Apple Magic Mouse-int

Glen Winkfield

at 2:54 am

When I ordered the Apple Magic Mouse it was for use with a PC running Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit. I knew that there may be some compatibility problems as it is not officially supported by Apple (Why not?). I also knew that not all of the functionality would available on the PC. Does it work Yes. However it does lose connection occasionally and needs a good shake. This might just be down to the quality of the Bluetooth adaptor, but I do not know. It is also slightly less precise than a wired mouse and some other wireless mice that I have used. However it is perfectly functional. Am I happy with it? Yes. Are some others who use the machine happy? Not so much. If you intend to use it with a Mac it should be fine, but if you want to ue it with a PC, then in my experience you need to be prepared for a little inconvenience.
Rating: 4 / 5

James Bury

at 6:21 am

This is a giant leap forward in mouse design, and it is hard to imagine how to improve it further. It finally gets rid of the bug-bear of other mice – moving parts. Strictly speaking it still has a tiny bit of movement for the click function, but there’s no more scroll wheel or rotating ball to gather dirt and become stuck.

I use mine on a Mac which supports its full functionality. I can’t comment on PC use, but if you’re worried about quality, reliability and functionality, you’re probably already using a Mac ;-). In terms of aesthetics – it is superbly minimalist, and solidly built. It uses technology from the iPhone to deliver an amazingly smooth and effective scroll and swipe function. It can scroll up/down left/right just by sliding your finger across the top surface. The swipeable area is about 3/4 of the entire upper surface – everything above the Apple logo. It is remarkably precise – you can literally scroll pixel by pixel down a screen, or swipe faster to traverse huge spreadsheets in the blink of an eye.

It introduces a new feature based on laptop trackpads, which is the 2-finger swipe. On the web, this allows you to go back and forth between previous pages you were looking at, and is fast and intuitive.

It uses very precise laser tracking to detect movement, and it is by far the best and most accurate mouse I have known. I have tried every surface I can think of to try and trick it and it works perfectly every time. This really is very clever, and it is great if you are not overly neat and tidy and just want to use the mouse on whatever surface is convenient.

The click action is perfect – and you can customise the mouse to work as a single button or dual button mouse, and you can customise it for left or right-handed use as you prefer. It detects where you are clicking to decide if it is left or right click, and again works absolutely faultlessly. It has a claimed range of 10m, so you could easily use it as a clicker for presentations or for working a very long way from your computer if that felt like a good idea.

When you first get it, you need to pair it with your computer. On the Mac, click the Bluetooth icon at the top of your screen (or go to System Preferences), make sure it is set to ‘discoverable” and turn the mouse on with the microswitch on the underside. It quickly detects it and has excellent range. It’s too early to judge battery life accurately yet, though if the meter is accurate it should be good for 4-8 weeks on one set. If you click the bluetooth icon, and hover over the mouse in the dropdown list, it tells you the remaining battery level. No doubt Mac will have had the courtesy to build in some warnings when battery level gets low. It takes standard AA batteries including rechargeables. You can turn it off overnight if you wish, but I think the switch is mainly intended for when you have packed the mouse away in a bag or pocket and don’t want it to be using energy when inadvertently pressed. It has built-in power save functionality, so should detect periods of inactivity and save batteries automatically.

The same Bluetooth dropdown menu, or System preferences, will take you to the mouse preferences dialogue where you can customise the various settings for speed, left or right handedness etc.

Overall, this is a terrific product and well worth upgrading to if your current mouse is less than perfect. The previous Mac Mighty Mouse was great apart from the scroll ball that tended to stick after a while. If you used the side buttons on the old mouse for Exposé, these are no longer available. Good riddance as far as I’m concerned as I only every seemed to use them by accident. This new mouse is significantly better in every aspect of its function, and well worth the price. Please note that Apple sell these for £55, and you shouldn’t be paying more than that here. The Apple site currently quotes 5+ days before despatching – mine arrived within 48 hours of ordering so they seem to be doing better than that. if it’s available ex-stock at the right price from Amazon, that would be even more reliable

Overall – great product, and well worth the price for anyone who wants an excellent, reliable and precise mouse to work with. Can it be improved? Apart from building in rechargeable batteries and giving is a little docking station, it’s hard to see how.
Rating: 5 / 5