Apple Takes on the Mighty Mouse with the Magic Trackpad

More like this
11

Comments

Comments are closed on this article

avatar

M1K3Z0R

July 28, 2010 at 11:46pm

So they charge about as much for a trackpad as they do for the keyboard? If apple were not so intent on making money, they could have just spared the extra batteries and other bluetooth radio and just combined the trackpad into the keyboard. Too bad IBM/Lenovo already did that long ago, and still continues to with the external Thinkpad/Thinkplus keyboards with both the ibm nipple (Trackpoint) and trackpad (Ultranav).

Now as much as I hate Apple in general, I do like their slim bluetooth keyboard quite a bit. Makes an excellent HTPC kbd and is small/light enough to throw anywhere to the side when not needed. I only wish they had a backlit version, but knowing apple that would most likely bloat the cost even more as they attempt to also make the apple logo on the underside light up *roll eyes*

avatar

jgrimoldy

July 28, 2010 at 3:53pm

Steve Jobs:  Howz about a bundled standard mouse that has more than ONE FUCKING BUTTON!  You can call it a Magical Multi-Touch Mouse or some other bullshit.

avatar

SuperiorBeing

July 28, 2010 at 1:29pm

For that much money, I'd rather have a wacom.

avatar

Havok

July 28, 2010 at 8:39am

Just for kicks: Wouldn't this actually be good for HTPCs if it'll work with normal PCs? I mean it's just Bluetooth... Also, maybe this device is for the 25 people out there with Mac-Minis, or whatever they're called. I'm skeptical this is gonna be "magical and revolutionary" (after all, its just a frakkin' big touchpad) but it is the only tablet-like input device that is wireless. If I can connect this to my HTPC and just chill out on my couch surfing through my library of movies and shows from 33 feet away like Apple claims, this may actually be the first Apple device I purchase.

avatar

dracx619

July 28, 2010 at 9:32am

thanks havok, you've actually come up with a good use for this doohickey. i was reading on engadget that apple released drivers for both osx(naturally) and windows so i guess it can work for us non osx people if we can find a practical ue for it

avatar

Havok

July 28, 2010 at 9:38am

I just found this on thinkgeek. It's a touchpad/wireless keyboard device. Sure the 'pad isn't as big as "80% larger than the average Macbook touchpad" but it does incorporate all of the inputs you may need. And it's the same price. Go figure, eh?

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/keyboards-mice/e0e7/?cpg=136HCS&image

avatar

dracx619

July 28, 2010 at 12:36pm

double score. ive only seen this coming out of asia or for like 150 bucks from here in th us. i would definitely go for this. thanks man!

avatar

Bender2000

July 28, 2010 at 5:52am

Why didn't Logitech or Microsoft have this first? I can see the advantage in some situations but I think its more a kludge for Apple because the all in one competition all have touchscreens. Kudos to Jobs and Co. for finally figuring out how to get rid of that one last button on the mouse.

avatar

Fecal Face

July 28, 2010 at 2:33am

Are you kidding me? Trackpads are a huge pain in the ass, I only use them when I have no mouse available. I don't think I know of anybody who prefers a trackpad over a mouse.

So why the hell would I want to buy a trackpad for my desktop, and on top of that, why the hell would I want to pay $69 for it!? Not to mention $29 to charge it, because apparently everything has to be wireless nowadays. What's wrong with a corded trackpad? Oh wait, Apple won't make as much money that way.

Let me get this straight - I'm paying $69 ($70), plus $29 ($30), a total of ~$100, so I can use something that is more inconvenient to use than the mouse I already own. Why would someone pay $100 for an annoyance?

avatar

roninnder

July 28, 2010 at 3:21am

You might want to consider not buying one if you find it less convenient. I personally don't understand why anyone chooses to use software or hardware that I don't prefer. On the other hand, I can't imagine how I would have established a preference for anything if I didn't have any options at all. I'm with you Fecal Face; Down with choice!

Also, last time I checked you can charge AA batteries (which it runs on) however you want. 

avatar

dracx619

July 28, 2010 at 3:12am

seriously. and these apple nuts swear by its multi'trackness' of it all. i guess gesture based movements are all fine and dandy but 1) i hate, hate, hate apple trackpads. i find them very uncomfortable to use and having to use multiple fingers to achieve some sort of gesture hurts my hand after a while. 2) the reason theres a trackpad on a laptop is because of portbility right? its there because normally you have it on your LAP and dont use a mouse. 3) you use a mouse with a desktop computer because its on a nice open desk and the mouse gives you way more control. 4) trackpads are only great on desktops if its like a wacom tablet and you ahve a use for it in photoshop and illustrator type programs. 5) and i doubt jobs is going to want a pen to be used on its magical device cause "if you got to use a pen, you blew it"

hello and goodbye

Log in to MaximumPC directly or log in using Facebook

Forgot your username or password?
Click here for help.

Login with Facebook
Log in using Facebook to share comments and articles easily with your Facebook feed.
Don't have an account? Join Now.