Apple says goodbye to the one-buttoned mouse.
For the longest time, I bought the excuse that Mac users didn't need more than one mouse button, but when Apple introduced the original Mighty Mouse in August of last year, my immediate reaction was to say "well, it's about damn time!" Rather than giving us a typical two buttoned mouse, Apple came up with a multi-buttoned mouse that looked, felt and worked just like its one-buttoned Pro Mouse, with ingenious sensors that can tell whether the user was left, right or center-clicking. I didn't wait, I bought one quickly so I was one of the first kids on my block to have the Mighty Mouse.
I've been loving the Mighty Mouse ever since and the thing is just habit-forming. Once I got used to the little scroll ball and the seamless right clicking, it was hard to go back to the old Apple Pro Mouse, or any other mouse for that matter.
Before the (wired) Mighty Mouse, the last mouse Apple introduced was the Wireless Mouse. Nothing revolutionary there and I wasn't compelled to buy one. It looked and felt like the familiar single-button Apple Pro Mouse, albeit a bit heavy and with its USB cable snipped off..
Most wireless mice in the market at that time deployed their own USB RF transceiver, so it was great that Apple chose to go with standard bluetooth technology since that eliminated the need for a cumbersome RF dongle (well, that is if the computer model in use had built-in bluetooth). Another good move was to use regular AA batteries, which is sold practically everywhere, 24/7.
The end of the one-button mouse
When Apple started shipping the Mighty Mouse as standard issue with all new Apple desktops (Mac mini excluded), it essentially killed off the single-buttoned Apple Pro Mouse. With this new wireless Mighty Mouse, even the original single-buttoned bluetooth mouse is well on its way to extinction too. It's been yanked out of the Apple store as of this writing. Today, be it standard issue or optional, wired or wireless, all Apple-branded mice are 'mighty'. Although not headline-worthy, this news is a milestone in Apple's history. The computer company that first gave us the mouse and snubbed right clicking for the longest time is now no longer selling any simple mice. The one-button mouse is officially dead, and there's no need to mourn.
I'm a track-padder
Before I begin sharing my initial impressions, I should share my mousing habits. As a portable user, I’ve become trackpad dependent. I love the fact that it saves my right hand the little trip away from the keyboard just to navigate a screen. In fact, I favor the trackpad over the mouse, to the point that I can almost live without a latter. If it weren’t for GarageBand, iMovie and Freehand (yes, Freehand--some old habits are hard to break), I wouldn’t be carrying a (wired) Mouse in my bag. I’m not a gamer, nor am I a professional user. Consider me a casual mouser.
Packaging
The box of the new Apple wireless Mighty Mouse has the same dimensions of the mouse models that precede it. Unlike the original, mostly black box of the original wired Mighty Mouse, this one is all white, much like the original Wireless Mouse and the new packaging of the wired Mighty Mouse. As with all other Apple mice, an actual-sized picture of the mouse is on the front and back of the box. The front of the wireless Mighty Mouse's has it pictured in side view (as opposed to the traditional top view). Inside the box is a clear plastic sleeve with the documentation and drivers CD (which i’ve noticed has shed its usual white sleeve in favor of clear plastic), a pair of non-rechargeable Energizer Lithium AA batteries (yes, batteries included for instant gratification) and the wireless Mighty Mouse wrapped in crispy clear plastic.
Mighty Mouse Software Install
Wait a minute, I take back the instant gratification part. The wireless Might Mouse can be used without having to run the included Mighty Mouse Software Install CD. However, even if I had been using the wired Mighty Mouse with the latest OS X (10.4.7), the mouse preferences would not appear without the new drivers, nor would the wireless mouse appear under the bluetooth section in Keyboard & Mouse preferences. There was no way to assign the button functions, and the mouse would work un-mighty, in single button, scroll-less mode. Running the CD is essential in order to use this new mouse. I presumel 10.4.8 will have the new mouse drivers built-in.
The new mouse software enables a screen zoom, which activates when the ctrl key is depressed while scrolling (this is the equivalent of the keyboard action option apple - [minus] or = [equal sign]). With this driver, event the wired Mighty Mouse will take advantage of this new feature when plugged in. In fact, even the scrolling trackpad can now zoom. The documentation states that this only works in 10.4.6 or later.
To install a wireless mouse for the first time in a desktop that has no mouse to begin with, a simple reboot will automatically trigger the bluetooth pairing assistant. It’s a simple two click process. On a laptop, the mouse can be paired by launching System Preferences and selecting Set Up New Device either from Bluetooth preferences or the bluetooth tab in Keyboard & Mouse (the same can be found in the bluetooth icon if present in the menu bar).
Look ma, no wires!
I was hard pressed to spot any differences in size and shape compared to the wired Mighty Mouse. Obviously, the USB wire is missing, but other than that, the two are identical (though the new one appears to have a bluish white finish, while the old had a tinge of beige. Maybe it just needs mouse-cleaning).
On the bottom side, sliding the laser sensor cover down (which doubles as turning on the unit), reveals a round ‘lens’ instead of an oblong one found in typical optical mice. The laser does not emit any visible light, so a tiny LED above the laser sensor turns green to indicate that the mouse is on (or ready to pair) and contains a sufficient charge. The LED only goes on when the mouse is turned over (the same way an optical mouse’s red light changes brightness when turned over).
One major difference is weight. It's as heavy as the single-buttoned Wireless Mouse which is definitely much heavier than its wired counterpart. Although I like the weight saving feature of being able to use only one battery, the tradeoff in weight is insignificant to me, so I’ll keep two in there, which means I’ll be replacing batteries less frequently.
I don’t know if my old Mighty Mouse is showing signs of age, but I noticed that the click buttons of this wireless mouse feel a bit different. It’s hard to describe, but the new mouse has a little more ‘click’ to it, a stickier click at that. It’s not much of a difference, and it’s not an issue at all. I just noticed the difference (and only because I had the older mouse to compare with).
The scroll ball feels exactly the same. Like the wired version, this one has a tiny speaker, which emits a faint clicking sound when scrolling. I was hoping that Apple realized that the sound was just too faint and adjusted its volume to sound as loud as an iPod’s clicking, but they have not. It’s a sound you’ll hear only if you place your ear close to the mouse. The clicking sound is an actual audible feedback, as it only works when the ball is actually scrolling something on the computer (i.e. there’s no sound when the mouse is on with no paired computer is in range).
I’ve read a review that since bluetooth is slower than USB, there’s an issue of delayed response. I don’t know if this is true since I can’t notice any difference in response compared to my wired Mighty Mouse. In either tracking or scrolling, even after the mouse has been left idle for a long time, there is no lag. I did notice a lag the very first time I scrolled, but I suspect that was a delay in the driver kicking in. It’s been fine since.
Does the laser sensor offer a more precise tracking? I don’t know, I still can’t tell the difference, and I have yet to try it over different surfaces. It still doesn’t work on glass tables, that’s for sure.
Why go wireless?
So, if this mouse works just like the wired version, why buy it? Since, I’ve only had this for a few hours, and it’s my first wireless mouse, I will hold off my conclusion for the meantime. At this point, I’ll guess that wireless is mostly a convenience factor, something that will surely be appreciated by consumers rather than a professionals. For desktop users, it means less visible clutter. For laptop users, who already have a great pointing and scrolling device in the form of a trackpad, it offers tangle-free portability.
For me, I have yet to decide if the USD70 is worth it. Give me a few days more. This is, after all, an initial review.
