One very interesting side effect of belonging to this “Cult-of-Mac” is that I suddenly find that I can’t live without a product that didn’t even exist as far back in history as last week. Apple has only just announced their brand new “Magic Mouse,” and already my beloved “Mighty Mouse,” has become horribly obsolete; feels like a leaden paperweight in my hand.
Must.. have… a.. Magic Mouse! I feel like Eric Cartman pining after a Nintendo Wii. Yet, I digress.
(This just in, I have learned that Apple can no longer use the “Mighty Mouse” name for its wired mouse, because of a copyright infringement, so now the “Mighty Mouse” is simply known as “Apple Mouse.”)
This morning I received an SMS from my mole on the inside,
“Hey,” it read, “Magic mice in today.”
Quick like lightning I raced down to my local Apple Store and snatched mine up.
Configuration was a snap, but it’s important to note that the setup process did require some feedback from my existing mouse, so don’t pack the old one up until you’ve got new one working.
Once configured, I did have to run a software update, and get the new driver software. This update required a restart. *sigh* okay. Close a million windows, restart my MacBook Pro, and there we are: a fully functioning Magic Mouse.
On to the review.
My first impression of this extremely cool device is that I hate it. I loath this thing. It hurts to use.
Let me break the moment for a moment and mention that my initial distaste for the Magic Mouse quickly disappeared and was replaced with a joyous, sort of blissed out experience immediately after I discovered that I was holding it wrong. I say this now only because I don’t feel that product reviews should keep the reader in suspense. Carry on…
Because the Magic Mouse is so thin, I found that I could not operate it in the same way as a traditional mouse.
I used to hold my Apple Mouse as pictured here, and would rest much of the weight of my arm on the mouse itself.
Now, keep in mind that I spend most of my day in front of my Mac, with my hand on the mouse, so it’s vitally important that I sit comfortably.
My arm was exhausted after an hour of attempting to hold the Magic Mouse like this. Ouch.
After some experimentation, I realized that I would have to use my Belkin WaveRest Gel mouse pad, and push my arm a bit further up the pad then I was used to. This did the trick.
Alright then, back to the review.
This mouse is extremely cool. It’s very very low-profile, is much lower to the desktop than was its predecessor, and is, in fact somewhere between an iPhone and an Apple Mouse in thickness.
Its design is absolutely gorgeous. It’s white and perfectly smooth, with a brushed stainless bottom that runs on a pair of rubber rails. It seems to eat light, and I found it to be extremely difficult to photograph for this post.
The mouse does not seem to require a mouse pad, though I certainly recommend using one for the wrist support. Apple seems to be shifting away from round and white. It’s interesting that Apple is using screen grabs from the Star Trek movie in their marketing for the new iMacs and displays, because their new products are starting to share some lines with the new Starship Enterprise.
There is a dedicated left and right-click button inside the mouse. By default, the right-click button is set to OFF, but a quick trip to the Mouse Preference Pane fixed that up quickly. Former and current Windows users will really appreciate this feature.
Creative Professionals will find this mouse an absolute joy to use. One of the things I really appreciated about the old Apple Mouse was that the trackball was capable of right to left scrolling as well as the up and down scrolling. The addition of this left/right scroll feature was an enormous time saver for anyone using applications such as Final Cut Pro, Logic, Aperture, Photoshop, or even iMovie, iPhoto, and GarageBand.
The Magic Mouse continues with the right/left scroll feature, but does it all without the annoying rubber trackball, which would always get dirty and gummed-up, especially if, like my wife, you use hand lotion or moisturizer throughout your workday. (I can tell you, there’s no more annoying service call, than to clean Intensive Care hand lotion out of your wife’s mouse for her…” ) Again I digress.
Gestures are amazing with this mouse. It’s all of the best parts of the new trackpads that Apple has included in new MacBook and MacBook Pro models. When you flick your finger across the mouse’s surface to scroll up and down, or left to right, you can program it to end when you lift your finger, or you can program it to continue scrolling after you lift your finger. Just like with the iPhone’s touch surface, the scroll command will lose momentum, and come to a gentle stop, until you flick to scroll again. So.. Very… Cool…
Flicking two fingers at once across the mouse’s surface while in Safari or FireFox will toggle the Back or Forward button in the browser. In iPhoto, doing this will advance to the next photo in your library or album, or will back up to the previous photo. You get the idea..
(can you tell I’m completely geeking out over here?)
I put it the Magic Mouse through its paces in Aperture and iPhoto for a little while, and when I fired up Final Cut Pro, I seriously forgot how I ever lived without it.
It remains to be seen whether Apple is going to release a wired version of the Magic Mouse, or will keep it wireless.
Bottom line: well worth the $70 price tag
This devices is on par with the iPhone itself for design elegance and it’s “WOW!” feature set.
Creative Professionals will LOVE the Magic Mouse, and chances are, you will too.
For my regular clients, I’ll be carrying this mouse around with me in my computer bag, so just ask!
Thanks for reading!
~ Chris
