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Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad

M

Macnificant

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
579
114
Looking to purchase my first IMac and trying to decide between the MM and MT.

IMac will be used mainly for internet surfing.

I have my 4 year old daughter playing on the MacBook right now and she seems to work with the trackpad on it well but was wondering which would be easier for her use.
 
Mouse I guess, as she will be moving the mouse around, but the trackpad will not stay stationary with children, which is the advantage of the trackpad in the MB, which has a two kilo weight attached to it.
 
Seems like they're equally liable to move, being wireless.

I'm not a trackpad person but I've been telling everyone that the future is the trackpad. All of the new, multitouch gestures are made for the TP. Kids will grow up using them and we'll all be amazed how much more can be done...and faster.
 
Macnificant said:
Looking to purchase my first IMac and trying to decide between the MM and MT.

IMac will be used mainly for internet surfing.

I have my 4 year old daughter playing on the MacBook right now and she seems to work with the trackpad on it well but was wondering which would be easier for her use.
Click to expand...

Without a doubt get the Magic Trackpad! For the adults used to using a mouse there will be learning curve but it's short. I'm in my 50's and made the change last year and since then my old mouse lives in a drawer and hash't seen the light of day in about a year. The MTP has more gestures available for it and brings out more of the power than any mouse can. Also the batteries last significantly longer, the Magic Mouse is notorious as a battery eater. Once you get over the learning curve (it took me about 2 weeks) I suspect you will feel the same as me. The learning curve is primarily made up of unlearning old bad habits of using a mouse, relearning some muscle memory that we've built up over the years using mice.

It's clear Apple is also planning their future on using a trackpad. They have been using them on their notebooks or years now and most people adopt them quickly. If you had been using a recent Apple notebook and were considering an iMac I'm confident you would have no doubt which to choose. For those that use desktops they're just used to using mice because until now their wasn't another viable solution. Now there is an excellent choice, the MTP.

However if you're really on the fence then order both, yes it will cost a few bucks more but it's a solution.
 
I love the trackpad and would definitely recommend it. However, when talking about a 4-year-old.. now that is a scenario I know nothing about. I actually think a mouse would be better for such a young child.

I have to say, though.. Do not. I repeat. Do NOT buy a "Magic Mouse" - it is just useless IMHO. Go with another brand, like Logitech or something.

FYI, I use the trackpad for everyday use like surfing etc. - and a logitech mouse for more delicate stuff like gaming and photo editing etc.
 
Magic Trackpad. I know a few kids who use their parent's laptops and they're ok on the trackpad. Though the mouse would be easier but I now prefer the magic trackpad.
 
Trackpad, that way she'll be used to the swipe stuff when you get her the iPad. :)

Kids pick this stuff up very quickly.

Cheers,
 
For my iMac (for adults and kids), I ordered both. Both are sitting on my desk. 99% of the time, we use the mouse. We rarely use the trackpad.

Suggestion: Buy/install both and use what works best for you. If one really hates the mouse or really hates the Trackpad, then sell it. Thus, getting some of its costs back.
 
I had the same dilemma, minus the kids. Doesn't everyone getting a new desktop though? ;) And I opted for the Magic Mouse. No regrets. As you can see from my signature though I've now got a Macbook Pro as well as the iMac. I tend to use the trackpad on the Macbook Pro and have got used to it pretty well. The gestures are incredibly useful. I still turn on the mouse when using apps like Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Final Cut etc though. When you're getting creative a mouse is lot easier. There's no customisable gestures for pro creative apps so you opt for the better control of a mouse. For casual stuff though a trackpad is as fast/faster than a mouse. Hope that helps a bit. :)
 
I have both. I use the track pad 99%, but I still have to use the mouse to play my bubble game. It would be really hard to use the pad in fast shooting action. For this 65 year old kid, I need both.
 
rkaufmann87 said:
Without a doubt get the Magic Trackpad! For the adults used to using a mouse there will be learning curve but it's short. I'm in my 50's and made the change last year and since then my old mouse lives in a drawer and hash't seen the light of day in about a year. The MTP has more gestures available for it and brings out more of the power than any mouse can. Also the batteries last significantly longer, the Magic Mouse is notorious as a battery eater. Once you get over the learning curve (it took me about 2 weeks) I suspect you will feel the same as me. The learning curve is primarily made up of unlearning old bad habits of using a mouse, relearning some muscle memory that we've built up over the years using mice.

It's clear Apple is also planning their future on using a trackpad. They have been using them on their notebooks or years now and most people adopt them quickly. If you had been using a recent Apple notebook and were considering an iMac I'm confident you would have no doubt which to choose. For those that use desktops they're just used to using mice because until now their wasn't another viable solution. Now there is an excellent choice, the MTP.

However if you're really on the fence then order both, yes it will cost a few bucks more but it's a solution.
Click to expand...

