5 ms·

So, Apple trackpads are better in that they are more precise? Not being a Mac user, it's hard for me to understand what advantage a trackpad like this gives ove

So, Apple trackpads are better in that they are more precise? Not being a Mac user, it's hard for me to understand what advantage a trackpad like this gives over any other third-party trackpad, other than the multitouch capability. Please help me understand why people are gushing over a $70 trackpad (even made by Apple), when most people mock similar input devices costing over $30.

wtallis 16y ago
I've got a $100 Wacom tablet that doubles as a multitouch trackpad. Even though it is far larger than any of Apple's trackpads, it is still much less useful as a trackpad because the lower accuracy makes the multitouch gestures too unreliable to become natural. On my MacBook Pro, I use jitouch to expand the repertoire of gestures to more than a dozen that I use regularly. On the Wacom Bamboo, I seldom bother with anything other than two-finger scrolling, and I doubt that it has the accuracy to support the range of gestures that jitouch has. (Although much of this could be due to the drivers.)
jsz0 16y ago
For me the big advantage of Apple's trackpads is their size. More surface area equals less finger repositioning and more reasonable tracking/acceleration speeds. I bought a Waccom Bamboo, wired not wireless, for $99 so I don't think Apple's $70 price tag is unreasonable.
gamble 16y ago
Two reasons. First, external multitouch trackpads have been basically unobtainable until now. Apple bought the one company that used to make them and incorporated their technology into Apple products years ago. The only other model I've seen was an obscure Japanese import that only supported Windows. If you like trackpads, the Magic Trackpad is the first time in years you can buy one for your desktop. Second, Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry by a huge margin. They're smooth and precise to a degree that PC laptop trackpads seem incapable of matching. The experience is comparable to the touchscreen on an iPhone or iPad. If you're not a Mac user it can be hard to appreciate the difference; I'm always shocked at how awful PC trackpads are every time I use non-Apple hardware. I'm used to hearing people complain about how much they hate trackpads, but if everyone had an Apple trackpad I suspect opinions would be quite different.
- sprout 16y ago
  >Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry by a huge margin. Do you have any research to back that up? I don't doubt that Apple trackpads are of high quality, probably even the best. That said, the placebo effect can be very powerful when attempting to gauge how easy it is to interact with a computer.
  - city41 16y ago
    I honestly don't think it's placebo. MacBooks are the only laptop I've ever owned where I've never felt inclined to use a mouse instead of the trackpad. They really are that good.
    - nevinera 16y ago
      >I honestly don't think it's placebo. Well if you did, it wouldn't work!
      - niels_olson 16y ago
        I've used a lot of pointers (keyboard, joystick, mouse, trackball, trackpad, multitouch, retinal motion, wacom) on a lot of operating systems (TI-94A, solid-state radar displays, Apple II, whatever was behind ACDS and CEC, Windows, Linux, Solaris, Mac, FreeBSD, etc, etc) in a lot of different contexts (tracking targets, directing fire, games, fetal ultrasound, planning and reading MRI, CT, Da Vinci machines, surgical microscopes) etc, etc, etc. I don't think the Mac trackpad is anywhere close to a placebo. It's a parachute issue. (http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/327/7429/1459 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/327/7429/1459). For the platform (personal computing), the mac trackpad is a hands-down winner.
        city41 16y ago
        Keep in mind though, it only really performs that well in OSX. In Windows there are gestures that clash with each other, in particular trying to right click a link in Chrome causes the window to scroll, very frustrating.
mikeryan 16y ago
Its not precision so much as the increased usability of the multi-touch. With multi-touch I feel the trackpad is every bit as usable as a mouse (Note - I don't play video games) I have 2 laptops - one mac and one windows both with trackpads. On the windows laptop I still use an external mouse.
andreyf 16y ago
Just one example: let's say you want to save an image from a web page to your desktop. With the Apple's trackpad, you can start to drag the image, holding it with your thumb on the bottom of the trackpad, four-finger swipe-up to show the desktop, move the image to where you need it, and release your thumb to drop. Four-finger swipe again to bring back your browser.

wtallis 16y ago

I've got a $100 Wacom tablet that doubles as a multitouch trackpad. Even though it is far larger than any of Apple's trackpads, it is still much less useful as a trackpad because the lower accuracy makes the multitouch gestures too unreliable to become natural. On my MacBook Pro, I use jitouch to expand the repertoire of gestures to more than a dozen that I use regularly. On the Wacom Bamboo, I seldom bother with anything other than two-finger scrolling, and I doubt that it has the accuracy to support the range of gestures that jitouch has. (Although much of this could be due to the drivers.)

jsz0 16y ago

For me the big advantage of Apple's trackpads is their size. More surface area equals less finger repositioning and more reasonable tracking/acceleration speeds. I bought a Waccom Bamboo, wired not wireless, for $99 so I don't think Apple's $70 price tag is unreasonable.

gamble 16y ago

Two reasons. First, external multitouch trackpads have been basically unobtainable until now. Apple bought the one company that used to make them and incorporated their technology into Apple products years ago. The only other model I've seen was an obscure Japanese import that only supported Windows. If you like trackpads, the Magic Trackpad is the first time in years you can buy one for your desktop. Second, Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry by a huge margin. They're smooth and precise to a degree that PC laptop trackpads seem incapable of matching. The experience is comparable to the touchscreen on an iPhone or iPad. If you're not a Mac user it can be hard to appreciate the difference; I'm always shocked at how awful PC trackpads are every time I use non-Apple hardware. I'm used to hearing people complain about how much they hate trackpads, but if everyone had an Apple trackpad I suspect opinions would be quite different.

sprout 16y ago
>Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry by a huge margin. Do you have any research to back that up? I don't doubt that Apple trackpads are of high quality, probably even the best. That said, the placebo effect can be very powerful when attempting to gauge how easy it is to interact with a computer.
- city41 16y ago
  I honestly don't think it's placebo. MacBooks are the only laptop I've ever owned where I've never felt inclined to use a mouse instead of the trackpad. They really are that good.
  - nevinera 16y ago
    >I honestly don't think it's placebo. Well if you did, it wouldn't work!
    - niels_olson 16y ago
      I've used a lot of pointers (keyboard, joystick, mouse, trackball, trackpad, multitouch, retinal motion, wacom) on a lot of operating systems (TI-94A, solid-state radar displays, Apple II, whatever was behind ACDS and CEC, Windows, Linux, Solaris, Mac, FreeBSD, etc, etc) in a lot of different contexts (tracking targets, directing fire, games, fetal ultrasound, planning and reading MRI, CT, Da Vinci machines, surgical microscopes) etc, etc, etc. I don't think the Mac trackpad is anywhere close to a placebo. It's a parachute issue. (http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/327/7429/1459 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/327/7429/1459). For the platform (personal computing), the mac trackpad is a hands-down winner.
      - city41 16y ago
        Keep in mind though, it only really performs that well in OSX. In Windows there are gestures that clash with each other, in particular trying to right click a link in Chrome causes the window to scroll, very frustrating.

mikeryan 16y ago

Its not precision so much as the increased usability of the multi-touch. With multi-touch I feel the trackpad is every bit as usable as a mouse (Note - I don't play video games) I have 2 laptops - one mac and one windows both with trackpads. On the windows laptop I still use an external mouse.

andreyf 16y ago

Just one example: let's say you want to save an image from a web page to your desktop. With the Apple's trackpad, you can start to drag the image, holding it with your thumb on the bottom of the trackpad, four-finger swipe-up to show the desktop, move the image to where you need it, and release your thumb to drop. Four-finger swipe again to bring back your browser.