Apple Magic Mouse
by Apple Computer
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List Price: Our Price: $67.99 You Save: $2.00 (3%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $29.79 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple Magic Mouse
Customer Review: Apple's best mouse yet - fantastic if you're on Mac OS X
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading the varying opinions on Apple's new Magic Mouse, I tried it in person at my local Apple Store. I would recommend you do the same before buying. It didn't take long for me to realize this was a "must-have" for me, but your mileage my vary.
Unlike the wireless Apple Mighty Mouse that I've replaced, the new Magic Mouse has no scrollball to gunk up or jam. The entire sleek surface of the mouse is your scroll surface, and when you click it moves down with a nice tactile response. And, like the older Mighty Mouse, you can configure a right-click by lifting your left finger and clicking with your right. You can also reverse this if you're left-handed. And, Magic Mouse adds a few multi-touch like features, such as swipe left and swipe right (two fingers). You can also zoom the screen when holding the Control key on your keyboard.
Note, however, that if you're used to the side buttons (squeeze for Expose) or middle-click of the old Mighty Mouse, you're out of luck with this new mouse. Personally, I never used them and found them difficult and clunky so no loss for me.
The design is sleek, thin, and beautiful as you'd expect from Apple - although some have complained that the low profile doesn't fit their hands. For my (average-sized) hands the fit and comfort are perfect. So much so that I now carry this on the road for use with my MacBook Pro instead of the built-in glass trackpad.
Tracking accuracy is notably improved from my old Mighty Mouse, and the new Magic Mouse works better on more difficult surfaces. The sensor is obviously different - it doesn't use a red laser, and maybe this is part of the increased performance.
Bluetooth pairing was a simple step, and the included 2 AA batteries are a nice touch.
You'll need to download the Apple Magic Mouse update for Mac OS X (Leopard 10.5.x or Snow Leopard 10.6.x) before you can use the button or scrolling features. If you're using Windows (BOOTCAMP or a non-Mac computer), unfortunately you're out of luck - the builtin Windows Bluetooth drivers don't support more than just basic features (not even basic scroll).
Customer Review: Bought my second one today
Summary: 5 Stars
I waited a couple of weeks before writing a review for the new Apple Magic Mouse. I wanted to make sure that initial observations did not influence my overall opinion of this device.
Having used a Mighty Mouse for the last 2 years or so, I was disappointed that I lost the ability to squeeze the sides to activate Exposé. However, I have gradually gotten used to hitting F3 on the keyboard. What I miss the most is the 3rd button functionality. What I don't miss is the sporadic scrolling behavior of the Mighty Mouse.
I have come to appreciate the elegant style and simplicity of Magic Mouse design so much that when I sit down at a Mac that still has a Mighty Mouse attached, I find it to be awkward, bulky and a bit antiquated.
The new mouse is very low profile and the top is extremely smooth but the edges are a bit sharp. I use an ultra-thin mousepad that helps keep everything down low since you can't rest your palm on the mouse as you may be used to doing. Occasionally, they way the mouse sits under my palm, I will get a right-click when I meant a left-click. If the bottom left was trimmed or flattened out a bit I think it would be even more comfortable to use.
What I have determined to be the best feature of the new mouse is the scrolling. There is nothing else like it. If you spend a lot of time going through documents or reading web pages, you will wonder how you ever lived without it and quickly forget about the features that it is missing.
What gives me hope is that I see this mouse as a blank canvas that responds to whatever the driver tells it to do. I foresee Apple adding additional functionality as the product matures. I would like to see 2-finger tap, 2-finger up/down swipe and perhaps pinching. I don't see why Apple couldn't emulate the behavior of the track pad on the MacBook Pro.
If you are on the fence, go ahead and get one. It may take some time getting used to but in the end, I think you will find that you like it very much.
Customer Review: I really love this thing!
Summary: 5 Stars
My original Bluetooth iMac mouth was getting a little squirrely -- the cursor would jump around for no reason. So I decided to go for the new Magic Mouse, despite some so-so reviews. Well, I love this thing! I also have a MacBook Pro, and I love the mouse pad that uses finger gestures for many of the screen navigation features. The Magic Mouse has incorporated quite a few of these. I love the ability to scroll down and across a page using the finger gesture. I also love being able to move back and forth on the web with the swipe gesture. Although I wonder why it's two-finger on the mouse while it is three-finger on the MacBook. The only function I'm not crazy about is the screen zoom using a combo of "command" and the up-down finger gesture on the mouse. Unlike pressing the command and plus keys, which zooms the page so that it still fits on your screen (and the print is still sharp and easier to read), the zoom feature using the mouse just enlarges the screen overall, pushing some of the page off the screen so that you have to scroll sideways and the print gets fuzzy. Perhaps this should have caused me to give it four stars, but I like the rest of the features so much, I'll stick with five. It also fits nicely in my hand, which is relatively small.
