More Details on Next-Generation Mighty Mouse?

[MacRumors]

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.

Article Link: More Details on Next-Generation Mighty Mouse?

[Shasterball]

That would be schweet! I can see the use of iPhone-type motions to really help with e.g., large text documents...

[Rychiar]

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

[igazza]

The mighty mouse is so old it shipped with the powermac

[whooleytoo]

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.

[KingYaba]

Return of the hockey puck.

[Full of Win]

Death to the grime holding rollerball!

[cluthz]

About time apple makes a mouse the is usable.
I've never liked the apple mices and have used logitechs always

[gonnabuyamac]

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.

[aresinferno]

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

[CalMin]

Originally Posted by aresinferno

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.

[Wayfarer]

Hurrah for physics, function and revolutionary design!

Hopefully they will focus on ergonomics too...

[jeepik]

thank god

the current mighty mouse aint so "mighty"

cant wait

[crackbookpro]

Originally Posted by aresinferno

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

...along with a bluetooth numeric keypad keyboard. There is space on the numeric keypad keyboard to have a trackpad.

The mouse is one of the best simple inventions of all time. I laugh at touch screen computers like the HP TouchSmart PC - the thing is just dumb!!!

Can't wait for the new mouse!

[haravikk]

Hmm, it sounds interesting. The current Mighty Mouse rollerball is feeble as anything, I'd be perfectly happy just to have them make that a bit bigger/sturdier, but a touch-surface may be much more useful in the long run as it can't get dirt in it as the rollerball can, which causes it to stop working after a while.

I would also like them to start making right and left-handed mice; while it's admirable that they keep trying for a mouse that you can use with either hand, the result tends not to be very comfortable for prolonged use, at least for me.

And lastly; battery life! They need to ditch AA batteries in favour of an internal one, with a charging and RF receiving dock, as RF uses less power I believe. My Logitech MX-Revolution can last for a little over two weeks of heavy use on a full-charge, and recharges from empty in two or three hours (though I don't let it get that low normally). When I used to use the wireless Mighty Mouse and its predecessor I was churning through batteries so quickly it just became a no-brainer to buy a different wireless mouse!

I don't think I've ever liked a single Apple mouse except for the old G3 puck mouse, but even then it was only really a good match for the G3 iMacs, not the PowerMacs.

[doctoree]

I want a revolutionary input device where I don't have to make stupid, unhealthy movements with my hands to move the pointer on screen.
I know that's hard to make but this is Apple we are talking about. They invented a phone that suddenly appeared and now eats all the other phones.

[izzle22]

I wonder if Snow Leopard will be required?????

[dubhe]

we don't need a slender mouse, we need a hand sized mouse that works.

[wesleyh]

Is this appleinsider or what? Almost every single post is repeated from there, sounds like macrumors is becoming lazy.

[bobob]

Why does the new mouse have to be a mouse at all?

Perhaps it'll be a wireless touchpad that just sits on your desk...

[Mew2468]

Nice! I've always loved how the iPod Touch and iPhone scroll through things.

[Unspoken Demise]

Haha. Now there is finally a market for mouse screen protectors.

[Otaviano]

About time, the Mighty Mouse is one of the worse Apple products ever. I can't stand that stupid tracking ball, that immediately clogs up and is impossible to clean.

[nxfxcom]

I am a Tablet Only user! But i actually might one like that for modelling

[BrutalSpoon]

I reckon a multitouch mouse would be pretty damn awesome - I can just imagine scrolling around webpages by moving both fingers up and down on both buttons at once a la the multitouch trackpad on MacBooks. Trying it on the mouse I'm using right now, it actually works pretty well.

That's assuming, of course, that Apple would finally move to a multi button mouse... which, knowing Apple, isn't likely. Mind you, that could just mean more room for gestures if it's just a flat surface like the current mighty mouse (without the scroll ball, of course).

It'll be interesting to see what comes out of this!