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More Details on Next-Generation Mighty Mouse?

Last week, French site Mac4Ever briefly noted among other topics that Apple is reportedly working on a new touch-sensitive mouse capable of "complex movements" from its touch surface. A new report today from AppleInsider offers additional claims of a new mouse in the works, possibly to debut in the very near future alongside revamped iMacs.

Building on a patent application addressing multi-touch mouse technology filed in March 2006, the new mouse is rumored to lack a roller ball for scrolling purposes and instead incorporate touch sensitivity for such actions while also offering a responsive scrolling system similar to that seen in the iPhone OS.

Given Apple's patented "inertia feedback" used on the iPod and iPhone, where item lists bounce when reaching the top or bottom and scrolling speeds accelerate in response to how the user touches the surface, the next Apple mouse is similarly expected to wed new hardware with sophisticated software to deliver an intuitive new feel in scroll navigation.

Should the new mouse arrive alongside revamped iMacs, its also likely to drop the white plastic finish it formerly used to match previous Mac models, possibly adopting an aluminum appearance to fit in with Apple's current lineup of desktop computers and notebooks. People familiar with the company's plans have indicated the new iMac will eventually receive a retooled IR remote that drops white plastic for an aluminum finish.

The new report's claims of an aluminum finish conflict with those of Mac4Ever, whose sources reported that the new mouse would retain the clear plastic shell of the existing Mighty Mouse, although with a more slender form factor.

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31 months ago
That would be schweet! I can see the use of iPhone-type motions to really help with e.g., large text documents...
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31 months ago
bout damn time. i been sayin they shoulda done this since the original mighty mouse came out. the track ball they have now is a joke. mine only worked for the first month i owned the thing and its my 3rd one after sending a few back:mad:
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31 months ago
The mighty mouse is so old it shipped with the powermac :p
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31 months ago
Mighty mouse - gunk = Mightier mouse!

It'll be very interesting how they implement this, moving fingertips around on a mouse sounds a little awkward; but if they can make the concept work.... a multi-touch mouse with scroll/rotate/zoom gestures?

I think a l'il wee just came out.
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31 months ago
Return of the hockey puck.
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31 months ago
Death to the grime holding rollerball!
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31 months ago
About time apple makes a mouse the is usable.
I've never liked the apple mices and have used logitechs always
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31 months ago
i will buy one of these the first day they come out. i've been so annoyed with my BT mighty mouse that i've been looking at other mice lately, but if Apple comes out with a better one, i'll gladly give it a shot.
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31 months ago
Forget the mouse, what I want is a bluetooth multi-touch trackpad.
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31 months ago

Forget the mouse, what I want is a bluetooth multi-touch trackpad.


Or a trackpad keyboard. Switching from my Macbook to my iMac feels like a step back.
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