Apple finally snipped the Mighty Mouse's tail this week, introducing a battery powered version boasting bluetooth and a more accurate laser tracking system. I, like countless others, have been itching for a bluetooth Mighty Mousy since the day they announced the original version, so in the name of a TUAW review (ok, fine: and my gadget habit), I ran out and picked one up to see just how well this tailless version of Apple's
First up, a bit of a disclaimer and a list of the equipment I'm used to working with: my personal favorite mouse of all time is the *gasp* Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer (version 3.0A is the latest I own, if you're interested). I also own the wired Mighty Mouse, and it's the only other Apple mouse I've used since the only Macs I've ever owned are portables. In terms of bluetooth mice however, I've used quite a few, including those from Microsoft, Apple, Logitech and even Radtech. I typically pack the wired (now wireless) Mighty Mouse for travel as it's nice and compact for on-the-go work, but I still prefer the Intellimouse, especially for any serious Photoshopping and Unreal fragging.
With that out of the way, let's get to the meat: the wireless Mighty Mouse. After playing with it for a couple days now, I can summarize my review if you're only here for the cliff notes: it's nice - for a bluetooth mouse. As I've mentioned, I've used quite a few bluetooth mice and, while this one is definitely more accurate, it isn't anything Earth-shattering. In my experience, all bluetooth mice suffer from reduced accuracy as (what I assume is) a result of bluetooth itself being not quite as reliable as USB for driving a mouse. Little things like clicking a tab's close button, or clicking the right icon in the dock can sometimes be a jittery process. The mouse can also occasionally be just the slightest bit sluggish, but again in my experience with bluetooth mice, that is to be expected.
But don't think this new mouse isn't as mighty as Apple claims. Fortunately, as the product site brags, desktop surfaces don't seem to affect this new laser tracking system, so the mouse in general is a bit more accurate on all kinds of table tops, including those at Starbucks and my desk at home. If you're looking for a direct comparison, this might help: Even with the general bluetooth mouse gripes I mentioned earlier, this mouse definitely feels more accurate and responsive than Apple's previous bluetooth mice, and any other bluetooth mouse I've used. However, if you're hoping that the wireless Mighty Mouse is the missing link between USB mouse accuracy and bluetooth portability, I hate to say: you'll have to continue on your quest.
For those looking for a good compromise between these two seemingly incompatible worlds though, this is definitely the most accurate bluetooth mouse I've used to date. The other bonuses also help sweeten the admittedly steep $70 price tag, such as that killer 360-degree scroll button, one-battery functionality, and Apple even includes a pair of those new Energizer Lithium batteries - not the cheap generic ones; "spared no expense", as they say. All things considered, the wireless Mighty Mouse is a strong offering for those jonsing for a two-button bluetooth Apple mouse.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-29-2006 @ 7:21PM
Max said...
What about gaming? Can it right and left click at the same time? I've heard that it doesn't, making it a deal breaker for gaming.
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 7:22PM
blackout said...
that was a lot to put on the front page
but overall i get you
i've just ordered both the keyboard and mouse
it should make things easier for me.
i'm needing something that i can use with multiple things, like my iMac, my mini on my plasma and my macbook
it's just a matter of time now.
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 7:24PM
Adrian said...
I've been using the Logitech V270 Bluetooth mouse together with my MacBook Pro and never encountered any lag or jitter. I've been using the mouse to game on the MacBook and in an FPS I should have noticed such problems.
Maybe I am just too insensitive or there seems to be some problems with other Bluetooth mice.
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 7:32PM
EL Mystica said...
I've written a review for the Dutch website macosx.nl and I only give it four stars out of five.
Remember the early days of wireless mouses? Did we ever had to change a battery? No, you reloaded it. And that's a thing Apple doesn't want to integrate. And why? Because of the design? An extra USB-port? True, but I think it's a challenge they shouldn't ignore. Saving batteries is saving the environment, isn't it ? :)
Second. The buttons. I use all kinds of mouses, but at the moment my favorite is the Logitech MX 1000 lasermouse. And I like these buttons. I feel them, I never have to look. I hate the "squeeze button" on the sides. You really have to squeeze your Wireless mighty mouse, and still wait if it was enough pressure. Just a click, is all a button on a mouse needs.
I know that the button is always touched by your finger while working with it, so it shouldn't be too sensitive, but there is a huge world in between those two methods.
Overall, I do consider it a nice travellers mouse. So I'm gonna store it with my macBook in my travellerskit.
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 7:40PM
Rick said...
Has anybody used this mouse?
http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/macmice_the_mouse_bt_review
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 7:41PM
Jan Peters said...
What's the battery life of the wireless Mighty Mouse? I have not seen that on *any* review and it would be a key question for me!
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 7:42PM
stan said...
