Apple's magic trackpad heralds the end of the mouse era - Apple4.us

The most interesting thing Apple announced today is obviously the magic trackpad. It's essentially a large trackpad, the same as the one found on the MacBook and MacBook Pro. However, the Magic Trackpad is a separate product, meaning it can be used with a desktop computer. Why did Apple feel the need to produce this device? Because this is the trend of the future.

"In general, more people are using trackpads because there are more laptops than desktops," an Apple sales representative told me about the Magic Trackpad. Laptops have been Apple's best-selling computers for some time, and while there have been new desktop launches, such as the iMac and Mac Pro, you can expect the gap between laptops and desktops to keep widening. This means that the number of users who are used to touchpads is increasing, so magic touchpads also make sense for users who prefer desktop computers.

"People love the trackpad, they love the way it works. So we wanted to bring that design to desktop users," the representative added, so Apple designed the product to work with a wireless keyboard to bring the full touch experience to the desktop. Pinch scaling, inertial scrolling, and tap are all supported.

Happily, the Magic trackpad is much larger (over 80%) than the trackpad on the MacBook. I asked if this meant users could expect new multi-touch features, but he declined to answer.

This product is in line with Apple's current trend. Apple has said that they are now a "mobile device" manufacturer. In addition to laptops, iphones and ipads each now make up a large portion of the market, and these devices apparently use all touch and no mouse.