Overview
Air Mouse is an app that turns your iPhone into a wireless mouse for your computer. (And it doesn’t discriminate- it works on both Macs and PCs!) It also features a keyboard so you really don’t have to touch your computer at all anymore. Well, except to turn it on and off. To use the mouse you first have to download the server application from their website so your mouse will know where to connect to. Then presto. You're good to go.
Features
Air Mouse uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to translate your hand motions into mouse movements on your screen. Tilt your wrist to the right, the cursor moves to the right. Tilt to the left- it goes left. You get the idea. Moving up and down is a little trickier. You tilt your phone upwards or downwards, but it’s not as smooth as going left to right.
The mouse features include both left and right click buttons – along with clicking sounds that you can turn off in the options if it annoys you.
If you’re having difficulty with the accelerometer, (as I did), the icon on the upper right of the screen will switch you to a touchpad. Move your finger in the designated touchpad area, and the mouse cursor moves on your computer screen. I swear it's not magic!
The bottom half of the screen is a keyboard. They even included the Command, Alt, and Control keys. They’re so thoughtful. This comes in handy if you want to have your hands completely free of your computer’s keyboard and mouse.
Breakdown
The Good:
I really liked the touchpad. I found it to be infinitely more accurate than the wireless mouse feature. I had more control. (But I still had issues with grabbing and moving windows on my computer screen.)
The app was really easy to set up and get working. After downloading the application server, it worked instantly. (I just wish it worked a little better).
The Bad:
The Air Mouse takes some time to figure out how to control it. I found it to be more frustrating than useful. In the amount of time it was taking me to move the cursor into the proper place, I could have driven to the store, bought a mouse, gone to a ball game, ran a 10k, and finally come home and plugged in the new mouse. Seriously, it’s hard to control. It’s a nifty concept, but… ugh.
I wish the keyboard were optional, because the touchpad would be more useful if it were larger. When you’re dragging something you can’t really lift your finger. And that's not cool. Plus, I can't type on the app's keyboard nearly as fast as I could type on the real thing. I'm not sure how many people will find this feature useful.
Verdict
I think I’ve been spoiled by having a good mouse for so long because I just didn’t dig this app. I just don't have the patience for dealing with the control. If you’re cheap and you need a mouse and you’re thinking, “Hey, this is only six bucks! What a deal!” Don’t. Instead get a loan from the bank and buy a real mouse. You'll be happier. But hey, it's your life. Do what you want.
