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Apple's 'Magic Trackpad' Apparently Approved by FCC

I do believe this is also for macbook pros, lets say:it does more than the trackpad on a macbook pro. If its larger and higher, could be also for designing with a stylus magical pen or just electronic undersigning on contracts and so on..just imagine
 
You are all missing the point.

Look at the design of this device. It's aluminium structure mimics the Wireless Keyboard, which would suggest that they're meant to be placed together in the land of Apple design. It connects via Bluetooth like the Mice, which means it can be used with either a Desktop or Laptop.

Given how much stick Apple have had from their Mice over the years, I can honestly see the Magic Mouse as something of a forerunner to this Magic Pad. I would bet right now that this device will be released with the new iMacs come a month or two's time, with the Magic Mouse being the other option in the B.T.O menu.

Apple already give the user a choice of whether they would like a Magic Mouse or Apple Wired Mouse. I would suggest that with the new iMac and Mac Pro releases, the user will have the choice of either a mouse or trackpad, with the wired mouse being ditched all together.

I for one can't wait. The Magic Mouse is uncomfortable and lacks functionality of even the previous wired mouse. Imagine the possibilities that already exist in a MacBooks trackpad, except for your iMac. Most of those actions are instinctive; swiping, tapping and dragging. To those that say they "hate trackpads", you mustn't forget that this device is much larger. I'm sure it would provide a fantastic experience, and unlike Wacom Bamboo tablets, you use your fingers - not a pen!
 
Ive been waiting for this for a long time. To the people that hate trackpads, i was the same way until i used a macbook trackpad. PC trackpads are just too small, they are just now starting to offer multi touch capability on some models. This will be wonderful to use with my mac mini, having a mouse on the couch is so annoying. If this product releases at $60 then it will be a instant buy for me.
 
KnightWRX said:
Why didn't you just buy a Wacom Bamboo then ? :confused:

Still prefer my mouse over my wacom for actual desktop use. I use the wacom to draw, as a trackpad, well, the mouse is just so much more agile.
Click to expand...

Because Wacom is inferior in every way to Apple and their new trackpad. But you already know this, so that means you are just trolling me. Why don't you just go hang out on the Wacom message boards then.
 
miniroll32 said:
You are all missing the point.
..... I'm sure it would provide a fantastic experience, and unlike Wacom Bamboo tablets, you use your fingers - not a pen!
Click to expand...

You can use your fingers on a Wacom Bamboo trackpad

http://www.wacom.com/bamboo/bamboo_pen_touch.php

It has been out for almost a year ( Sept '09). Since the Apples device's tests were timestamped in Oct. '09, it was on the market before then. The development obviously overlapped ,but Wacom hasn't sitting around with their head in the sand. There are other bamboo models that don't but it isn't "all" of them.


It is a slightly different product from Apple's in that there is a two different sensors overlaid there. One for pen and another for touch. Apple's will probably trade off resolution for a simpler, single function of just doing touch. Since single function, I suspect Apple's drivers will be better at filtering out inadvertent touches and implementing the commands that Apple has for their own trackpad/mouse. Wacom's first stab at those needs work. Apple's may have needed work also since it has been so long since this hardware has been tested.



P.S. for the folks running around wondering what it will be called:

https://www.macrumors.com/2010/02/26/apple-files-trademark-application-for-magic-trackpad/

Sure Apple could file that to keep anyone else from shipping a similar product with that name. However, it fits with "Magic Mouse" tag on its cohort.
 
juicedropsdeuce said:
Because Wacom is inferior in every way to Apple and their new trackpad.
Click to expand...

That's a huge leap to make for something you extremely likely have never used. More likely, you are assuming it is going to be better in every single way. In purely drawing tasks, it is unlikely it will be. Wacom's products have years innovation put into doing that. Apple "hates" pens. I doubt Apple put much effort into that aspect at all. Humans can adapt to the limitations of finger sized resolution drawing, but head-to-head ... a pen is better. There is about 3,000+ years of evidence that that is true.

