Apple's new Magic Trackpad clicks, has unique three-finger gesture

The customizable device can have certain features enabled or disabled through software, including options such as tap-to-click. Like the trackpad on a current MacBook or MacBook Pro, the entire surface can be pushed for a physical click as well.

According to Engadget, the hardware also comes with one exclusive new feature: a three-finger gesture that allows users to drag windows around quickly.

Much like can already be done on a Mac desktop via the Magic Mouse, the Magic Trackpad offers standard multi-touch gestures, including two-finger scrolling, pinch to zoom, rotate, and three-finger swiping. Users can also invoke Expose or switch between applications by using four fingers, all capabilities previously found on the company's notebook multi-touch trackpads.

In the Magic Trackpad's software settings, users can enable or disable tap to click, dragging, drag lock, a localized secondary click (such as tapping in a specific corner of the trackpad). Other features include inertia-based scrolling, screen zoom, pinch to open and close, and the aforementioned new three-finger dragging.

"It's made with smooth, wear-resistant glass that feels great to the touch," Apple said. "And it’s nearly 80 percent larger than the built-in trackpad on the MacBook Pro, giving you plenty of room to perform gestures. Because the entire surface of Magic Trackpad is a button, you can click on objects just as you would using a traditional mouse. And Magic Trackpad sits at the same height and angle as the Apple Wireless Keyboard, so you can go from trackpad to keyboard in one seamless motion."

The $69 wireless device works with any Bluetooth-enabled Mac, and can be connected up to 33 feet away. The device also detects periods of inactivity to conserve battery life, and has a dedicated on-off switch. Apple has said that the device will operate for "months at a time" without the need to replace its AA batteries.

In addition to two AA batteries — which are included, and which Apple now sells in a rechargeable form — the new Magic Trackpad requires users to have a Bluetooth-enabled Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4 and the latest software update.