Max, you heard correct. There's only one microswitch in the Mighty Mouse (both versions), and touchsensors under the front half of the shell determine which of the buttons is being pressed. You have to lift your pointer finger off the left side for right click to work. It feels extremely disingenuous, and I dislike it.
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 7:59PM
Geoff Airey said...
I haven't bought a Wireless MM because I was really underwhelmed and disappointed by the Wired MM.
I'll stick with my Logitech MX1000 thanks, I'd prefer to use a Wired Microsoft mouse while out an about than the Mighty Mouse, wired or otherwise
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 8:30PM
Bjorn Townsend said...
I still don't exactly understand the "360-degree scroll" feature. How is that any different from the existing scrolling behavior?
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 8:56PM
lypie said...
Trust me, you're not the only mac user with an intellimouse explorer crush :) (wireless 2.0)
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 9:36PM
Alex said...
Well i have used my mighty mouse for 3 days, and its going back
for business i use AIM (aol instant messanger) and the mouse scroll
makes it crash, i dont kno what it is, but if u dare toucht he scroll in a conversation BAM! program error..
i havent seen a error lke that since i left my windows pc (Dell) a year ago
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 10:29PM
Pixelbender said...
How about mentioning that it will run off ONLY ONE BATTERY! This is a huge plus! (oh, and my wired mouse of choice is the Razer Pro)
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 10:30PM
stan said...
Bjorn, most mice have scrollwheels which let you scroll up and down. The Mighty Mouse has a ball which lets you scroll up, down, right, or left.
It takes a little while to get used to, but it's vastly better than the tilting scrollwheels I've seen on other mice.
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 10:39PM
Hawk said...
I have a regular mighty mouse. The only thing I don't like is the scroll ball. It works great... until it stops working because you ate doritos and rolled your dorito-sludge fingertip on it.
The lack of left+right click at the same time doesn't bug me because not being a gamer, I can't see why i'd want to do that.
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 10:43PM
David Chartier said...
#10: You're probably getting those strange errors because the official AIM client for Mac OS X is really, really old (over two years now, and Mac OS X has seen two major updates in that time). I'm not even sure if it's still being supported or developed anymore. iChat and Adium are excellent and far more updated alternatives that might suit your needs a bit better.
Also: #11: I did mention the battery thing at the end of my post.
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 11:07PM
Schlaeps said...
I must say. I was absolutely stunned. Not only did it arrive at my house less than 24 hours after it debuted (less than 12 hours after I ordered it) but it has become my new best friend while editing in Final Cut or iMovie. The sideways scroll is PERFECT for the timeline.
Reply
7-29-2006 @ 11:44PM
Peter Payne said...
I don't mine at all. I don't notice any difference between this and the USB one. It doesn't turn off on me when I need to use it, like the BT mice did.
Reply
7-30-2006 @ 1:18AM
Jay said...
I like my wireless MM so far...the only annoying thing for me at this point is turning off the power switch. Is there a way to turn the switch off without clicking the button as well? Sure, it's not a big deal, but it's kind of annoying.
Otherwise, I have no complaints over the accuracy or sluggishness...I do agree that the "squeeze" button requires too much squeezing.
Reply
7-30-2006 @ 1:41AM
HS said...
MightyMouse is the only Apple-rpduct I've bought that I truly think is a bad product, adn I'm not exactly an enemy of Apple.. The movement is good, and clicking is good. Rightbutton clicking can be annoying as you have to remove your finger from the left button, the scrollwheel has bad placement, is a little small and just doesnt feel "Apple" in it's accuracy, and the squeeze-button is just godawful. First of all, its on both sides, but its ONE button? What kind of an engineer masterminded that? Havent they seen how other mice have a "forward/back" thing going with these buttons, which means double functionality... Plus on my mouse the squeeze-buttons sometimes becomes "touch"-buttons, triggering them is hard to avoid and i have to disable its functionality.. And the scrollwheel, stops working ever so often. For example it stops scrolling down, making me do a 10 mintute, scroll, shake, do-whatever-I-can-think-of before it usually comes back, allthought choppy at first. Probably just some dirt of some kind blocking something, but thats a bad thing as I cant seem to find a way to clean in there..
When I saw a Mighty Bluetooth Mouse I was still happy, until I saw somewhere that it was the same shit, just a wire less. I'll buy when they fix all the 1.0 issues with it. Anyway, it seems many people are happy with it, maybe Apple don't think they need to fix it..? Still, its not a competitor to the good Microsoft and Logitech-mice until they do, and that's coming fra someone owning just about everything Apple makes and loves it all. :)
Reply
7-30-2006 @ 3:02AM
Mark said...
I do remember that I read somewhere that the wireless mouse is based on bluetooth 2.0. Since I own a Powerbook G4 and a PowerMac G5 both supporting only bluetooth 1.1 I was wondering if this new mouse would work with my hardware setup at all.
Has anyone tried?
Reply