SISAREA

Apple’s Magic Trackpad isn’t the first of its kind — in fact, Wacom has been playing this game for awhile — but it’s the first of its kind from the cats in Cupertino, so obviously people take notice. The premise of such a device is stupidly simple: it’s a laptop trackpad that lives on your desktop. Over the past few years, there have been rumors that Steve Jobs has his sights set on eliminating buttons from Apple products altogether, and this certainly feels like the next step in the plan. But does it make sense? Is this an improvement over standard input devices like a mouse or trackball? More importantly, in the age of iPads and netbooks, does anyone even need an external input device like this? We’re going to try and answer those questions (and more), so read on for our full review!

Continue reading Magic Trackpad review

Magic Trackpad review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Apple’s Magic Trackpad isn’t the first of its kind — in fact, Wacom has been playing this game for awhile — but it’s the first of its kind from the cats in Cupertino, so obviously people take notice. The premise of such a device is stupidly simple: it’s a laptop trackpad that lives on your desktop. Over the past few years, there have been rumors that Steve Jobs has his sights set on eliminating buttons from Apple products altogether, and this certainly feels like the next step in the plan. But does it make sense? Is this an improvement over standard input devices like a mouse or trackball? More importantly, in the age of iPads and netbooks, does anyone even need an external input device like this? We’re going to try and answer those questions (and more), so read on for our full review!

Continue reading Magic Trackpad review

Magic Trackpad review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Apple’s Magic Trackpad isn’t the first of its kind — in fact, Wacom has been playing this game for awhile — but it’s the first of its kind from the cats in Cupertino, so obviously people take notice. The premise of such a device is stupidly simple: it’s a laptop trackpad that lives on your desktop. Over the past few years, there have been rumors that Steve Jobs has his sights set on eliminating buttons from Apple products altogether, and this certainly feels like the next step in the plan. But does it make sense? Is this an improvement over standard input devices like a mouse or trackball? More importantly, in the age of iPads and netbooks, does anyone even need an external input device like this? We’re going to try and answer those questions (and more), so read on for our full review!

Continue reading Magic Trackpad review

Magic Trackpad review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Apple_Magic_Trackpad_first_hands_on’; So it’s real, and… it’s a trackpad. What seemed like it might have been pure rumor and some good Photoshopping just a short while ago has magically (ha ha!) transformed into reality. If you’re wondering what the Magic Trackpad is like to use — get ready for a shock. It feels just like using a slightly larger version of a MacBook or MacBook Pro pad. And we mean exactly, right down to the multitouch gestures and whole-pad click. Yes, it clicks. There’s also a new gesture, if you’re keeping track — a three-finger move that lets you drag windows around (very helpful), though you give up the functionality of being to navigate stuff like iPhoto galleries with a swipe (it’s an option you can toggle in preferences — you have a choice). We’re going to be doing some serious testing with the new peripheral, but for now, feast your eyes on the pics below.

Apple Magic Trackpad first hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Apple_Magic_Trackpad_officially_unveiled’; It’s not like Apple could very well keep it a secret anymore, so today we’re being treated to the official unveiling of the Magic Trackpad. This wireless touch input receptacle — already thoroughly leaked, trademarked, and FCC-approved — has just made its debut in, of all places, Apple’s Store app for iOS 4. It’s basically exactly what you’d expect: a glass-covered, aluminum-shelled replicator of the glorious multitouch experience on offer in Apple’s MacBooks, only for the desktop. The Trackpad is battery-powered, communicates via Bluetooth fairy dust, and is ready to ship out right this minute for a dollar under 70 bucks.

Apple Magic Trackpad official, shipping now for $69 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Apple  | Email this | Comments

Of all the surprises we expected to hear about in the WWDC keynote, a multitouch trackpad peripheral didn’t exactly pop into our brains. But — whoomp — here it is. What we appear to be looking at is a brand new input device that Apple has dreamed up which connects to desktops (and laptops, if you like) via Bluetooth, much like the Apple Keyboard. If you take what you see in the photos at face value, it would seem that the folks in Cupertino are making a play for finger-based input in a big way — taking the work they’ve done on Mac laptops and the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and translating it to the desktop realm. This weirdly lines up perfectly with rumors from earlier in the year, emanating from both John Gruber (of Daring Fireball fame), and MacRumors — the former reporting that Apple was set to release a “Mentioned-Nowhere-Else-But-in-This-Very-Headline Multi-Touch Trackpad Gadget for Desktop Macs,” and the latter taking notice of an Apple trademark application for the “Magic Trackpad.” It certainly all makes sense given that the company has made not-so-subtle moves away from standard input devices to finger-friendly options in many, many of its recent products. Whatever the case may be, we’re potentially just hours away from the truth, so feast your eyes on the photos, and get ready for the big reveal.

Update: New images received with a claim that the device supports handwriting recognition in addition to “every feature you can find on a Magic Mouse (and possibly features of a MacBook Pro trackpad).” This, from a person who claims to be personally testing it. Something we hope to do for ourselves before the day is through.

Update 2: Reader Dan Berte made a quick little cardboard mockup using his Apple keyboard and Magic Mouse for relative sizing and he’s estimating the tracking area to be around six inches diagonal. Makes sense — check his handiwork after the break.

Continue reading Apple’s Magic Trackpad revealed?

Apple’s Magic Trackpad revealed? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Remind us to send a thank-you note to Hanvon for taking a break from cranking out e-readers to work on some of the best tablets we’ve seen at CeBIT yet — much more advanced that what was shown by the company back in September. While the TouchPad BC10C and BA10E didn’t have any special software running on top of Windows 7 Home Premium, both of their 10.1-inch, capacitive multitouch displays were extremely responsive. The BA10E was the more aesthetically-pleasing of the duo, with a smooth grey bezel and a thin, lightweight body that was cool to the touch. If you hadn’t guessed already, that beauty comes at a cost to processing speed, with just a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor inside. (Although the official specs list Windows XP and stylus input, as you can see in the video it was clearly using Windows 7 and multitouch — the Atom CPU might also be an error, but the rep on hand couldn’t say.) The BC10C, while bulkier, boasts an Intel Celeron chip — a little more power, but we can’t help but wonder how battery life would suffer. Hanvon told us these babies would run for about 500 euros, with release date currently unknown. You know the drill: gallery below, and video after the break.

Continue reading Hanvon TouchPad BC10C and BA10E hands-on

Hanvon TouchPad BC10C and BA10E hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments