Is This Microsoft's Version of Apple's Magic Mouse?

Apple's recently launched Magic Mouse marries the track pad with a more traditional input device to bring us a mouse with multitouch capabilities. However, it seems Microsoft has been planning it's own multitouch mouse for a while.

istartedsomething points to growing evidence that suggests Microsoft could take on Apple's Magic Mouse with a touch sensitive version of its stylish Arc mouse. The site reports that several European etailers boast listings for a product called the "Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse," with a $70 price tag that's in line with what the Magic Mouse costs.

Also lending weight to the theory of a multitouch Arc is the domain arctouchmouse.com, which Microsoft registered in late March.

In 2009, Microsoft Research published a paper presenting the possibilities of "novel input devices that combine the standard capabilities of a computer mouse with multi-touch sensing." Of the five devices detailed in the paper, the one that looks most like Microsoft's Arc mouse is the FTIR mouse (pictured above), which involves IR lights and an IR camera.

(istartedsomething via Slash Gear)