When I bought my parents an iMac for Christmas, I opted to have the Magic Mouse delivered with it. When you buy an iMac from Apple, you can choose whether to have the classic Apple mouse or their newer Magic Mouse delivered free with it. I went for the Magic Mouse as I'd heard that there are often problems with the scroll wheel of the classic mouse.

When the Magic Mouse arrived, it was a lot smaller and thinner than I remembered it being when I saw it in the flesh previously. It's beautiful to look at, with a white glass surface (and of course the infamous Apple logo, which is situated towards the bottom), and an aluminium back. It's a lot slimmer than any mouse I've seen; it's practically flat. The other main difference to other computer mice is that it doesn't have visible buttons; you simply touch the left or the right side to left or right click, and if you move your finger up and down the middle as if you're moving a scroll wheel, the page will move up and down. This is where I believe the 'magic' comes in. It is pretty cool. You can also do a number of other things by moving and flicking your fingers accordingly, such as zooming in and out. I have to admit that I do find all but the most simple mouse operations difficult to operate, and so I tend to avoid using them. In this respect it's a very 'showy' mouse, although I think once you get used to it you'd be really annoyed to go back to a regular mouse.

I think those with big hands might struggle; I don't find this the most comfortable mouse to use and I have small hands. It's just a bit too flat and is uncomfortable to use for long periods of time. Furthermore, after using the Magic Mouse and going straight back to a Logitech mouse, I find the Logitech mouse moves more smoothly and with a lot less effort.

The Magic Mouse came with the batteries in it, which I thought was a nice touch. It has an absolutely tiny switch on the underside to turn it on and off and preserve the batteries when not in use. There's also a tiny green light underneath to show it's working. Installation is extremely simple; you simply ensure it's switched on, move or click it to make the Mac aware of it, and then briefly wait for the computer to recognise it. That's it!

I was expecting to encounter installation problems as I've read so many complaints from people in the Apple forums saying that there's a conflict between the wireless keyboard and the wireless mouse and it's only possible to use one at a time. I think this may well be a minority though as I've not encountered any problems.

Even with the batteries in, the mouse is surprisingly light. The lack of wire means it's much more portable and good for those who want to use it with a laptop and carry it around. It's also easy to slip into a pocket or laptop bag compartment without fussy with wires or trying to find the space for something so bulky.
Not so long ago, Apple computers used to be recommended to people who didn't have a lot of computer experience, because they're easy to use and you don't have to install anti-virus software. However, the Magic Mouse is another step towards targeting people who want to be seen as cool - it's just not that intuitive and seems to be more of a 'look what we can do product' from Apple, a company with a solid reputation for creating poor mice. Having said that, it is the best mouse they've made to date - it's just all show unfortunately.

If you use your computer mouse infrequently (either because you prefer a tablet or you just don't use your computer that much), then you probably won't be annoyed by this. If the shape of your mouse or your money is important to you, you can get a white, wired Logitech mouse which is close enough to matching your Mac for under £10, a much more reasonable price than the Magic Mouse's £55.