The world’s first multi-touch mouse copied the intuitive technology from previous Apple products – iPhone, iPod touch, MacBook Pro – and pasted it flush across the single-button device’s surface. Instead of a trackball, scroll wheel or other additional (and now redundant) tracking mechanism, Magic Mouse employs the use of gestures. Want to scroll to the bottom of a web page? Slide your finger down over the Magic Mouse’s ultra-smooth surface. Browse too far and want to step back a few pages? Swipe two fingers left to move backwards through your browsing history, or give those fingers a rightward-moving swipe and wind up where you started. It’s more and less than just a mouse, but the magic moniker fits well with its capabilities.

Before Magic Mouse, I was using a Logitech VX Revolution, which was a solid mouse, but required a dongle and every ounce of patience one can muster when mousing in the vicinity of other wireless devices. Cursor lag and inaccurate scrolling plagued several experiences with the VX Revolution, but on it’s best days it behaved like a champion. Apart from losing the ability to zoom sans keyboard, I’m utterly satisfied with the Bluetooth transition. Right out of the slick packaging, Magic Mouse connected seamlessly to my 24″ iMac – no dongles necessary. Fast forward past a quick mouse software update and I was gesturing my way through QuickTime footage, scrolling through pages of text, and fondling the idea of what’s to come.

Magic Mouse is huge leap forward from the abysmal Mighty Mouse and its finicky trackball. Likewise, the decision to ditch optical tracking in favor of more powerful lasers equates to precise tracking on a wider variety of surfaces. A mouse pad isn’t a necessity, although I’d recommend one to guard the underbelly of your investment. The ergonomic Magic Mouse functions almost as beautifully as it looks. The slender, low-profile shell is comfortable in hands both large and small; my own two paws lean toward behemoth size and handling the device was a cinch.

Perhaps the only grievance I have with the Magic Mouse is its tendency to confuse two-finger swipes with single-finger scrolling. The issue popped up every now and again as I attempted to find the middle-ground between comfort and control. That’s to say, holding the mouse firmly between thumb and ring finger makes two-finger swiping somewhat of an inconvenience. On the opposite side of the coin, releasing the ring-finger from gripping the device allows for easily recognizable two-finger gestures, but the mouse is left relatively free to slide around on your desk. With a few hours of practice you’ll wind up either figuring out the method that best suits you or returning the device out of frustration. Personally I don’t get much use out of the two-finger gestures, but it’s worth noting that after a while I was able to adjust and semi-comfortably swipe through photo libraries and web pages.

Those weary of purchasing a single-button mouse can rest easy knowing that both right- and left-clicking work flawlessly. The tactile feedback and resounding “click” of the solitary button is extremely satisfying. I must have spent at least fifteen minutes attempting to trick the mouse into mistaking a right-click for a left or vice versa, to no avail. Magic Mouse is too clever to misinterpret simple clicks. Smarter still was the decision to incorporate scrolling with momentum – enable it in your mouse’s System Preferences and scroll along smoothly at the same pace as your tracking finger. A swift upward flick will have you at the top of a page in no time, and likewise you can scroll pixel-by-pixel if swiping slowly enough.

The caveat of reviewing electronics such as Magic Mouse is the inability to accurately judge battery life, but Apple promises four months of solid use. Meanwhile, I promise you that I’ll update this post the moment my batteries bite the dust, and I don’t see that taking any more than a month or two. Time will tell!