New Apple Pro Mouse and Pro Keyboard?

[MacRumors]

The University of Arizona's online educational Apple Store (http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/EducationIndividualCustom?type=higherEd&qprm=12761) (store.apple.com) posted two items on their "Recommended Systems" page:

New Apple Pro Mouse
New Apple Pro Keyboard

Both items have generic icons, carry an educational price of $55.00 and are listed as "Currently Unavailable".

Apple's Pro Mouse and Keyboard had previously been discontinued, leaving only the "Apple Keyboard" and "Apple Mouse" which come bundled with the new PowerMacs.

While this may simply be a strange mistake, previous Panther screenshots haved provided "confirmation" (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/08/20030821115836.shtml) of an upccoming Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse. And one reader report indicates that the Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard/Mouse support comes built into Mac OS X 10.2.7 on the shipping PowerMac G5.

A screenshot of the Apple Store items (http://www.chaosmint.com/mac/uofa-mouse-keyboard/) is provided on Chaosmint.com

Update: Apparently, individual schools have control over the "Recommended Systems" page so does not represent any new information from Apple.

[Ambrose Chapel]

i expect SJ to announce these in Paris...particularly if he has no new PBs to show off.

[whawho]

Since the mouse and keyboard are rumored to be wireless I thought that the new ones would be a lot more than 55.00 each.

[cr2sh]

I guess not every powermac user wants wireless kb and mouse... but it would have been nice if these had come with the systems. If I just spent $3k and then had to drop $110 to get a kb and mouse that actually matches... hmm, I dunno. I wouldnt be happy.

Yay though, BT mouse for me, finally.

The microsoft BT mouse sells for ~$70 so $55 is reasonable, though surprising.

[windwaves]

I guess it is about time we move on to wireless keyboard/mouse especially now that bluetooth simply comes along with almost every mac. Now, given Apple record, it will only take a few months for them to ship - and it ain't a new technology if based on BT.
In any event I really hope this is happening. To me every single wire that I can eliminate is a great benefit, for all kinds of reasons but mainly aesthetics and practicality.

By the way, we are back to 3-5 weeks for the dual G5's, ehehe.

[mactastic]

Cool... I guess we all new it was coming, but I'm glad to see it's only $55 each. Thats about what I paid for my current Apple keyboard. I wonder if the only keyboard and mouse Apple offers will be Blurtooth. That would really drive additional adoption of Bluetooth if every mac comes with it built it. Not to mention prod 3rd parties to make products for it.

[jbrown]

" Firstly " I,d like to point out that one must put ' first' things 'first' - so bring 'em one. I'd love to be the 'first' one on the block to have one. Well, hope they come up with more 'firsts'!!;) ;) ;)

[windwaves]

Originally posted by cr2sh
If I just spent $3k and then had to drop $110 to get a kb and mouse that actually matches... hmm, I dunno. I wouldnt be happy.



ABSOLUTELY !!! NON SENSE, I would be totally pissed off. But I guess thats life

[macabre]

Yay!
My only peev about the G5's looks to soon be abolished.
It am assuming that these will be included with the new PowerMacs after they are available.

[Doctor Q]

I doubt that the U. of A. computer store would be trusted with inside information about upcoming Apple products. Maybe U. of A. was guessing or put a placeholder there.

[yossele]

What use would you have with a BT M&KB if you didn't order BT in your PM, BT is only optional.

[nichrome]

Originally posted by whawho
Since the mouse and keyboard are rumored to be wireless I thought that the new ones would be a lot more than 55.00 each.
Note that the 55 bucks is the educational/academic price. And as such it's not exceptionally low (or really low at all).

