Microsoft Officially Unveils the Arc Touch Mouse
Well, looky what we have here.
We've been hearing about (and seeing) Microsoft's Arc Touch Mouse for weeks now. Yesterday, the company officially announced the peripheral, naming a price and shipping date.
The Arc Touch Mouse looks like a sleeker version of the company's Arc Mouse but there's something the Arc Touch can do that the old Arc can't. Owners of the Arc Touch Mouse can actually flatten it out for easy portability and pop it back into its curved shape when they want to use it. Now, I can't remember the last time I had to leave my mouse at home because it was just too bulky for my laptop bag but who am I to complain about added portability? The Arc Touch also boasts Microsoft's first touch scroll strip for easy navigation.
Though the rumors have lived up to our expectations, there is one disappointing thing about this and that's the shipping date. Microsoft says preorder will ship in December, while the mouse won't hit retailer shelves until January 2011. Preorders are available through Amazon and Best Buy and the mouse will set you back $69.99. Any takers?
Check out a demonstration of the Arc Mouse here on Microsoft's site.
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As I've said with all other $80 mice... I think I'll stick to my favorite little Razer DeathAdder 3500. It gets the job done.
I can still see the uses for this - pack it up and put it in your laptop case, etc. I'm just not a big fan of this one...
Looks cool.. but more like a gimmick that you'll soon get bored of
Can you slap it around your wrist?
Looks stylish but I don't know if it's comfortable enough.
Very stylish design, Im sure alot of laptop wielding suits will love this. But...
I think the touch scroll is the coolest feature to this mouse. I cannot belive that has not been done before now that I have read about it. Id sure like to try that out.
I hope it works like the bracelets that you slap around your wrist.
Can you slap it around your wrist?
Ha! thats wha I'm talkin bout
I guess there's a use for it, though I'll never give up my MX Anywhere.
Lordy McGordy! I'll stick with a cheaper $30 Logitech M310. I do like the ability to flatten it, but that feature doesn't cost another $40 imo.
No thanks. My G5 is still doing quite well.
Tom's oviously getting paid to cover this story by microsoft
Logitech G500 ftw.
arc touch looks awful.
looks like a model on the runway. Only good to look at for few seconds.
original arc mouse was great truly wonderful
Logitech Trackballlllll
One word, yaG!
I still have a logitech m-bb48. It has a ball. It has two buttons, and it has a scroll wheel you can feel scrolling. It cost $20 in the 90s. I'm not competitive in MLG or anything so I really just don't see any difference at all.
There are things I can justify spending money on for my computer, and there are things where there is simply no reason to spend it. Microsoft's new, expensive, gimmicky mouse can be thrown on the heap of other expensive, gimmicky mice that only the most foolish of "enthusiasts" will throw their dollars at to find that the gimmick isn't that great and the expense was too great.
Thats their sales pitch? portability? LOL what the heck? They gotta do better than that. My laptop mouse is already portable as it is, what will make me buy this thing? Right now I dont have a reason to buy it.
Only thing replacing my G9 is another G9
This mouse looks really cool but it is too late and Microsoft mice have a bad reputation of having poor button feel.
Since Logitech launched a full sized mouse(that works on glass) with the nano USB dongle I can't imagine using anything else. Even big mice are small enough for laptop bags.
although i wont be replacing my MX anywhere (either...lookin@ you eddieroolz), I cant wait to see it in person. It'll sell well enough and it would have ended up on my list of finalists (just as the original arc did...AAA batteries was the straw>camel).
I'm so happy microsoft got rid of their gummy feeling, notch-less wheels. But they still dont like shift points (i.e. notch-y wheels). this is sure to be more successful though. Makes sense not to feel shift points if there's nothing there.
Albeit the 1 mouse they DIDNT ruin was the arc v1! It has a nice clicky/ shifty/ notchy wheel.
Tom's oviously getting paid to cover this story by microsoft
I'm very suspicious of corporations but Tom's does gibe at the mouse a little bit so I don't think they got paid.
Lordy McGordy! I'll stick with a cheaper $30 Logitech M310. I do like the ability to flatten it, but that feature doesn't cost another $40 imo.
Best gaming mouse IMO
Innovative, but 70 bucks? I can buy a keyboard AND a mouse for that price. I mean, I can understand if the thing had multiple buttons, but from what I can see it just had the two and the scroller. That's not worth it to me, just so I can show my friends that I have a thin, flexible mouse? No thanks.
I can see this being useful for those who want comfort.
Sure you can get mice that are sculpted but the shape is fixed, with this mouse you can bend it to fit the exact shape of the bridge of your palm and therefore should be perfect for everyone who uses it.
I can't see why I'd want to use this over a good trackpad in a laptop and on a desktop I'd rather have a 'proper' mouse.
What a neat idea, a mouse with built-in Viagra. Although they have the "before" and "after" pics reversed up top.
Oh something else that's not too clear, the top of the mouse is a touchpad, so you can have all directional movement on it instead of just a scroll? Or is it only a touch scroll up and down?
I used some new MAC mouse that had the whole top surface touch enabled, so you can just move your finger side to side and up and down to scroll. Very usefull.
I wonder how often you will end up "accidentally" flattening the mouse when you are resting the weight of your hand on it. I'd rather not my mouse make me feel like "HULK SMASH!" everything I use it.
Thx but no thx MS. I'll stick with my Logitech MX Revolution. Best mouse I've ever used.
too pricy....msft dont do a apple(atleast the latter gives even better quality)