Apple Magic Trackpad

by Apple

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches ; 5 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B003XIJ3MW
• Item model number: MC380LL/A
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (308 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #1 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Accessories > Keyboards, Mice & Input Devices > Touch Pads
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 27, 2010

Product Description

The first Multi-Touch Trackpad designed to work with your Mac desktop computer, the Apple Magic Trackpad lets your fingers do the clicking, scrolling, and swiping. The Apple Magic uses the same Multi-Touch technology found on the MacBook Pro, giving you a whole new way to control and interact with what's on your screen. Swiping through pages online feels just like flipping through pages in a book or magazine. Inertial scrolling makes moving up and down a page more natural than ever. And users can press down anywhere on the Multi-Touch surface to physically click or double-click on an item--no clumsy buttons involved.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

123 of 125 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works just like the macbook pro trackpad, August 4, 2010

By 

P. Song (CA United States) - See all my reviews
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I have a strong preference for touchpads over mice so I was pretty delighted upon hearing about this being released by Apple. I have another touchpad made by Adesso that I use with desktops, but it is wired and not nearly as nice or large as the Apple one.

This trackpad works exactly like the built-in one on the macbook pro. It's slim and very elegant looking. There is no lag like you get with wireless optical mice. The glass surface, however, has a bit of 'texture' to it unlike the macbook's trackpad which is shiny. It's almost like a matte finish to it which is ok as a perfectly shiny glass surface can stick a bit if your fingers are a little sweaty. (But if your fingers are dry, the shiny feels a little better :)

It's well constructed and seems sturdy. The top part that holds the battery feels cool like aluminum though I'm not sure if it is. But it's not cheap plastic. It has a nice solid feel and I'm extremely happy with it. I visited the local Apple store to try it out before buying, but they did not have it in yet. But I'm glad I went ahead and ordered it from Apple because it's exactly what I wanted. I will never use another mouse again!

When you get it, make sure that you update your OS software to get the trackpad drivers. It will work without the update but you won't be able to adjust it and features will be missing. You might have your computer on auto update in which case you don't need to worry about this. But if you're a weirdo like me and prefer to manually update, then keep this in mind. When the batteries die, I'll update this review to give a sense of how long the batteries last.

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent choice for your media center Mac, August 21, 2010

By 

Daniel Guerriero - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Apple Magic Trackpad (Personal Computers)

I bought the trackpad for my 2010 Mac Mini, which I use mainly as a media center appliance, with XBMC.

In this context the trackpad adds a lot of usability for the following reasons:

* I don't need a surface for the mouse anymore. So it's basically like another remote, sitting beside me on the couch.
* I no longer require to use the keyboard, for basic operations. Thanks to the gestures, I can switch between running applications (e.g. from XBMC to Finder) without the need of the keyboard. In fact, since I bought the trackpad I hardly use the keyboard at all.

Cons (same context):

* If you're holding the trackpad with your hand or operating it on a soft surface (like the couch) you can't use the click option, since it requires the trackpad to be sitting on a hard surface, like a desk. So you have to live with tapping for clicking operations.

120 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive OS X 10.7 Input Device, August 21, 2010

By 

Glenn R. Howes (Nashua, NH) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Apple Magic Trackpad (Personal Computers)

[This is a complete rewrite of this review based on my experience as an OS X Lion user.]

I've owned one of these since Apple released it, and under OS X 10.6, it was a decent mouse replacement for people used to the trackpads in their MacBooks, and I used it or didn't use it as whatever pointing device was convenient on my desk. It was fine, if not particularly compelling. With OS X Lion and the more pervasive inclusion of gestures into the operating system and Apple provided apps, the Magic Trackpad has become the best way to do non-keyboard input with a Mac.

Let's take the simple example of going backwards in my browser history. I'm afraid I've never gotten into the habit of using the command key equivalent to go backwards (it's command-[ ), so I would have zipped my mouse pointer up to the left arrow button on the toolbar and clicked it. Compare with the gestural equivalent of this: drag my index and middle fingers across the trackpad to the right. Bam, it's done and with the beautiful solid page drag of modern Safari actually looks like you are pushing the old page off the stack to reveal the last page. So much faster and so much more natural.

Of course, old habits die hard and despite the obvious superiority of the two finger drag gesture, I found myself still going for that button I've spent nearly twenty years pressing. The solution, I went to Safari's "Customize Toolbar.." command in the "View" menu and dragged the left and right buttons off my Safari toolbar. Now I have no choice but to use the new way. Problem solved and the new habit is rapidly engrained.

Similarly, one of the features of Lion I just love is full screen apps. iOS has shown that there are times when you want an immersive experience unitasking on one app. Like when I'm using iPhoto do do some serious photo categorizing, or when I want to set up Google Chrome for my kids to browse without worrying about them getting confused by task switching. However, once you are in a full screen app mode, many of the previous methods for switching between apps such as clicking on the dock or just clicking on another window are not in your face available. Now the three fingered index, middle and ring fingers drag makes it seamless to slip out of unitasking mode and back to the hectic world of multiple windows.

These are just examples of the many things that are impossible with a traditional mouse or trackball, sort of doable with Apple's own Magic Mouse and once internalized the most natural and seemingly intuitive actions with the Magic Trackpad or with the built in trackpads to a MacBook. And, I have every reason to expect that Apple will be gradually leveling us up, and accustoming us to ever more subtle gestures as the gestural language and users become more sophisticated.

The hardware is classic Apple, elegant in its minimalism, yet not without its flaws. The number one flaw is that it cannot be used to mouse click when not laying on a flat surface. Sometimes I just want to lean back on my chair with my input device in my lap, thigh or balanced on a chair arm. Because there is no "button" on a Magic Trackpad, clicks are registered by pressing the whole device down through its little rubber feet, which necessarily have to be pressed up against something flat. Thus no acrobatic use. Also the edge is a bit too blunt and scrapes the thumb a bit.

Battery life is pretty good, I typically go a good month of daily use between switching out the rechargeables, although I haven't kept close tabs, usually just switching them when I feel bored. I will admit to buying Apple's own pricey Battery Charger but the budget minded might try Sanyo Eneloop 2 battery charger with at least 4 total batteries so that there will always be one pair in the charger and one in the device.

In conclusion, this is not just a flat mouse. The addition of gestures make it something more, allowing a user interaction that alternative devices cannot achieve. It does take an effort on the user's part to fully utilize these new capabilities. It would be very easy to treat this as a decent enough mouse and wonder why one would use a trackpad when a high precision and cheaper mouse could be used in the same desk space. If you buy this item, commit yourself to breaking old habits and gaining new powers.