The View From Space

Finally broke down and used the giftcard my wife gave me for Christmas.  Made my way down to Best Buy and got me a Magic Trackpad.

The first thing you notice is that the unit is packaged in typical Apple dressing.  A beautiful box with form fitting inserts to secure your device.  Inside, the trackpad is covered in a protective plastic wrap and all documentation is neatly tucked under the insert (which, by the way, has a hole in the middle for easy removal).  Once open you’ll find that it is a fairly large trackpad.  This makes navigation a heck of a lot easier than on those tiny built-in laptop trackpads.  Again, true to Apple form, the design is clean and minimalist with a gorgeous aluminum finish.   The bluetooth interface makes it even cleaner with no external cables or attachments hanging off the ends.

In order to use the unit you first need to pair it with your computer.  This operation is as simple as the unboxing:  Open System Preferences, Go to Trackpad, click Set up Bluetooth Trackpad, turn your trackpad ON then click continue when it’s detected.  No muss, no fuss. 

Using the trackpad is as intuitive as pairing it.  The gestures are highlighted on the back of the box and they’re the same as those on the built-in Macbook/Macbook Pro trackpads, so if you’re familiar with those you’re ready to rock and roll.  However, if you do need more help you can just go back to the Trackpad settings in System Preferences and watch the detailed animations of each gesture.

So if you’re looking to ditch your old mouse or if you’re trackball has your fingers cramping up, look into the Magic Trackpad.   I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Oh and another nice touch from Apple, batteries ARE included.