[mkaake]

it's my understanding that apple does all of that... for my univeristy, and others that i've checked, the 'suggested systems' is pretty much the entire lineup, which ould make me think that apple just does all of these, maybe with a little input from the university itself. i imagine those universities with actual ties to apple would have input...

can anyone out there verify who puts these pages together? if i'm right, then this would be the second thing that's been leaked strait from apple (well of course, if you ignore the whole fact of the bluetooth support for apple bluetooth mouse and apple bluetooth keyboard in panther...)


matt

[LimeLite]

But there's something wrong here. In Panther, the keyboard and mouse are called "Apple Wireless Keyboard" and "Apple Wireless Mouse". These items are neither. They are called "New Apple Pro Keayboard" and "New Apple Pro Mouse". They might be the wireless versions, but could very well be a third set: Regular, Pro, Wireless.

[mactastic]

Originally posted by nichrome
Note that the 55 bucks is the educational/academic price. And as such it's not exceptionally low (or really low at all).

The current educational discount on keyboards and mice is only $5. So maybe $60 for the BT versions retail?

[arn]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
I doubt that the U. of A. computer store would be trusted with inside information about upcoming Apple products. Maybe U. of A. was guessing or put a placeholder there.

It's on Apple's site... not U Of A.

arn

[Mudbug]

Originally posted by yossele
What use would you have with a BT M&KB if you didn't order BT in your PM, BT is only optional.

better keep the PM BT M&KB on the QT PDQ or Big A will File 13 it ASAP :D

I just thought there were a few abbreviations missing from that... ;)

[SeaFox]

Originally posted by Macrumors
The University of Arizona's online educational Apple Store (http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/EducationIndividualCustom?type=higherEd&qprm=12761) (store.apple.com) posted two items on their "Recommended Systems" page:

New Apple Pro Mouse
New Apple Pro Keyboard

Both items have generic icons, carry an educational price of $55.00 and are listed as "Currently Unavailable".


What would be the point of recommending items that are unavailable? So students can run right out and not buy them. :rolleyes:

[whawho]

Originally posted by nichrome
Note that the 55 bucks is the educational/academic price. And as such it's not exceptionally low (or really low at all).

I know it's not exceptionally low. I was more suprised that the prices weren't raised to like 75 or 80 each for the new technology, was all I was saying.

[iLife]

Originally posted by cr2sh

The microsoft BT mouse sells for ~$70 so $55 is reasonable, though surprising.

i also thought about this... i know as a student that i got decent reductions in cost when buying the G5, and since this is a student store: maybe the prices set here aren't the ones you'll see in the normal store... anyways just a thought

i'm debating whether id actually buy one when they come out... :confused:

[network23]

I'm with LimeLite on this one. I'll bet these are new Pro wired peripherals, and wireless ones will come later.

[whawho]

Originally posted by network23
I'm with LimeLite on this one. I'll bet these are new Pro wired peripherals, and wireless ones will come later.

I hope you're right, because I really would want a wired one over a wireless one, the wires on mice and keyboards have never really bothered me personally.

[SilentPanda]

The low cost could also be (aside from normal student discount) I think sometimes the school sucks up some of the cost for the student too... I could be totally wrong on that though.

I won't be buying either of them anyhow so no biggie... I have my wired keyboard hooked up to my flat panel iMac and the Logitech MX700 Mouse (wireless) anyhow... I've never really had a need for a wireless keyboard but the mouse is definitely nice.

[tgrundke]

I dunno, I'm one who finds it a bit silly for Apple to be spending precious research and development resources on the development of 'pretty' wireless devices that match the computers.

Of course, I could be wrong and these new peripherals will change my life, but I doubt it.

Somehow, shelling out $55 for a wireless (and most likely) single-button mouse, just beacuse it matches my computer sounds a bit silly, no?

I'll stick with my $14 Logitech Optical mouse with two buttons and a scroll-wheel, thank you.

[cr2sh]

Originally posted by tgrundke
Somehow, shelling out $55 for a wireless (and most likely) single-button mouse, just beacuse it matches my computer sounds a bit silly, no?

