New iMac and Magic Mouse unboxing and quick hands-on
By Paul Miller 
posted Oct 20th 2009 12:57PM
posted Oct 20th 2009 12:57PM
When we flicked the mouse on it was easy enough to spot it over Bluetooth on our regular Mac, but it only worked with tracking and single click -- none of this capacitive nonsense without a software update, naturally. On the iMac's first boot it was able to pick up the mouse and keyboard without a problem, even letting us use the capacitive scrolling to work through the setup wizard. We quickly spotted our first usability problem: coming from a trackpad heavy workflow, our fingers were expecting a capacitive tap-to-click action, instead of having to physically click the mouse. It's not a huge problem, but there's no 1:1 usability model between an Apple trackpad and this mouse. Scrolling is single finger, with a two finger left or right swipe doing back / forward in a browser or the finder. Right clicking requires a lifting of the left click finger, just like the Mighty Mouse, though all-in-all it feels much less frustrating to use than the Mighty Mouse, which almost seems to rage against the click at times. Like we said before: no pinch to zoom, but given the shape and texture of the surface, we're not sure we could pull it off even if the software allowed for it.
Very sexy but not useful.
magic mouse?
it looks like a slug instead
iSlug
a giant, white slug.
Glossy mouse makes me sad :(
Why can't they use the same premium looking aluminum material everything else is made out of?
hmm, it might leave white trails behind
Ding dong the scroll wheel is dead.
Let me see if I understand this correctly:
Apple took the things that everybody hated about the mighty mouse and the wireless keyboard and made sure that the new mouse contained everything they hated (ie no two physical buttons) and no number pad on the keyboard and are now shipping them standard?
I'm just in love with the new i5Macs, but the Magic is only complementary IMO. If you like gestures however, you're gonna love the Magic.
Also, SD slot? Holy Hell my friends, IT IS ON =D! I'm gettin' all my kingstons and SanDisks and I'm gonna go nuts on this thing!
I agree. they should have included a blu-ray player so that we could backup our home movies at $3/25GB and watch real HD content
What about center button expose and side buttons? No more?
I'm not even a fan of Apple and i think this is sexy.
I'm not even a fan of Apple and i think this is sexy.
Anyone else spot the new Apple Remote?
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC377?mco=MTMzNzQ4ODg
They should have included bluray and SSD!;)
I assume this is the same "sense which side of the mouse your finger is touching" style clicking from the mighty mouse? I'll pass, real mice are cheaper and don't require you to re-train your fingers.
I'd really like to know the answer to this as well.
No, it is using the new multitouch technology found in the iPhones and new trackpads. Not the same technology as the old mighty mouse by any means. Better recognition of which side you are clicking on by 1000-fold (I have played with one myself).
Detox -
Go Away. You haven't shut up for 10 seconds today. Do you have anything to say that's not about the haters and whiners?
Neither can your time machine, Paul.
I think the hate is for you not the product.
Seriosly engadget next time just tell us you have a "suprise" rather than telling us lies.
reffering to the "apple store awaital" anxiety engadget makes.
Whoa, new SKUs... whoa, a bunch of press releases and the accompanying posts written in a couple of minutes... whoa, the stuff is at our door...
Life moves fast for the buffoons at End-gadget.
Do you guys even know what "embargo" means?
It doesn't mean make shit up.
"Toot! Toot! The Whine Train is pulling into the station!"
Will you grow up, Chapel. If you are looking to not be banned again, then I suggest you take it down a notch.
"Toot! Toot! The Whine Train is pulling into the station!"
Unlike your train of thought, which is apparently still boarding at the station.
i so want one of those!!!
τα θέλω τώρα!!!!!
I'm liking the Bamboo Pad more then this mouse, this mouse is cramping you in.
You guys knew what Apple had in store all along!
Shame.
MS has already demoed Multi touch mice and with pinch zooming too so if some apple fanboy is having an orgasm i say please stop it's a copy of MS
It's not who comes up with it first, it's who releases a product with it first.
Besides Apple made multitouch popular anyway. (that's coming from a daily windows user)
Except that this has been implemented in macbook pro touchpads for some time.
I think this is a case of one goal, and many chasers.
Apple should be congratulated for releasing this first, lets hope it lives up to expectations.
To be fair, I think we all know that microsoft was clearly responding to the rumors of exactly this mouse that started showing up shortly before that showing. They basically just wanted to call everyone's attention to the fact that they had this tech already in the making before Apple announced this to preempt any claims that they copied it.
Geepers, enough Mac already.
Funny how no one says this when we get 4 new Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Vizio, Canon, etc., etc. items.
Why is everything semen colored?
you got serious problems if your semen is aluminum colored
sorry semen splattered on aluminum.
@glam
Freud based a theory of psychology on people like you....
No one really takes Freud seriously, his methods were innovative his theories are antiquated.
Guess you and your hand would know...
That 27 in. looks small for some reason on the table.
That's what she said.
If she says that to 27in., it's probably time to move on.
The core i5/i7 for the iMac is certainly a welcome addition, but I'm not too impressed by the magic mouse so far(I was impressed at first, until I saw the battery life and tried out the gestures for myself on my own mouse). Overall, I think the biggest addition was the new iMacs, the rest just either seemed incremental or, in the case of the magic mouse, just... bad.
Hi,
you make mac users look bad.
Bye.
really sharp system! props to apple once again
The iMac itself, yes. The Magic Mouse, not so much.
Does anyone know if the new mouse has a way to activate expose or dashboard?
It doesn't look like the Magic Mouse has the buttons/gestures to do Expose, Spaces or Dashboard.
Total deal breaker for multi-taskers.