasing a Bluetooth 2.1 dongle for their computer as well as finding drivers for it. The mouse can be purchased at many retail locations and the online apple store for $69 CAD http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/.

Overall I would rate this mouse a 7.5/10

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Martin Tam is an editor and the Director of Video Production at [blank]’s Universe. He is also a technology enthusiast that particularly enjoys computers and photography. He enjoys breaking things and sleeping in his spare time.