Update: Now that I've had the Magic Mouse for several months, I have one complaint. I still love the fact that you can scroll with one finger and swipe back and forth within your web viewing with two fingers, but that last is the rub. Too many times, I have accidentally swiped when I didn't mean to do so and lost the posting I was writing to a message board. Unfortunately, this is really an easy mistake to make, as the mouse seems highly oversensitive to finger movements. You think you're moving the mouse itself to click on something, but the mouse surface detects your finger movement first in the split second before you actually move the mouse itself. You have to be really attentive to your finger position not to make this mistake.
Customer Review: An Amazing Piece of Technology
Summary: 5 Stars
The first time I laid my hand on this mouse I hated it--it seemed too small and too flat to be comfortable. I thought my hand would cramp after using it. "Well," I thought after trying it, "that mouse didn't live up to the hype."
Then I bought a new iMac and got the Magic Mouse in the bargain. Fine, I thought, I don't like Bluetooth mice anyway. I'll just use keep using my corded Contour Unimouse, which I have always found to be very comfortable and very precise. But maybe I should try the Magic Mouse, as long as it's here.
Within five minutes I was absolutely, totally spoiled! Once I figured out that you can't grip the Magic Mouse the same way you grip other mice, and got used to holding the mouse lightly and not resting my palm on its top, I started to understand the "Magic" part of the mouse's name.
The "flick to scroll" with momentum is amazing--it's the same kind of experience I get when I flick the screen of my iPod touch. It's much better than any scroll wheel I've ever used. In just a few days I've become so accustomed to the flick-to-scroll feature that when I use another mouse on another computer, I find myself flicking the mouse and wondering why nothing is scrolling.
And what's even better is the sideways two-finger-flick to go back a page in a web browser. This is another instance where I find myself doing the two-finger-flick gesture on other mice and wondering why the browser isn't going back a page.
Apple is to be commended for coming up with a new way of using a mouse. It's so natural to learn, and so effortless to use, that all other mice now feel primitive.
Even when I'm not using the Magic Mouse I enjoy its gorgeous, gem-like appearance. That's another thing Apple does really well: make things that look amazing even when they're just sitting there, little pieces of sculpted beauty.
All in all, I think this mouse absolutely does, in fact, live up to the hype.
Customer Review: Of all the mice I have ever owned, this is my favorite
Summary: 5 Stars
Honestly, I don't think my description will do this mouse justice. There is a lot of divide in opinions on it, but mine is that it is a simple work of combined magic and art.
First I'll describe what I consider the only cons:
-The position of my thumb and ring finger often seem to confuse the tracking. This is because my thumb and ring finger rest against the edges of the tracking surface during normal use. It is a minor thing to get used to, and I can't come up with any ways to improve such an insignificant flaw.
-It is expensive.
Okay, with those out of the way...
-This mouse is surprisingly comfortable. It doesn't exactly appear to be ergonomic, but all of my ergonomic mice require a wrist pad unless I want to do some serious damage. I've had to deal with this for years, but with the Magic Mouse, I haven't needed my wrist pad once. Not once. Something about its design forces my wrist up and off the desk just enough for it to be safe for use. At the same time, my hand never gets tired. I almost think its an accident of design, since there is no way I can look at this mouse and think "Oh yeah, that would be great for my wrist." But it really is. Makes using my windows machine a drag, since I have to pull out the wrist pad.
-The tracking is just so nice. Screw having a scroll-wheel or ball! This thing allows me full control of my desktop with the slightest touch. It really is incredible, I know I'm gushing at this point, but I think you would be too if you owned this mouse.
Alright, so you get the idea. I wish I could have gotten it at a discount, but I do not feel the slightest pang of buyer's remorse. I'm not usually a fanboy of any kind, but this mouse has redefined for me what it means to use a cursor on a desktop.
Buy it, or don't. Either way will have no impact on my life. But it's a late night and I've had a good time thinking about how much I love this mouse.