Apple's New Magic Mouse is One Clever Rodent

21.10.2009
Apple's low-key product rollout on Tuesday included , but one of its more innovative new offerings deserves a closer look: the . Featuring multi-touch features borrowed from the , , and , Apple's latest pointing device is a clever melding of the traditional desktop mouse with the swiping and swirling gestures of today's touchscreens.

The Magic Mouse comes with the new iMacs, and sells separately for $69. It's a sleek, low-slung wireless pointer with a smooth top shell. There are no buttons or scroll wheels.

No buttons? Well, not exactly. The top shell is actually one giant button. It's a multi-touch sensor that allows you to click anywhere.

The device tracks like a conventional mouse. To right-click or activate a shortcut menu, you click the top-right corner of the mouse. Lefties can configure Magic Mouse to do the same thing with a top-left click.

Magic Mouse brings iPhone-like scrolling to the desktop. To scroll through a Web page or document, you run your finger vertically up and down the mouse's top shell.

To scroll side to side, move your finger horizontally (left or right). And you can scroll a full 360 degrees by moving your finger in a circular motion--handy for viewing and editing large photos.