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Microsoft's Explorer Touch Mouse Coming in September

Jul. 19, 2011 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

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Microsoft announced today that its upcoming Explorer Touch Mouse will arrive in September and will cost $50 in the US. This new mouse joins the Touch Mouse ($80, coming this fall) and the Arc Touch Mouse ($60, available now) in the company's stable of touch-based pointing devices.

Today, we are excited to announce the newest member of the Microsoft Hardware touch line – the Explorer Touch Mouse. With this new mouse, we have taken touch strip technology to the next level by delivering a strip with both vertical and horizontal navigation, allowing you to swipe your mouse in any direction. In addition to easy navigation, the scroll wheel also allows for three speeds of scrolling: slow speed for precise movements, medium speed to advance a page or two, or hyperfast speed to flick quickly through a long document. And with advanced haptic technology, it’s easy to feel and hear how quickly you are scrolling.

Holding true to its name, the Explorer Touch Mouse lets you explore beyond the confines of your desk with BlueTrack Technology for seamless scrolling on everything from your carpet to your couch to your pant leg. And it’s also Microsoft’s first mouse to offer up to 18 months of battery life. The Explorer Touch Mouse will be available in Septemeber for $49.95.

With the addition of this new mouse, we are thrilled to now have a variety of multitouch devices for different needs:

Touch Mouse for the ultimate multitouch lover, providing faster and easier navigation with unique touch gestures using one, two or three fingers – designed specifically for Windows 7.

Arc Touch Mouse for people on the go, as the first mouse to pop up for comfort and flatten for portability.

And now Explorer Touch Mouse for those looking for advanced touch scrolling technology and the convenience of longer battery life.

