A Magic(ky) Mouse
February 23rd 2011 01:17
The Apple Magic Mouse
Having had a fair few problems lately with my various PC's I have bought an Apple Mac Mini just for the purpose of having something stable. These last few months have been extermely frustrating in attempting to deal with such issues and now another computer is having issues as well.
Hence the Magic Mouse enters the picture.
Before I start this review I should point out that I come from a long line of Logitech mice for PC users, most recently the MX Revolution and MX Performance Mouse both running over Bluetooth. So these are the two most likely mice I would compare the Magic Mouse with. I also have big hands with long fingers.........
Pure Simplicity....
Upon arriving and unpacking the mouse there's not much to be said about the box or the mouse itself. Both are simplicity itself with the box barely larger than the mouse and a simple hard plastic covering. There is nos oftware, no bluetooth receiver and the batteries are pre-installed the mouse (I'm not too certain if this has had any effect on the longevity of the batteries).
The mouse itself is extremely low in terms of its profile when compared to most other mice. There are no visible buttons on the mice, no scroll wheel, in fact its pure white on top with an Apple logo. Some people might find this a tad disconcerting when you compare it with other mice and the array of buttons that are often visible.
This mouse comes into its own when you first start it up when compared tpo the equivelant process of installing a bluetooth mouse on a Windows machine. Being an Apple device you simply switch it on, the Mac recognises the mouse and connects with it automatically and I had it up and running in a matter of 30 seconds. There's no uncanny feeling that you might need a wired mouse "Just in case".
Key Features....
The Magic Mouse is like most toher mice except it has one feature that sets it apart from the rest of the competition. Its that the mouse, or at least the area above the Apple Logo where you would normally find buttons and a scroll wheel, is multi-touch capable. Beyond this feature the Magic Mouse is like most ordinary Bluetooth mice.
First Impressions...
Upon removing it from the box there's a certain "WOW" factor that often hits most people when unveiling Apple products for the first time. Its elegant and stylish but there's one thing that worried me and its the size and height of the mouse. It sits alongside and goes well with Apple's wireless keyboard range and possibly the Magic Trackpad if you want to run both side-by-side.
Comfort...
Comfort is something I've always valued in my mice as I often sit at the compter for long periods of time and despite technological advances the mouse is still my primary control device. The mouse at first feels comfortable but after 5 minutes of use I must admit I was yearning for a more supportive mouse which ergonomic design principles. Microsoft, Logitech and a plathora of other mouse manufacturers have been employing such concepts for a long time already, its almost inexcusable that Apple stuck with a fairly simplistic curve (albeit a rather nice looking one at that).
Functionality...
Apple sadly lets this mouse down in terms of its functionality and its biggest selling point is essentially rendered average at best. Or at least on a par with the average two button/scroll wheel mouse. Considering the touch sensitive surface of the mouse is multi-touch compatible and can support almost the entire feature set of the multi-touch user experience offered on devices like the iPhone and iPad, it is disappointing that Apple only lets you utilise very limited aspects of this out of the box. Of course you can download and install additional software such as Magic Prefs to enahnce the functionality but that kind of defeats the point.
The functionality that is on offer simply replicated that of a standard mouse with left and right click (you will need to activate this first as it comes pre-configured as a one button mouse). Scrolling is also accessible using one finger and is also offered in a diagonal direction. Back and Forward functionality is activated by two finger swipes (more on this soon) and zoom can be activated in conjunction with a key press.
Utilising the actual funtions of the mouse is a bit of a dilemma. In practise this should work well but there are some issues caused by the size of the mouse and the way most people would grip a mouse. As someone who usually puts their three middle fingers on the top part of the mouse I expereinced some difficulties getting the mouse to respond in the appropriate manner. The first issue I had was that the mouse occasionally didn't recognise a left mouse click until I had explicitly lifted up all other fingers off the mouse (a rather uncomfortable movement as the mouse does not support your wrist or lower palm whatsoever). Second issue was attempting the two finger swipes whilst trying to keep a steady grip on the mouse. I may need to start doing strengthening exercises for my little finger!
Apart from this the mouse acts admirably as a regular mouse should. I did find the tracking a bit slow but that may simply be my personal preference.
And the verdict is...
I guess this comes down to the big question that is often asked in the peripheral market for computers. Form or Function? Out of the box this mouse is elegant and a beauty to behold but it's nowhere even close to the MX Revolution in terms of comfort. Functionality wise its okay but is nothing special, Apple seems to have missed the benifits and rewards that the multi-touch capabilities could provide on this mouse. It's a shame you need to install 3rd party software just to bring the mouses functionality to a point where it should be.
Design : Excellent [4.5/5]
Comfort : Shocking [0.5/5]
Functionality : Bare bones [2/5]
Price : Poor [2/5] (compared to other mice with similar function sets)
Overall : A nice concept but it needs some serious work to improve the functionality aand comfort out of the box. [2.5/5]
Purchase Information
an purchase this mouse from most Apple retailers in Australia or the Apple online store.
Disclaimrer
I purhcased this mouse personally and was in no way given any financial assistance by either Apple or any other persons to review this product.
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