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Is the latest Magic Mouse really that bad?

boomdog

boomdog

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 3, 2013
116
1
The most Easterly point of the UK
Hi all,

It is clear from reading this thread that apple get a lot of stick over the quality of their mice, I'm just wondering whether they have listened to feedback and improved things for the latest model. The reason I ask is twofold. Firstly, I almost exclusively use a mouse with my laptop, I can't stand the built in touchpads. Second reason, I pooped in to an Appe store last week to try out the rMPB keyboard, the bluetooth keyboard and the wired keyboard and found them all to be pretty poor. Whilst trying out the keyboards, I obviously had a go with the Magic Mouse and actually quite liked it. I had to change a few settings to improved responsiveness but in the short time I used it I quite liked it.

Does anyone use a current Magic Mouse? Am I missing a fatal flaw?

Whilst I'm at it, can anyone recommend an awesome wireless / bluetooth keyboard? Has to be full size.

Cheers
 
eh, the Magic Mouse is just so unusable (For me). Might work great the first few times, but the extended use your hand really just doesn't fit to it. Plus it really doesn't take any of OSX's gestures to advantage. Get the Trackpad for sure

This is a pretty sweet, high quality, bluetooth, mechanical keyboard: http://matias.ca/laptoppro/mac/

There are better mechanical keyboards of the wired variety if your willing to go in this direction though
 
I find it hard to use any other mouse. Frustrating when the multi touch gestures don't work.
 
boomdog said:
Does anyone use a current Magic Mouse? Am I missing a fatal flaw?
Click to expand...

Personally, I love the current Apple keyboards, quite like the MacBook trackpads and the Magic Trackpad but hate the shape of both the Mighty and Magic Mouse. So, bottom line: mouse and keyboard preferences are subjective. Some people like big, chunky ergonomic mice, other people like small mice, some like long-travel clackety keyboards, others love the low-profile Apple 'chiclet' keyboards. I once knew someone who actually liked the infamous iMac G4 'hockey puck' mouse.

However, from what I've heard from colleagues who use them, the Magic Mouse has a couple of non-user-prefernce flaws: (a) it eats batteries and (b) is prone to loose battery contacts.

I think the battery-eating is down to Bluetooth, which seems to be over-engineered for mice & keyboards, and would rather put up with a dedicated wireless solution with a USB dongle (the modern dongles are tiny and can be left plugged into a laptop). Cheaper, more choice, better battery life, instant connection.

For a keyboard, unless you want it for 'sofa surfing' on a media PC, I'd put up with a wire - its not like a mouse where the wire restricts movement. My mouse dongle is invisibly plugged into the USB hub of my keyboard.

NB: You don't say what your current Mac is. I felt like you about the trackpads on pre-Unibody MBPs. The huge trackpads on the modern MBs are vastly better, although having the whole pad act as a button takes a little getting used to - enabling the the 3-finger-drag option makes a bid difference, too.
 
Javik said:
eh, the Magic Mouse is just so unusable (For me). Might work great the first few times, but the extended use your hand really just doesn't fit to it. Plus it really doesn't take any of OSX's gestures to advantage. Get the Trackpad for sure

This is a pretty sweet, high quality, bluetooth, mechanical keyboard: http://matias.ca/laptoppro/mac/

There are better mechanical keyboards of the wired variety if your willing to go in this direction though
Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice, it looks as though I may have to go for a wired keyboard as I can't seem to find a Mac specific, full size, wireless keyboard. The one you linked to look like a nice keyboard, and I do prefer mechanical but I don't like that the arrow keys are merged in with the QWERTY section. I like them to be completely seperate and also like the page up / down / delete buttons you find on a full size board.

I see you you mean about the Magic Mouse not fitting the hand, it is not very ergonomic and my hands are quite big. I did like the extra gestures that it offered though.
 
Wasn't aware the Magic Mouse had been updated since its release?! I got one not long after they came out and while it was very nice and a great use with the touch gestures it was just the shoddy build quality and the fact that it caused a battery leak (more than likely an anomaly but still) that put me off.
 
theluggage said:
Personally, I love the current Apple keyboards, quite like the MacBook trackpads and the Magic Trackpad but hate the shape of both the Mighty and Magic Mouse. So, bottom line: mouse and keyboard preferences are subjective. Some people like big, chunky ergonomic mice, other people like small mice, some like long-travel clackety keyboards, others love the low-profile Apple 'chiclet' keyboards. I once knew someone who actually liked the infamous iMac G4 'hockey puck' mouse.

However, from what I've heard from colleagues who use them, the Magic Mouse has a couple of non-user-prefernce flaws: (a) it eats batteries and (b) is prone to loose battery contacts.

I think the battery-eating is down to Bluetooth, which seems to be over-engineered for mice & keyboards, and would rather put up with a dedicated wireless solution with a USB dongle (the modern dongles are tiny and can be left plugged into a laptop). Cheaper, more choice, better battery life, instant connection.

For a keyboard, unless you want it for 'sofa surfing' on a media PC, I'd put up with a wire - its not like a mouse where the wire restricts movement. My mouse dongle is invisibly plugged into the USB hub of my keyboard.

NB: You don't say what your current Mac is. I felt like you about the trackpads on pre-Unibody MBPs. The huge trackpads on the modern MBs are vastly better, although having the whole pad act as a button takes a little getting used to - enabling the the 3-finger-drag option makes a bid difference, too.
Click to expand...

My current Mac doesn't exist :( but I have a new rMBP on order :D! I have never owned a mac and have, for the past 10 years used a laptop for my main workstation. I love to be able to take my system everywhere I go, whether that is work, a friends, on holiday or simply to another room in the house but I always take a mouse with me everywhere I go. I don't do too much typing in my work as it is mainly Excell based. In addiiton to using the mouse, I use a lot of keyboard shortcuts to switch between programs, open new documents, save, print etc, all the basic stuff.

It does seem that the trackpad on the mac is far more advanced than that currently on my Dell XPS so maybe I'll like it. Whilst I am awaiting the arrival of my rMBP I am trying to make sure I have all the accessories I need to start being productive straight off the bat.

Will a windows keyboard perform all of the functions on a Mac?
 
If you can't stand trackpads, the Magic trackpad won't be any different for you. The Magic mouse takes some getting used to, but I enjoy using mine. Maybe not as much as another wireless mouse with a few more buttons instead of gestures, but it is still good. I don't use it for long periods of time, though.

I have found apple bluetooth products to be much more usable and quick connecting than 3rd party bluetooth mice and keyboards. For me, they seem to connect instantly. I also like that they report battery status to my iMac which tells me when I might need to replace batteries soon.

I also use a product by mobee for my keyboard and magic trackpad that allows me to recharge the peripherals while they are sitting on my desk, and still allows them to be wireless when I need them to be.
 
While I do prefer the Magic Trackpad over the mouse, the mouse is still decent all around. Battery life could be better but my main complaint is the fact that the top glass seems to get scratched all to heck and I'm not even sure how.
 
I have no problems using my Magic Mouse. I had no idea people were so divided for or against it until recently.

It's strange though, I have 2 at the moment, and I'm sure one is slightly heavier than the other, even the click sounds different.
 
Initially when I first got the Magic Mouse I hated it. Had been using a pretty large Logitech wired mouse (same one) for about 7 years. I stuck with it and got used to it. I like it a lot now. Recently, the batteries failed and I had to revert to the Logitech. I found it a real hassle not being able to use some of the inbuilt multitouch gestures the Apple mouse had.

Regarding the keyboard, I think the current wired keyboard is the best I ever used. As someone else said, it's very subjective.
 
My only two complaints about the Magic Mouse is that it doesn't support pinch-to-zoom* and the scrolling gesture is a little too sensitive for gaming. For general use though I love this little mouse. Regular mice just don't feel as intuitive anymore.

*I am aware that MagicPrefs can technically add this functionality, but it doesn't seem to work very well in practice.
 
It's pretty bad. Not sure why Apple decided to make the least ergonomic mouse in the world.
 
Rizzn said:
It's pretty bad. Not sure why Apple decided to make the least ergonomic mouse in the world.
Click to expand...

It's pretty good. Once you get used to the MM the rest feel like you have a large stone in your hand instead of a mouse.
 
Apple's keyboards and pointing devices seem to be designed more for "style" than for "substance". I don't use either.

Actually, I'd recommend a _wired_ keyboard along with a 3rd-party wireless mouse.

I'd suggest you visit an office supply store that has different mice on display and try out a few of them "for fit" before you make a final choice.

I use Logitech mice on both my desktop Macs (combined with USB Overdrive instead of the Logitech Control Center software).
 
Ironically enough my wife and I use Microsoft wireless keyboards and a Magic Mouse combo. I like the mouse's gestures, but wish they weren't quite so short...

I can't stand the tiny Apple keyboards. Actually setup an old 2006 which iMac for my Mother In Law and wish their keyboards were that size still. What is the obsession of minimizing size for a desktop is beyond me.

Smaller keyboards have a place... in laptops. Which I am fine with.
 
I love my Magic Mouse - I got used to it pretty quickly and use it while video editing - I guess you need to try it yourself to see if its comfortable for you, but personally I really like mine!
 
boomdog said:
Thank you all for your replies so far. I have just stumbled across this keyboard via google and it is getting rave reviews. Has anyone got any personal experience using one?

http://9to5mac.com/2011/12/10/revie...ogitech-wireless-solar-keyboard-k750-for-mac/
Click to expand...

I have this keyboard (in white) and I think it's fantastic. Haven't had any problems with it and love that it runs on solar power.
It would be perfect if it had back lit keys and used bluetooth instead of usb (don't like that it takes up a slot), but otherwise, an excellent alternative to the Apple keyboard(s).
 
I love the Magic Mouse. The multi-touch features make productivity a breeze in AutoCAD for Mac, Excel, and web surfing. I carry a separate mouse for gaming. There has been some changes since early magic mice. The one that came with my iMac won't really work on anything but a mouse pad. But my 3 month old MM I bought for my Macbook has much better tracking, and it runs good on just about any surface I can imagine.

I hated it at first, but I found that if I use my pinkie finger instead of my ring finger to hold the mouse, it is much more comfortable for my index and middle fingers to use the multi-touh gestures.

Sadly, ergonomics had to be sacrificed for the multi-touch functionality, although it honestly isn't bad if you find your optimal way of holding the mouse.
 
kapooty said:
I have this keyboard (in white) and I think it's fantastic. Haven't had any problems with it and love that it runs on solar power.
It would be perfect if it had back lit keys and used bluetooth instead of usb (don't like that it takes up a slot), but otherwise, an excellent alternative to the Apple keyboard(s).
Click to expand...

Thank you, I think I'll be ordering one, yet to see a bad review!
 
I have the wireless mouse and the keyboard. The keyboard is flawless, the mouse is also awesome, I'm addicted to the scrolling but the ergonomics of the mouse leave a lot to be desired.
 
scbond said:
Wasn't aware the Magic Mouse had been updated since its release?! I got one not long after they came out and while it was very nice and a great use with the touch gestures it was just the shoddy build quality and the fact that it caused a battery leak (more than likely an anomaly but still) that put me off.
Click to expand...

Battery leaked on mine too. I tossed it and now have the trackpad. It's a little tough on the old wrist but now I can say I 'have gestures bro'.
 
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