Remember those cryptic images teasing something “flat and touchy” that appeared on Microsoft’s Twitter account earlier this week? Sources are telling Neowin that the device is the Arc Touch Mouse, a touch-enabled mouse that will make its debut in September at a price of $69.95.

While it may look like a response to Apple’s recently announced Magic Trackpad, it appears that the timing may be more coincidental than anything. The device is part of a larger project within Microsoft called “Mouse 2.0,” which has been underway since at least last year.

(See this research paper from Microsoft Research as evidence of what I’m talking about.)

Apple may have a leg up here on Microsoft: it appears at least initially the device is not multitouch. It may not really matter though either: neither is the Magic Trackpad on Windows for the time being.

It’s not clear whether touch is the name of the game here, or as the name suggests, traditional mouse use is also possible. If its the latter, it may be more accurate to put Apple’s Magic Mouse as its chief competitor instead.

Either way, it does seem to me that Apple may have been onto “the next big thing” as Harry asked last week. Maybe the mouse really is just about dead, after all.

 
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