Discuss this Article 24

yoshipod
on Jul 19, 2011
What no snarky comments about this like you did for the Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad, which are basically the same products? Oh yeah, those are Apple products so you belittle them and since this is an MS product you just repost a press release.
Mustang17
on Jul 19, 2011
If you look at the history of mice made by Mircosoft and those made by Apple, then Apple mice just don't come close to the quality in Microsoft mice. Apple mice may look nice but just utter nonsense to use. So yoshipod, at least with this you know your getting something that is usuable and comfortable.
Mustang17
on Jul 19, 2011
If you look at the history of mice made by Mircosoft and those made by Apple, then Apple mice just don't come close to the quality in Microsoft mice. Apple mice may look nice but just utter nonsense to use. So yoshipod, at least with this you know your getting something that is usuable and comfortable.
Mustang17
on Jul 19, 2011
If you look at the history of mice made by Mircosoft and those made by Apple, then Apple mice just don't come close to the quality of Microsoft mice. Apple mice may look nice but just utter nonsense to use. So yoshipod, at least with this you know your getting something that is usuable and comfortable.
Mustang17
on Jul 19, 2011
If you look at the history of mice made by Mircosoft and those made by Apple, then Apple mice just don't come close to the quality in Microsoft mice. Apple mice may look nice but just utter nonsense to use. So yoshipod, at least with this you know your getting something that is usuable and comfortable.
17thMustang
on Jul 19, 2011
If you look at the history of mice made by Mircosoft and those made by Apple, then Apple mice just don't come close to the quality in Microsoft mice. Apple mice may look nice but just utter nonsense to use. So yoshipod, at least with this you know your getting something that is usuable and comfortable.
lethbridge
on Jul 19, 2011
Any idea if a wired version is planned? I am probably in the minority here, but I pretty much only use wired mice, I find the wireless mice to be pretty unreliable.
yoshipod
on Jul 19, 2011
@Mustang17 Which mouse were you using when you posted the same thing 5 times in a row?
beijingmac
on Jul 19, 2011
"If you think this thing sounds suspiciously like Apple's ridiculous Tragic MacPadexcuse me, "Magic TrackPad"you're not alone. In fact, the only obvious difference between the Microsoft design and its Apple cousin is that the Microsoft Touch Mouse, as it's called, appears to have better ergonomics. And let's face it, that's not too difficult: The Tragic MacPad proves that Apple has learned nothing about pointing devices since its ill-conceived original iMac "hockey puck" mouse." - Paul Thurrott, January 2011
FellowsheepTech
on Jul 19, 2011
I recently picked up the Arc Touch Mouse on sale & really like it. What a great design! The wireless nub attaches to the bottom magnetically & you just bend it to power on/off. Microsoft has consistently made good peripheral hardware, but I especially like the new touch mice. Unfortunately I can't justify another.
Bruno H
on Jul 20, 2011
@yoshipod So what should Paul do? Trash a product he even hasnt had in his hands? I trust Paul to give us a fair review of this mouse if and when he gets his hands on it. It's not like Paul has never ever criticized a Microsoft product before.
Mustang17
on Jul 20, 2011
I cant see my posts, no idea why, so that wouldn't be a mouse problem would it? Though I am glad you took the trouble to read it 5 times.
yoshipod
on Jul 20, 2011
@Bruno H "So what should Paul do? Trash a product he even hasnt had in his hands?" He seems to have no problem doing that when it comes to Apple products. Did he ever use the Apple Magic Trackpad, before trashing it and calling it the Tragic Macpad?
Waethorn
on Jul 20, 2011
@yoshipod: Many Mac users already buy Microsoft Mouse products because Apple's offerings suck. That's just the truth. Deal with it and quit being an asshat.
yoshipod
on Jul 20, 2011
@Waethorn Once again, like many others here, you miss my point. I am not saying that the MS product is better or worse than the Apple product. I have not used either, so I can't comment on that. The MS product may be far superior, I don't know. I am saying that Paul simply parrots an MS press release with no commentary, but goes out of his way to trash the Apple one, still to this day calling it a "tragic macpad". How come he never does that with an MS product? After all, he wrote this just last year when comparing the arc mouse to the trackpad... "It doesn't support multi-touch gestures or any of that nonsense, not because it's not possible, but because Microsoft has put its multi-touch technologies where they belong: In the screen." So where is the snarky comments about touch technologies on mouse? Or calling them insulting names?
Waethorn
on Jul 20, 2011
@yoshipod: Paul already used an Apple multitouch trackpad: on his numerous Macbooks that he's owned. None of Apple's mice have every been ergonomic, and the latest multitouch mouse is no exception. They are designed for visual esthetics only. Microsoft makes good mice - the device that Windows is designed for. The touch stuff is a bonus. Apple makes poor mice designed around a touch interface that is taken from their iPad and transplanted into the wrong OS. The fact that OS X is still designed for a mouse, and these mice suck, is argument enough. Apple has the wrong priority when it comes to their mouse designs. The trackpad is just plain stupid with a desktop too. I find most users can't stand the trackpad on their laptop, and even Apple customers buy mice from me. Now Apple is telling people to put up with the device they can't stand, but now do it on another computer form factor? LOL! That's one of the stupidest things I've heard of that came out of Cupertino.
yoshipod
on Jul 20, 2011
@waethorn So how is what Apple has done with OS X different from what MS has done with Windows 7. Both support multitouch gestures from a mouse. Is the touch screen the right way to go as Paul said last year? I must be missing what you are saying where Apple put touch in the wrong OS, because it looks like MS did the same thing.
Waethorn
on Jul 20, 2011
@yoshipod: This stuff isn't as complicated as you make it out to be. Do both support multi-touch gestures? Yes. Do they both support them from a mouse? Yes. However, the difference is that Microsoft knows that multi-touch is better as direct input. Apple doesn't get that. They seem to claim that it's users are too limp-wristed to reach out and touch a larger display. Hmm....and yet people have been working with whiteboards and chalkboards for years. Ask anybody that uses a touch point-of-sale system if it's vertical or horizontal. Apple doesn't get that either. What they've done is limit multi-touch usefulness by defining "what's good for you" with usage evidence piled against their argument. Since they said they won't have touchscreen Mac's, they should've stuck with standard mouse input, because that's all that OS X will be designed for. Their priorities with OS X are a complete mess, and in effect, OS X is a complete mess. You, like Apple, just don't get it. Even Jesus Diaz, self-proclaimed namesake of the "Jesus-phone" says the same thing about OS X. You, unfortunately, will likely still defend Apple till your last breath.
qualar
on Jul 20, 2011
@yoshipod Why do you come here? all you seem to do is moan.
Mustang17
on Jul 21, 2011
I thought Tragic Macpad was a good play on words, unlike Apple numpties referring to 'Windoze' or using 'M$' again and again and again.
yoshipod
on Jul 21, 2011
@waethorn People don't want to reach out and touch their screen. It makes no sense to scroll through a window by putting your hands up to a screen and moving your entire arm when you can simply swipe a track pad or mouse where your hands are already. Nor does it make sense to reach out and touch a screen with two hands to resize a window/picture on your screen when a simply gesture on an input device where your hand is can do the same thing. People do use white board and chalkboards, but not while sitting at a desk and typing on a keyboard. You are really reaching (pun intended) on this argument. Apple is certainly correct on this one, and MS even seems to agree to a point by releasing multitouch mice. Direct input makes sense on tablets and phones, but not on PCs.
yoshipod
on Jul 21, 2011
"I thought Tragic Macpad was a good play on words, unlike Apple numpties referring to 'Windoze' or using 'M$' again and again and again." Its a very good play on word. My point is why does Paul not do this for the MS version of these products? The touch mouse is basically the magic mouse.
Mustang17
on Jul 22, 2011
If we are going to remain having the screen held up in front of us, yes it will seem odd to stretch out to it. however if the screen is sitting at an angle in front of us, in the same way a steering wheel is then I can see where touching it would be viable. Im not so sure about this multi gesture mouse, seems a good way to complicate things for no good reason. By the way does any whizz kid out there know why everybody else can see my comments but not me. When I post a comment it dissapears and then nothing happens. Is it because I am in the UK? Ive tried 3 different machines, 4 different browers and even my smartphone but I cant see the text I post. I can log into the site, which is obvious. I have people respond to my entries, but my text doesn't come up on my list of comments. I used to be able to comment before the big recent change. I'm kinda baffled on this one.
yoshipod
on Jul 22, 2011
@Mustang17 I share your pain about posting here. It seems like they made some structural changes to this site a little while back and some people get some weird behavior. I can never figure out why on some articles's comments are limited to 3 per page and on others they are 5 or even 10. I also randomly get errors saying I am on logged in when I try and post, and seem to have formatting problems as well.

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