No, indeed. $55 for a BT mouse would be (to my knowledge) the cheapest on the market, its made by apple, and its cool aluminum shell would be virtually indestructable. I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

[LimeLite]

Ok, can someone please explain to me why everyone is assuming that the new Apple Pro Keyboard and Pro Mouse will be wireless? Panther calls it the Apple Wireless Keyboard, not the Apple Pro Keyboard. Get it? Why *wouldn't* Apple make a wired pro option? And when you consider that, in the educational online store, that the regular old Apple Keyboard (not pro or wireless) costs $44...it doesn't surprise me that a new Pro version would be $10 more. It *would* surprise me if a wireless one was only $10 more though.

Do you all get it yet? We're likely dealing with three Keyboard/Mouse choices here.

[zoozx]

I find this very LAME on Apple's part that they are not included with the G5. Especially if the mouse has 2 buttons. That should be standard! A wireless keyboard, they can keep that.
You know apple is not going to keep 2 sets of mice and keyboards and will be including this with the G5 in the soon to be future.
That might even happen before apple actually ships G5's to people that ordered early.:rolleyes:

[arn]

Yep

I think

Apple Pro Keyboard
Apple Pro Mouse

and

Apple Wireless Keyboard
Apple Wireless Mouse

and

Apple Keyboard
Apple Mouse

are all different products

arn

[eagleeyes]

Ok now this is halarious!!! I was the buyer for that bookstore and set that like 3 years ago because I did not want to put any systems into our recommended section, but apple made me put something in. IT IS NOT AN ANOUNCEMENT!!!! Trust me that bookstore knows nothing more about a "new" mouse than anyone else.

P.S. shame on the editors for not even trying to validate this! If you had even tried I guarentee you would have talked with me, I am not the buyer anymore, but I handle most all the apple stuff, esp for things like this. If you need any kind of proof call the UofA Bookstore and ask to talk to the apple guy. You will talk to me and I can varify for ya:)

[arn]

article updated:


Update: Apparently, individual schools have control over the "Recommended Systems" page so does not represent any new information from Apple.

Apologies for the misunderstanding, it was based on the assumption that Apple has control of all pages under http://store.apple.com

arn

[Eniregnat]

Not to steal the limelight, but what LimeLight states is quite likely true. It is completely conceivable that Apple might someday make all of its G5s will come with a BlueTooth keyboard (http://www.bluetooth.com/) and mouse. Adding the wireless ability is not that costly, and it would add value to the line. There have also been murmurs in the past that Apple would eventually do away with those annoying cables. Perhaps this is a start. They did this with the floppy and later stated that every computer needed Firewire, and in some sense they did this with flatscreens (less the eMac).

[cr2sh]

Originally posted by eagleeyes
P.S. shame on the editors for not even trying to validate this! If you had even tried I guarentee you would have talked with me, I am not the buyer anymore, but I handle most all the apple stuff, esp for things like this. If you need any kind of proof call the UofA Bookstore and ask to talk to the apple guy. You will talk to me and I can varify for ya:)

You do realize that this is a rumors website... don't you? Once you validate something, it is by defintion, no longer a rumor. Things like this come up all the time, Arn reports it because it is of interest to us. It is news and before you get all "shame on the editors" think about why you're here.

[arn]

Originally posted by cr2sh
You do realize that this is a rumors website... don't you? Once you validate something, it is by defintion, no longer a rumor. Things like this come up all the time, Arn reports it because it is of interest to us. It is news and before you get all "shame on the editors" think about why you're here.

well, in this particular case, it's not a question of validating vs not. I assumed Apple posted it... so calling Apple to ask for validation vs not seemed a futile endeavor.

If I had known Universities had control of those individual pages, I would not have posted it at all.

arn

[macmanmk]

The new Apple Pro keyboard is currently on sale at the CompUSA on Market Street in SF. It's the same model shipping with the G5 and doesn't have the nice rounded corners like the previous model.

