Mouse for Windows 8: Microsoft Touch or Arc Touch?

I will upgrade to Windows 8 until the end of the month, but my laptop has no touch screen. Due to this reason, I intend to buy a new mouse. I currently have a Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000, and I like it (I prefer it over the Wireless Mobile Mouse 6000, which I had before). Among the mice available for sale here in Brazil, I found two made by Microsoft which woud benefit from the touch interface of Windows 8, and they are similarly priced. The Arc Touch seems to be a little older, designed for Windows 7. The Touch Mouse seems designed for Windows 8, with full support for touch. Is that correct? How does these two mice feel to use? Do any of you have any personal experience with them?

 

Used the arc mouse and it is a love or hate kind of thing...I've talked to some people who love it, but I hate it and so do most people I talk with....it is very cool in concept, but in use not so comfortable. Not so sure how much the "touch" interface will come into play for windows 8. They are more "gestures" than a replacement for a touch screen.

 

Even though it's no one of your choices, I vote Logitech Touch Mouse T400.

 

The Wedge Touch Mouse for Windows 8 is more "Windows 8". The Arc Touch isn't a touch mouse as such.

 

If you don't have touchscreen, just use a normal mouse and stick to desktop, classic shell does that easily for you and it's free.

If you need touch response, then seriously, just get a touchscreen laptop. You can get em on Ebay for less than $500 for a Toshiba right now.

 

Yeah - you can get a really crappy touchscreen laptop for $500.

 

Which is all you need. The only touch motions you need are for metro apps which don't need anything more than an ARM processor.

 

What exactly is this touch mouse thing?

 

You can also get a touchpad.

 

I know that Windows 8, and particularly the Modern/Metro UI, is touch-compatible, but what is a "touch" mouse as opposed to a mouse? Does it have some software associated with it that allows its motion to be interpreted as touch instead of clicks and motion when the OS sees a difference between the two?

 

Which is nonsense. Have you actually given touch a go?

 

It's a mouse with a touch surface that allows you to make gang signs on top of it.

 

I looked up a couple on Amazon to see their marketing materials. Great design, but I question the usefulness of touch on a mouse. I'd have to try it out for a while before I could say whether or not it would be of any use to me.

And no scroll wheel... Granted, if the touch scrolling works well that's probably a welcome change, since I've had problems with mechanical scroll wheels before (just had to take apart an MS Wireless mouse to fix its scroll wheel this weekend), but it's still weird to move past iconic features like that.

 

Scroll isn't really a problem. It's trying to bind other gestures to relevant OS commands, and deciding which do use. I don't really think they make a lot of additional sense in the end in the specific context of Windows 8 - I think you should look at transitioning to a (non-$500) Windows 8 touch PC in the end.

Oh yes - a Windows 8 keyboard will also help a lot with W8 (maybe more than a touch mouse) if you're determined to stay non-touch. A W8 keyboard has the Charms Bar buttons on the keyboard and therefore you don't have to do that 'where do I hold my mouse on the right hand edge' wait every time.

The Microsoft Wedge combo (mouse + keyboard) are designed specifically for W8 and the keyboard does have Win8 keys. So does the Sculpt Mobile keyboard, and the Sculpt Comfort full-size.

 

I'm not sold on all the touch hoopla over Windows 8. I mean, OSX has had touch features for a couple of years now, and my dad likes it, but it doesn't do anything for me. Also on my Android tablet I am always wanting to use a mouse and not my fingers. I don't care for touch at all.

Also there are more than just microsoft products to use as a touch interface. Logitech makes touchpads and touch mice as well.

 

Whatever you decide on, I would recommend buying the mouse locally. That way it will be easy for you to return or exchange if you end up not liking it.