Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Magic TrackPad, or Magic Mouse? (please don´t say both)
- Thread starter iSayuSay
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Since Lion is using the gestures I am choosing the trackPad i was going to get both but to save money I choosing one and I choose the TrackPad and will use my mouse i currently have for gaming if needed.
I'm a trackball user, so I'd rather take the MM as a portable solution with my laptop
Me as well. It just seems to make the most sense. i wish MicroSoft would bring back the track ball explorer.
Whenever I use a laptop, I connect a mouse. Cause I really can't stand those trackpads.
So I voted for the Magic Mouse. Even though it $@%* hurts my hands.
So I voted for the Magic Mouse. Even though it $@%* hurts my hands.
trackpad, although its easy to get wrist ache with it I think. Its tilted up angle doesn't help this, although it does mean it matches the the keyboard. I have my keyboard and trackpad on tray tilting away from me anyway, so this seems to negate tension/strain.
I got my trackpad thrown in for free when I bought my new iMac and I much prefer it, the magic mouse can be quite uncomfortable to use for any length of time.
Suck man .. I didnt get any bonus from my purchase. I asked for trackpad bonus, and they essentially deny it
My reseller is frikin stingy. Just a nice plastic bag to carry it home. Danggg .. Asking $70 bonus for $2000 is not exactly ridiculous, is it?
Suck man .. I didnt get any bonus from my purchase. I asked for trackpad bonus, and they essentially deny it
My reseller is frikin stingy. Just a nice plastic bag to carry it home. Danggg .. Asking $70 bonus for $2000 is not exactly ridiculous, is it?
I bought mine at an Apple Store, that's probably why I got it for nothing.
Better Alternative to Mouse or TrackPad
I found a better alternative to a mouse or TrackPad for many reasons.
My Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch Tablet does more for less money.
For $70 CDN instead of $80 for the TrackPad, I have a better consumer rated product that does things the others cannot do. (Unfortunately prices have changed, but consider the Bamboo Touch for $40 USD at Amazon.com instead of the $60 TrackPad.)
Bamboo is not wireless and is much larger. TrackPad requires Snow Leopard and Bluetooth, Bamboo does not.
My wired Apple mouse that came with my computer has shredded its wire just above the mouse in less than a year and the scroll button requires cleaning daily, which precipitated my search for a replacement.
Like most products, the bugs have not yet been worked out with the first release of the Magic TrackPad, according to the user reviews I have read. Reviews are better for the Bamboo, with which I have had no problems for a half year.
It comes with Photoshop Elements 8, which is not the most current version but useful anyways; as well as Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 WE3 that includes 3 effects.
It also comes with Bamboo Dock which includes at least four applications plus tutorials. Landmarker lets you draw on a Google map, Mona Lisa allows you to draw/paint on any photo, Doodler gives you freehand drawing on graph, lined, or plain "paper", and Free The Bird is a game.
In addition Bamboo works with many other programs like Word, Excel and PowerPoint (don't know about Pages) and PDFs. Using the pen, you can sign your name in hundreds of applications according to their website. It works well with Photoshop CS and Photoshop Elements, as well as in Picnik, Photobucket, Picasa, and other online photo-editing tools.
In Photoshop CS (and maybe other programs) you can use tools your mouse cannot, which is a necessity for me.
It is great for journaling and scrapbooking. Design your own embellishments, use handwriting, and enhance your photos. There is Wacom's PenScrappers community, where you'll find ideas, lessons and workshops.
Four buttons on the Bamboo and two on the pen can be customized to launch apps, or perform a variety of operations. With the pen some scribbled gestures can also perform macro commands.
Trackpad has full Apple multitouch, Bamboo does not. I do not miss it.
With the Trackpad on a large moniter, if you want to drag from one end of your desktop to the other using the three finger gesture drag option, you have to stop mid screen because you run out of room on the trackpad. The Bamboo is mapped to your screen. If your finger is in the top right hand corner, it is also in the top right hand corner of your screen. This can be a deal breaker between the Bamboo and the Trackpad.
Best of all for me is avoiding a mouse for the much better ergonomics of the pad, and Bamboo has a wider pad the TrackPad. Some may wish to prop it up, easily done, but not me. No mouse needed and no strain at all.
A great comprehensive review is at http://www.macintouch.com/reviews/trackpads/ To summarize their conclusion: "There is no clear "winner" between these two multi-touch tablets. The Wacom Bamboo Touch has limited multitouch features, but makes it up with four programmable buttons and its support for more Macs. The Apple Magic Trackpad has the complete laptop multitouch experience but very limited customizability, it doesn't work with older Macs, and it can be more limited with laptops than desktop Macs."
I found a better alternative to a mouse or TrackPad for many reasons.
My Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch Tablet does more for less money.
For $70 CDN instead of $80 for the TrackPad, I have a better consumer rated product that does things the others cannot do. (Unfortunately prices have changed, but consider the Bamboo Touch for $40 USD at Amazon.com instead of the $60 TrackPad.)
Bamboo is not wireless and is much larger. TrackPad requires Snow Leopard and Bluetooth, Bamboo does not.
My wired Apple mouse that came with my computer has shredded its wire just above the mouse in less than a year and the scroll button requires cleaning daily, which precipitated my search for a replacement.
Like most products, the bugs have not yet been worked out with the first release of the Magic TrackPad, according to the user reviews I have read. Reviews are better for the Bamboo, with which I have had no problems for a half year.
It comes with Photoshop Elements 8, which is not the most current version but useful anyways; as well as Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 WE3 that includes 3 effects.
It also comes with Bamboo Dock which includes at least four applications plus tutorials. Landmarker lets you draw on a Google map, Mona Lisa allows you to draw/paint on any photo, Doodler gives you freehand drawing on graph, lined, or plain "paper", and Free The Bird is a game.
