The Apple Magic Track Pad Review

OK...so maybe I am a sucker. Maybe I am an elitist, maybe I am stupid. Who knows, but I like Apple stuff. So, of course, when I had the opportunity to, I added the Apple Magic Trackpad to my iMac setup. (Yeah, I am old, I need new glasses and the 27" iMac screen is just the ticket for these tired eyes...).

I really like the Apple Magic Mouse that comes with the iMac, but the Magic Trackpad is new and silver...so I wanted it. And, in short, it is really pretty great:

1. It Is Like a Touchpad - But Bigger: The "working space" on the trackpad is terrific. It is ample to navigate large expanses of screen real estate. This makes it significantly easier than a mouse.
2. Finger Gestures are Excellent: The trackpad is just like using my iPhone. Pinch, stretch...they all work the same. Not that it is hard to be contextually aware of interface interactions, but it is nice to have consistency. My laptop, desktop, and phone all work the same way.

The Magic Trackpad does have some significant shortcomings:

1. It Is Not Magic: As much as I wanted the Magic Trackpad to transform my computing experience, the essential mouse navigation paradigm is in full effect. Navigation on my screen is the same...this was a little disappointing from a product that has magic in the name.
2. It Gets in the Way: My little wireless keyboard seems to bump into the trackpad often, sometimes causing unwanted clicks.
3. It Grabs Unintended Touches: I am not a touch typist. I am looking at the keyboard the entire time. That said, sometimes my little pinky hits the trackpad and changes the cursor position. This gets me towards typing somewhere else on the page. Drives me crazy. Makes me mad. Grrrr. I know this is more of an ergonomic issue than anything else, but I need to have the trackpad near the keyboard for efficiency reasons....haven't solved that issue yet.

So, there are two positives and three negatives. You'd think that this was a bad review. Well, guess what, the Apple Magic Trackpad isn't perfect, but I haven't touched my mouse in months. I tried using the mouse just yesterday and I felt as if I was writing with the wrong hand. It was unintuitive, noisy and required too much space. The Magic Trackpad ain't magic, but I won't take it off my desk.