Apple's surface isn't going to be too big. More so trying to replace a multibutton trackball than a classic Wacom trackpad. Some folks like trackballs better because didn't move around on desk. They stay in a fixed sized, designated area just like this trackpad will. Similarly, compared to Apple's typical mouse allow the user to invoke more functionality than a simple one button press.
 
deconstruct60 said:
Some folks like trackballs better because didn't move around on desk. They stay in a fixed sized, designated area just like this trackpad will. Similarly, compared to Apple's typical mouse allow the user to invoke more functionality than a simple one button press.
Click to expand...

Ergonomically, trackballs are a very good choice if done correctly. Look at Kensington's Expert Mouse and how it has managed to stay successful over many years with very small design changes.

I know many people, carpal tunnel diagnosed or not, who won't gladly use a computer without an Expert Mouse.
 
I am thinking this device is in some way going to work with desktops to allow us to use ios apps, either through a emulator or via iTunes. That is if this also has a accelerometer in it.
That would be the next step, using ios apps on the desktop.
 
Anijake said:
I am thinking this device is in some way going to work with desktops to allow us to use ios apps, either through a emulator or via iTunes.
Click to expand...

No. There is a central and core difference between Mac OS X apps and iOS apps. Mac OS X apps work with a cursor. iOS do not. Your finger is the implicit cursor. The finger blots out the screen so need to make all of the controls bigger. The design approaches have some subtle but significant differences.


The second factor is that OS X are x86 processor based (at this point) and the iOS is ARM processor based.

Third, there is little financial incentive for Apple not to make you buy both a OS X and iOS device. All that a OS X official emulator would likely do is generate large demand for a Windows one. Just like iTunes.


That is if this also has a accelerometer in it.
Click to expand...

It sits rigidly on a desktop just like a keyboard. There is no need for an accelerometer. It is not constructed to be held.


That would be the next step, using ios apps on the desktop.
Click to expand...

Desktop gaming is not being hugely held back because wii game paddles aren't available for them. Generally it is a different class of games.
 
I think this really comes down to personal preference. I've owned my iMac 27" for about 7 months now, and I'm still waiting "to get used to" the Magic Mouse. It really hasn't happened for me yet. I have played around on a friend's MacBook Pro, and I much prefer the Apple track pad to the Magic Mouse. I've used my Dell Inspiron e1505 as my primary computer for 4+ years now with a corded mouse while at a desk, and the track pad on the go.

As for right now, if this accessory was released with only the capabilities of the track pad that is integrated into Apple's laptop line, I'd jump all over it. I think it'd be a great change to my current iMac. As for the future of multi-touch interfaces, bring it on. I'm tired of having about 5+ layered windows at different sizes constantly cluttering up my desktop. The messy interface hinders my productivity, and it's been one of the most frustrating things about my recent switch to Mac. I suppose only Apple knows what 10.7 has to offer.
 
Waiting for this awesome device to come out. I couldn't chum up with the Magic Mouse but this external trackpad will be one of my most-used desktop device.

They also say, that this device could appear the following days. Hope for it with an attractive price. (Maybe 40-60$ ?)
 
As we already have it on the iPad, iPhone and on every MacBook, bringing multitouch to the desktop seems to be just the next small but inevitable step.

I don't think this trackpad will be anything really fancy. Won't work with a stylus, won't have an integrated display etc. etc... Rather a bluetooth (maybe slightly larger) incarnation of Apples notebook touchpads.*

Look at Apple's keyboard offerings:
There's a clear trend towards unification in Apple's input devices:

Mac keyboards have been essentially the same for quite some time now:
Same switch technology, same feel, same sizes and measurements, same keyboard layout. Note how they moved to keyboards without integrated number pads as the default option for their consumer desktops? The last two incarnations of the iMac shipped with what you could call "notebook keyboards". Not without good reason, if you consider that notebooks have replaced desktops as primary computers for many people. So why should the touchpad be anything greatly different than on the MacBooks?

* Which, of course, doesn't prevent Apple from touting this trackpad thing as the biggest and magiciest innovation since the mouse ;)

I'd guess it'll be introduced with the upcoming iMac revision.
 
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