In addition Bamboo works with many other programs like Word, Excel and PowerPoint (don't know about Pages) and PDFs. Using the pen, you can sign your name in hundreds of applications according to their website. It works well with Photoshop CS and Photoshop Elements, as well as in Picnik, Photobucket, Picasa, and other online photo-editing tools.
In Photoshop CS (and maybe other programs) you can use tools your mouse cannot, which is a necessity for me.
It is great for journaling and scrapbooking. Design your own embellishments, use handwriting, and enhance your photos. There is Wacom's PenScrappers community, where you'll find ideas, lessons and workshops.
Four buttons on the Bamboo and two on the pen can be customized to launch apps, or perform a variety of operations. With the pen some scribbled gestures can also perform macro commands.
Trackpad has full Apple multitouch, Bamboo does not. I do not miss it.
With the Trackpad on a large moniter, if you want to drag from one end of your desktop to the other using the three finger gesture drag option, you have to stop mid screen because you run out of room on the trackpad. The Bamboo is mapped to your screen. If your finger is in the top right hand corner, it is also in the top right hand corner of your screen. This can be a deal breaker between the Bamboo and the Trackpad.
Best of all for me is avoiding a mouse for the much better ergonomics of the pad, and Bamboo has a wider pad the TrackPad. Some may wish to prop it up, easily done, but not me. No mouse needed and no strain at all.
A great comprehensive review is at http://www.macintouch.com/reviews/trackpads/ To summarize their conclusion: "There is no clear "winner" between these two multi-touch tablets. The Wacom Bamboo Touch has limited multitouch features, but makes it up with four programmable buttons and its support for more Macs. The Apple Magic Trackpad has the complete laptop multitouch experience but very limited customizability, it doesn't work with older Macs, and it can be more limited with laptops than desktop Macs."
Last edited:
Digging the Pad...
I had been using the Magic Mouse with my aging Core Duo iMac and just upgraded to a 21.5" i7. I opted for the TrackPad as I already had the Magic Mouse. I must say even after just a few days I'm really liking the TrackPad. I use my mac primarily for Aperture, web, iTunes, MS Office, etc and find that once you're acclimated to the gestures and the ergonomics of the pad that it's really great. I very much like the gestures when surfing the web as your navigating really speeds up. Having the luxury of owning both I keep the Magic Mouse on my desk but find that I'm using it less everyday. I'd say opt for the pad especially since Lion is supposed to be heavily focused on using gestures. You can always pick up a less expensive mouse if you feel that you really need it for certain jobs (most people have something already laying around the house).
-andrew
I had been using the Magic Mouse with my aging Core Duo iMac and just upgraded to a 21.5" i7. I opted for the TrackPad as I already had the Magic Mouse. I must say even after just a few days I'm really liking the TrackPad. I use my mac primarily for Aperture, web, iTunes, MS Office, etc and find that once you're acclimated to the gestures and the ergonomics of the pad that it's really great. I very much like the gestures when surfing the web as your navigating really speeds up. Having the luxury of owning both I keep the Magic Mouse on my desk but find that I'm using it less everyday. I'd say opt for the pad especially since Lion is supposed to be heavily focused on using gestures. You can always pick up a less expensive mouse if you feel that you really need it for certain jobs (most people have something already laying around the house).
-andrew
I have just received the Trackpad with my new iMac and I enjoy it more than the magic mouse I have for my Mac Mini. With Lion I believe that the trackpad will be utilized more and be a much better fit. I also find that the magic mouse is a little to 'flat' for me and that I will be purchasing something else for my mouse needs, which I will use when I get the new air (possibly).
1. Purchase a Mac
2. Opt for the Trackpad instead of Magic Mouse:
If they do take the Magic Mouse out, go to step #3
If they don't take the Magic Mouse out, go to step #4
3. Exchange your iMac for a new iMac, for any reason (On the receipt, when they exchange the Magic Mouse for the Trackpad, they do it wrong, so if you were to return your iMac, the Trackpad is yours, leading to a free Magic Mouse on your new system!)
4. You're done, and you have both! Now sell them both and use a 3rd party mouse!
2. Opt for the Trackpad instead of Magic Mouse:
If they do take the Magic Mouse out, go to step #3
If they don't take the Magic Mouse out, go to step #4
3. Exchange your iMac for a new iMac, for any reason (On the receipt, when they exchange the Magic Mouse for the Trackpad, they do it wrong, so if you were to return your iMac, the Trackpad is yours, leading to a free Magic Mouse on your new system!)
4. You're done, and you have both! Now sell them both and use a 3rd party mouse!
MAGIC TRACK PAD: Well we all know that Lion will include more gestures in it so the track Pad is useful. Only problem is that after a while your wrist gets tired. So you really need the Track Pad and a good Mouse, especially for gaming.
Best idea is to try it out and see what your personal preference is.
Best idea is to try it out and see what your personal preference is.
I would, but it doesn't come as BTO option, does it? Truly
... Orochi is the best bluetooth mouse you can get out there. Gaming grade sensor + bluetooth convenience. If it doesn't have aggresive power saving mode, I'd go with Orochi anyday.MagicMouse would be the last mouse I'd buy if there's no any other mouse on earth
Since i have a 2006 macbook ill be buying a stand w/ magic trackpad and keyboard, go trackpad all the way
I fell in love with my magic mouse as soon as it was connected. I had no problems using two fingers to move it around with another for control. I tried the trackpad in a shop once, but wasn't impressed, I'll try again somewhere else to see if it was a setup issue. In general, I'm happy with trackpads on laptops and won't travel with a mouse, but I find the mouse easier to use in a desktop context. Maybe as someone else said, I'm too old school, been using a rodent for more than 30 years (eek!)
