NoPopMag

Apple's Magic Mouse

They just won the multitouch-device race years ago (iPhone). They kept developing the multitouch technology and brought it to notebooks (Macbook’s multitouch pad). As engineers might know, Apple just got a considerable advantage in multitouch technology.

Microsoft catch it. They noticed that multitouch was the next hip. Before continuing we’ve to notice something, Microsoft doesn’t develop computers, so they partner with other PC makers as HP (their favorite), Acer, or Dell. Three ideas came out from Microsoft:

• Tablet PC: released before iPhone, wasn’t really multitouch, just was extending the PDA concept.
• Microsoft Surface: announced after iPhone, was a good research idea. Implies a different paradigm of use, will see if works. By now, we do know that certainly can’t be focused to be used as standard PC, since is like a table you’ll need to keep your neck down all time to interact with it. Uncomfortable.
• HP Touchsmart: not multitouch either, it might look as the best approach to general use PCs but people gets tired of keeping the arm up for touching the screen (don’t panic, they come with standard mouse and keyboard).

So desktop computers were really missing multitouch capabilities for general use. To be honest, I was waiting Apple to release an multitouch pad with LED screen (very iPhone like) but for desktop computers. Then, Microsoft announced to be researching a multitouch mouse and I realized “hey, this is a good idea for desktops!” (since I really love Macbook’s multitouch pad), but Apple did it again. They had a revolutionary mouse ready to hit the market: the Magic Mouse.

Did this happen in just one night? Nope. Apple were visionary and bought a really interesting company called Fingerworks some years ago (there were other visionary companies as Google buying Youtube, and Microsoft buying… nothing really interesting).

Ok, let’s be fair. Microsoft really do good mouses (I really love my Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000), they have a lot of respect in that field. And their Mouses Development Department wasn’t really taking naps all that time. They launched a foldable mouse (Arc Mouse) and developed a new laser tracking technology (BlueTrack). Decorating the house while Apple was building a skyscraper.

Now, everything that Microsoft builds related to touch technology on mouses will smells like Apple. And, for those who likes to understand trends, since Apple and Microsoft were working in the same idea (the multitouch mouse) we can measure a bit, how far is one from another: Microsoft multitouch prototype mouse vs. Apple’s ready-to-buy Magic Mouse.