Apple Launches the Magic Trackpad

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Posted By: Dan Cohen

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At long last Apple has released a standalone trackpad that brings the MacBook Pro controller to your iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Pro but goes one better by almost doubling the size of the trackpad. As the Apple store notes-

Magic Trackpad gives you a whole new way to control what’s on your Mac desktop computer. When you perform gestures, you actually interact with what’s on your screen. You feel closer to your content, and moving around feels completely natural. Swiping through pages on screen is just like flipping through pages in a magazine, and inertial scrolling senses the momentum in your fingers as you move up and down a page.

It’s made with smooth, wear-resistant glass that feels great to the touch. And it’s nearly 80 percent larger than the built-in trackpad on the MacBook Pro, giving you plenty of room to perform gestures. Because the entire surface of Magic Trackpad is a button, you can click on objects just as you would using a traditional mouse. And Magic Trackpad sits at the same height and angle as the Apple Wireless Keyboard, so you can go from trackpad to keyboard in one seamless motion.

When Apple released the Magic Mouse I was a bit disappointed. While it was a step in the right direction it was just a step. At the time I wrote that what I really wanted was… exactly what Apple just released. I love the trackpad on my MacBook Pro and can’t wait to get my hands on one of these.

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The Magic Trackpad is $69 and is shipping now.

Also notable is the release of the Apple Battery charger for $29.

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.

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11 Comments on "Apple Launches the Magic Trackpad"

  1. Michael Anderson | July 27, 2010 at 8:54 am |

    I caught a quick look at the official page and there are loads of control panel options for this. I am hoping that they finally give the ability to simultaneously left & right click … I hate having to keep a wired mouse around for gaming!

  2. Dan Cohen | July 27, 2010 at 9:12 am |

    Larry and I both ordered (surprised? not…)

    I for one can’t wait.

  3. Michael Anderson | July 27, 2010 at 10:00 am |

    Do you use any apps that require simultaneous right & left clicks? I would be interested in seeing how it works in that situation (heck, it was nice to see a dedicated right-click area!). Unlike the Magic Mouse, I also have a strong pull to order this …

  4. Dan Cohen | July 27, 2010 at 10:52 am |

    None that require the dual touch. It is on the way so we’ll have a better sense soon.

  6. Douglas Moran | July 27, 2010 at 4:01 pm |

    So one wonders: will they enable support for it on the iPad? How about the iPhone?

  7. David Goodspeed | July 28, 2010 at 10:38 am |

    Now Available? HA!
    A guy walks into the Apple Store…OK, I walk into the Apple Store (which i had not been in lately and wow, have things changed) and the girl enters me into her iPad and says to wait around this area. Pfffft, nothing to see or do in “this area” so my ADHD kicks in and I being exploring. It was kind of like telling a kid in a candy store not to go near the candy.
    “Hello, my name is ….” comes over and asks what I how he can help today. I state “magic trackpad, please.” “Oh, those haven’t come in and we don’t know when we are going to get them.” Fine, I will just take my business elsewher……Hey, how much is this new iMac?”
    So, the $69 magic trackpad cost me about $1,300 bucks, and I didn’t even come home with a Magic Trackpad!!
    But this new iMac i am posting this on sure is sweet and took like, two minutes to fire up and get going. Sweet.

  8. Dan Cohen | July 28, 2010 at 10:53 am |

    Now available as in “now available to order and have shipped to you immediately”
    Not “now available and in stores now” 🙂

    From $69 to $1300. We’ve all been there in some form or another.

    New iMac… Awesome. Enjoy it.

  9. Giant Gizmo | July 28, 2010 at 9:03 pm |

    Apple Launches the Magic Trackpad http://bit.ly/cWwju2

  10. Alfonso Boxill | July 28, 2010 at 9:12 pm |

    RT @GiantGizmoNews: Apple Launches the Magic Trackpad http://bit.ly/cWwju2

  11. David Goodspeed | July 28, 2010 at 11:17 pm |

    And this magic mouse thingy is pretty cool too.

Comments are closed.