Apple Magic Mouse

Reasons to buy Just look at it. The company that popularised the computer mouse now claims to have reinvented it, bringing touch-screen technology to the very skin of the mouse. Swipe one finger down to scroll down, two fingers across to change windows or web pages; move your fingers in a circle to rotate 360 degrees in a web page or document. All without moving the mouse body. All of the mouse’s functions can be programmed and altered.

Reasons not to As with all things Apple, it comes at a price, and you may prefer the simple physical controllability of a more traditional mouse complete with track wheel. It works only with Apple computers, at least for now.

Price £55

Verdict There is not a single angle from which this mouse does not look stunning. Wireless link-up was easy, and the single-finger gestures on the mouse work well. We were less happy with the sideways swiping, which felt uncomfortable and was often foiled by sweaty fingers. In iPhoto, side-swiping moved us nicely from image to image, but in Safari (Apple’s web browser), we found it more difficult to control our jumping around from page to page. Mouse controls can be personalised in System Preferences, and it can be used as a regular point-and-click mouse, which seems a waste.

apple.com/uk

Nigel Kendall