I couldn't be more diametrically opposed to your view. I absolutely hate the trackpad, it lacks the accuracy of a mouse and I don't like the touch and feel. I also don't like or use gestures, I have a Desktop not a mobile device. Keep gestures on a tablet and mouse for Desktop thank you very much.
 
I have both. Which one gets used for a particular job is up to my right hand. I do not hate either of them. Instead, I enjoy using both of them. However, I certainly have preference for some jobs.
 
I use both (actually all three?) and have a Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse, and Logitech MX Revolution mouse along with the wireless keyboard. The Trackpad is really nice with the enhancements in Lion.

You can get devices which physically attach the Trackpad and Wireless Keyboard together to make them a single piece about the size of the standard full-size wired keyboard. There are several different brands out there, and they are not overly expensive. If you search MacRumors, you will find a thread discussing these attachment devices.


-howard
 
If you want touch-gestures, get the track pad.

If you want a mouse, get a 3rd party mouse.

The Magic Mouse is an attempt to blur the lines between a traditional mouse and a track pad, and it does neither particularly well. That's my experience at least.
 
The MT is the better gesturing device while the MM is the better pointing device. Base your decision on what you do most. Using the MT on a 27" iMac for drawing and drag/drop can be tedious (insufficient resolution) and potentially painful because of having to hover over the pad. The MM isn't anywhere near as good for gestures, is better for gestures than a 3rd party mouse (obviously!), and I've found it to work well with a light touch with hand on the table. It doesn't do well if you hold your mouse with a heavy touch. It doesn't even feel right that way.
 
I Was The Same

BrianBaughn said:
Seems like they're equally liable to move, being wireless.

I'm not a trackpad person but I've been telling everyone that the future is the trackpad. All of the new, multitouch gestures are made for the TP. Kids will grow up using them and we'll all be amazed how much more can be done...and faster.
Click to expand...

Could never really get on with a trackpad, but when I got my MBA I promised myself I'd have a darn good try before resorting to a mouse. I now really like it.....I still think that for accurate selection of say areas in a photo, a MM is best, but I'm getting along fine with the pad on both my Air and MBP.

For kids I think the pad is the best option if only for the fact that it's easy for a child to knock a mouse off it's mat, but the TP being built in and heavier is a safer option for youngsters.
 
I have both...having just added the MT about 2 months ago. I love it...my wife hates it and my sons are in the middle. When they play games...say minecraft, they only use the mouse...the MT for most other activities. I like the fact that I just have to move my fingers over a small area...sometimes moving the mouse in limited space is a challenge
 
Trackpad i have fitted out an entire IT suite at work with them, kids just find them easier to use.
 
rkaufmann87 said:
Without a doubt get the Magic Trackpad! For the adults used to using a mouse there will be learning curve but it's short. I'm in my 50's and made the change last year and since then my old mouse lives in a drawer and hash't seen the light of day in about a year. The MTP has more gestures available for it and brings out more of the power than any mouse can. Also the batteries last significantly longer, the Magic Mouse is notorious as a battery eater. Once you get over the learning curve (it took me about 2 weeks) I suspect you will feel the same as me. The learning curve is primarily made up of unlearning old bad habits of using a mouse, relearning some muscle memory that we've built up over the years using mice.
Click to expand...

I probably would have opted for a trackpad given a choice, but since I ordered a refurb iMac, I didn't have the option. Now I'm not sure it matters. I discovered BetterTouchTool, which allows you configure many more gestures than come built in, which may have made the the trackpad moot.

One finger swipe back and forth between web pages was only possible in Safari, but BTT allows you to have the same functionality in any browser. (Chrome Canary now has one finger swipe built in).

I configured three finger swipe down to show desktop, up for Mission Control. I have a gesture to close current tab. Three finger swipe left or right (it's a little tricky to do) switches between tabs. In Mail, two fingers up and down moves to previous or next message. Three finger tap brings up App Expose. Three finger click to middle click. There are many more possibilities. It took some getting used to, but now I love the Magic Mouse.

I wanted to get a trackpad to try the gestures, but now I'm not sure it offers much that I don't already have. The only thing missing that I can think of is pinch to zoom. I might still try a trackpad, but I'm not sure it's worth the cost, or that I'll even like it. Magic Mouse with BetterTouchTools seems to offer the best of both worlds.

Back to the OP, this all works for me, but I don't have a child, so don't know how well it would work for a four year old. It takes a bit of manual dexterity to hold the mouse and wiggle the fingers in all the various configurations.
 
Like others have said, a light touch is necessary for the mouse. I got the MM with my iMac, and love it. Before I used bigger mice, like the Logitech Revolution. The touch on the MM is limited, but once you configure MagicPrefs and get used to how you're supposed to hold it, it's great! MagicPrefs lets you assign actions 1/2/3/4 finger touch/swipe, though some combinations wouldn't make sense to re-assign.

The MT is good, if you like that kind of thing. I find click-dragging tedious and it's absolutely terrible for photo editing, which is something I find myself doing on occasion.

Be sure to check out MagicPrefs before you decide.
 
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