I had a chance to play with a Magic Mouse at the local Apple store yesterday. First impressions were negative, but then I got more used to it and started to appreciate it.

It is very flat, so if you are like me and prefer a chunky mouse under your hand, you will find it a bit difficult to get used to. The mouse movement seems precise, without appearing noticeably better than other optical mice.

The mouse buttons are hidden under the smooth upper surface, but the clicks are much more obvious that in the old Mighty Mouse. You actually feel a distinct click when you press which is a big improvement.

I'm not sure if this is still the case, but you may need to go into System Preferences and setup the mouse to allow right-clicking. For some unknown reason, this always used to be turned off by default. Hopefully this is no longer true.

I had wondered if the tracking sensors meant that the whole mouse could be used as a trackpad, but this is not the case. However scrolling is very nice. Just flick your finger and the window scrolls just like an iPhone scrolls i.e. starting off fast, then slowing as the momentum runs out. This works up, down or sideways.

I didn't get to test most of the multi-touch features. In Safari, a two-fingered sideways swipe is the same as clicking the forward & back buttons, but that's as far as I got.

As of today (29th October 2009), the Magic Mouse is still not available as a separate product, although it comes bundled with new Macs. The online Apple store lists 5-7 days delivery, so I expect they will be out soon.

I haven't decided yet whether I will buy one - I will probably wait until the next person I know gets a new Mac and make a more detailed assessment then.

Oh and by the way, the new 27" iMac is gorgeous!