[LimeLite]

Originally posted by macmanmk
The new Apple Pro keyboard is currently on sale at the CompUSA on Market Street in SF. It's the same model shipping with the G5 and doesn't have the nice rounded corners like the previous model.
That's slightly incorrect. They are selling an Apple Keyboard. There is no "Pro" in the name.

[Photorun]

Thanks Arn.

Yes, I work for a University and that's directly from Apple's own web site and servers. They set up online Apple Stores for all colleges basically by slapping the college logo or, for my college, just a font typed out (it's a state school). For this reason being on an Apple site one would believe Apple is indeed updating it's keyboard and mouse.

To what exactly? That's the thinker but we'll see.

[Doctor Q]

I hope wireless keyboards and mice are always optional, i.e., not standard with any type of Mac because schools and other organizations that have to secure their equipment would have a problem otherwise. We currently have our student Macs locked to tables and the mouse and keyboard cables pass through a metal loop to secure them too. If these devices become wireless, you can't easily secure them! If they are attached to a table in any way, that half-defeats the "wireless" goal anyway.

[zim]

So how does the keyboard fit into the same size box as the mouse?

sorry, it had to be said, but seriously, does apple usually use generic icons to represent product?

[strangelogic]

Originally posted by zim
but seriously, does apple usually use generic icons to represent product?
when the school has links to products that don't exist anymore they apparently do....

[voicegy]

I have input to our school district's product page.

If the products WE place from Apple's product line up in the recommended products price page (yes, educational institutions have the "power" to create these pages) reach "end of life" or have been upgraded, Apple sends me a reminder that those products are no longer valid, and it shows up, in so many words, on the Recommended Products page that the educational institution put together.

It stays that way until the creator of the page "gets around" to updating it with the new product.

This practice was getting time consuming for us, so we created standards from which we recommend to our customers (teachers, students, administrators) that don't change for many months at a time. Therefore, we eliminated our recommended products page, saving us quite a bit of hassle.

[iRiKliAN]

Apple Pro BTooth Mouse & <PRESENTER> ???

- 45foot (15-meter) range and no line of sight required
- Optical mouse precision on almost any surface:
- Simple two-button design to move through presentations easily
- Power-saving switch and smart power management
- Carrying case included
- Two Rechargable AA batteries included
- Rapid firewire charge base station
- Five-year warranty
- Compatible with most presentation applications inc. Keynote

The bluetooth mouse will all have the prevision of being a fully functional presenter, able to control Powerpoint and keynote presentations freestanding. It will bear ssimilarities to logitechs model, the Logitech Cordless presenter.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm?page=products/details&CRID=3&CONTENTID=4981&countryid=19&languageid=1

I remeber reading recently a leaked report stating the L E D beneath the mouse could be covered. Its believe this activates Presenter & powersaver mode.

What do u think??

[LimeLite]

Originally posted by iRiKliAN
Apple Pro BTooth Mouse & <PRESENTER> ???

- 45foot (15-meter) range and no line of sight required
- Optical mouse precision on almost any surface:
- Simple two-button design to move through presentations easily
- Power-saving switch and smart power management
- Carrying case included
- Two Rechargable AA batteries included
- Rapid firewire charge base station
- Five-year warranty
- Compatible with most presentation applications inc. Keynote

The bluetooth mouse will all have the prevision of being a fully functional presenter, able to control Powerpoint and keynote presentations freestanding. It will bear ssimilarities to logitechs model, the Logitech Cordless presenter.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm?page=products/details&CRID=3&CONTENTID=4981&countryid=19&languageid=1

I remeber reading recently a leaked report stating the L E D beneath the mouse could be covered. Its believe this activates Presenter & powersaver mode.

What do u think??
Um...is this a guess, a hope, or are you basing it on some fact that you know?

[iRiKliAN]

Might be wishful thinking...

But its possible..

[Bengt77]

Originally posted by iRiKliAN
Might be wishful thinking...

But its possible..

The tale of life, really...

;)