Apple’s Magic Mouse Mates a Multitouch Trackpad With Traditional Pointer

Magic Mouse

Good idea: ditch the annoying scroll nipple (especially annoying on Apple’s previous mice) and turn the entire top surface into a multitouch trackpad. That’s what Apple’s done with the Magic Mouse. Is this the end of the scroll wheel?

I kind of hope so. Even the best scroll wheels feel like a thing of the past–a mechanical moving part that’s not as precise as a touchpad scroll, and not as silent. Now, the scrolling (and rotating and browsing) is handled by a slick multitouch surface that covers the entire upper shell of the polycarbonate mouse. And thankfully, the analog “click” remains.

Microsoft’s far-out mouse prototypes we saw a few weeks ago showed they too are leaning in a multitouch direction with their pointers. I’m all for it.

The magic mouse is $70 and available now.

[[Apple]