Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've owned one of these since Apple released it, and under OS X 10.6, it was a decent mouse replacement for people used to the trackpads in their MacBooks, and I used it or didn't use it as whatever pointing device was convenient on my desk. It was fine, if not particularly compelling. With OS X Lion and the more pervasive inclusion of gestures into the operating system and Apple provided apps, the Magic Trackpad became the best way to do non-keyboard input with a Mac, and OS X Mountain Lion continues the trend with even more gestures. Let's take the simple example of going backwards in my browser history. I'm afraid I've never gotten into the habit of using the command key equivalent to go backwards (it's command-[ ), so I would have zipped my mouse pointer up to the left arrow button on the toolbar and clicked it. Compare with the gestural equivalent of this: drag my index and middle fingers across the trackpad to the right. Bam, it's done and with the beautiful solid page drag of modern Safari actually looks like you are pushing the old page off the stack to reveal the last page. So much faster and so much more natural. Of course, old habits die hard and despite the obvious superiority of the two finger drag gesture, I found myself still going for that button I've spent nearly twenty years pressing. The solution, I went to Safari's "Customize Toolbar.." command in the "View" menu and dragged the left and right buttons off my Safari toolbar. Now I have no choice but to use the new way. Problem solved and the new habit is rapidly engrained. Similarly, one of the features of Lion I just love is full screen apps. iOS has shown that there are times when you want an immersive experience unitasking on one app. Like when I'm using iPhoto do do some serious photo categorizing, or when I want to set up Google Chrome for my kids to browse without worrying about them getting confused by task switching. However, once you are in a full screen app mode, many of the previous methods for switching between apps such as clicking on the dock or just clicking on another window are not in your face available. Now the three fingered index, middle and ring fingers drag makes it seamless to slip out of unitasking mode and back to the hectic world of multiple windows. One gesture I'm still getting used to on Mountain Lion is the two finger from the edge swipe which slides the OS X Notification Center in from the right. Assuming notifications are useful, this will be useful, but the gesture itself seems a bit unnatural as you have to bump your fingertips over the blunt edge of the Trackpad. In the long term we'll see if it makes my life easier, for many people it will. These are just examples of the many things that are impossible with a traditional mouse or trackball, sort of doable with Apple's own Magic Mouse and once internalized the most natural and seemingly intuitive actions with the Magic Trackpad or with the built in trackpads to a MacBook. And, I have every reason to expect that Apple will continue to gradually level us up, and accustom us to ever more subtle gestures as both the gestural language and users become more sophisticated. The hardware is classic Apple, elegant in its minimalism, yet not without its flaws. The number one flaw is that it cannot be used to mouse click when not laying on a flat surface. Sometimes I just want to lean back on my chair with my input device in my lap, thigh or balanced on a chair arm. Because there is no "button" on a Magic Trackpad, clicks are registered by pressing the whole device down through its little rubber feet, which necessarily have to be pressed up against something flat. Thus no acrobatic use. Also the edge is a bit too blunt and scrapes the thumb a bit. Battery life is good, I typically go a good month of daily use between switching out the rechargeables, although I haven't kept close tabs, usually just switching them when I feel bored. I will admit to buying Apple's own pricey Battery Charger but the budget minded might try Sanyo Eneloop 2 battery charger with at least 4 total batteries so that there will always be one pair in the charger and one in the device. In conclusion, this is not just a flat mouse. The addition of gestures make it something more, allowing a user interaction that alternative devices cannot achieve. It does take an effort on the user's part to fully utilize these new capabilities. It would be easy to treat this as a decent enough mouse and wonder why one would use a trackpad when a high precision and cheaper mouse could be used in the same desk space. If you buy this item, commit yourself to breaking old habits and gaining new powers.