Apple getting ready to put a touchpad on the mouse?

Seth Weintraub
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October 02, 2009
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We're seen the pictures from their patent applictions (below) for a number of years.   We've even seen some pretty awesome mockups.  Is Apple about to release a new mouse with its new consumer products?

That's AI's latest theory.  They think that upcoming consumer Macs will be outfitted with a new "Mightier" mouse which could gain things like haptic feedback and multi-touch on the top.  Us? We'd take a Multi-touch trackpad that could sit below our keyboards and be happy.  But we're not the "Crazy Ones"

Comments (16)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 8:18am

PLEASE APPLE!!!!!! The current Mighty Mouse is beyond awful.

ThomThom (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 8:26am

I'm sure I'm not the only one sitting here with a Mighty Mouse now so gunked up that I can scroll in any direction provided it isn't down?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 9:13am

I love Apple... but they needn't reinvent the wheel every time out. The Mighty Mouse was a bad idea and I don't know of one fan among my Mac-head friends. A usable mouse would've been good enough, but Apple had to try and get sexy with the Mighty Mouse to the extent they ignored a way for us users to clean it. I followed the instructions from an online source to take it apart and clean it and that made it worse. Anyway... I love using my MacBook's trackpad. And there it is... a simple answer: keyboards with sexy trackpads at the bottom or even a stand alone trackpad mouse. Ah, the simplicity of it. Could this new mouse be it?!!!

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 9:36am

how to clean mighty mouse:

breath on the small scroll ball, so it gets some moisture.

then immediately turn upside down and rub fast in any direction on a clean white paper, like the one you have in your printer.

repeat!

for me it worked so well!

please give feedback if it worked for you.

Polrbear (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 10:23am

Is it me or does the hand on the mouse look like it came from another planet?

However, if this idea comes to see the day... I'll be getting one for sure.

Jensonb (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 10:26am

Taking the MacBook Pro multi-touch trackpad and making the top layer of the Mighty Mouse out of it is beyond brilliant. Just as Apple has eliminated the dedicated mouse button on the notebook, so too can they make the true mouse more versatile, and adapt to the users needs. This seems to be Apple's big usability push right now, they're getting behind context-sensitive controls (See philosophy of iPhone UI for more).

Kev Orng (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 12:13pm

Brilliant, maybe, but don't give Apple credit for the brilliance. Some of us have been screaming for it since we first encountered the multitouch trackpad on the MBA. In various forms, either molded onto the mouse or even just a USB multitouch trackpad.

I have a friend who swore he'd never give up a mouse for a trackpad, but after trying out the trackpad on his early-2009 MBP, he said he'll never buy a mouse again unless it has multitouch.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 8:52pm

Uh, yeah... the brilliance of “hey, dude, combine those things, you know... somehow.” That kind of thing requires SOOO much more brilliance than all that silly engineering, ergonomics, programming fluff. 'Cause you're the Idea Man.

I'm sure they'll be calling you real soon to make sure you're available as backup, in case Mr Jobs steps down. Whew. We can all sleep easy tonight.

Gorilla (not verified) | October 03, 2009 - 3:39pm

Kudos, well said.

Kev Orng (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 10:44am

I don't mind the mighty mouse myself. On the Mac Pro at work I've learned to very much appreciate the scroll ball, which we've been using for just over a year without problems. Especially in Final Cut pro, where using the scroll ball to zip through timelines has become second nature.

That being said, if they had a MBP-inspired USB TrackPad, I'd be all over that.

Kellener (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 11:47am

Damn these fingers are ugly

Gorilla (not verified) | October 03, 2009 - 3:40pm

They're actually proof that Apple is directly employed in Area 51 in Nevada. Those fingers are of Zeta aliens.

Martini (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 2:50pm

But what about that computer? Is that an LC? When did Apple file this... 1992?

Andrew Macdonald (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 3:29pm

PLEASE APPLE. Release the mouse looking exactly like the mock up.

The bloody thing looks awesome. Whoever designed that is a genius.

tom (not verified) | October 02, 2009 - 5:14pm

Curved glass design?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 03, 2009 - 5:13am

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO