Apple Unveils Multi-Touch Magic Mouse

Apple on Tuesday banished the2005-vintage Mighty Mouse and its wireless sibling to the ash heap of history, replacing them with a new wireless Magic Mouse that features a multi-touch surface on its entire top side.

The new mouse, which ships standard with the new iMac models announced today, does more than let you right- and left-click. You can use a single finger to scroll around-not just up and down or side to side, either. Within supported apps, such as Preview, you can scroll in any direction.

The Magic Mouse also supports swipe gestures, though not the same ones you'll find in Apple's multi-touch trackpads. Swiping left with two fingers in Safari will move you back a page, and in a stack of images in iPhoto, swiping left or right with two fingers will take you to the previous or next photo, respectively.

If you'd prefer to eschew the Bluetooth Magic Mouse, you can still pick up a wired version of the Mighty Mouse-now rebranded the Apple Mouse, after the company lost its rights to use the "Mighty Mouse" trademark earlier this month.

The Magic Mouse is powered by two AA batteries, and Apple says they'll power the mouse for approximately four months. In addition to being packaged with the new redesigned iMac, the Magic Mouse is available on its own for $69. It requires Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later with Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0.