Apple’s latest touch-sensitive device is a reiteration of the trackpad used on the current Apple notebooks. And by adopting support for multi-touch gestures, the wireless Magic Trackpad, priced £59, works in much the same way.

With an active area of 13×11cm, it’s close to twice the size of the MacBook Pro’s trackpad, and it’s pretty light, weighing around 190g with two AA batteries. For all the features, it’s reasonably intuitive, but it does take time to get used to it. If you have a current Apple laptop or are familiar with the Magic Mouse, then you’re already halfway there.

In use, one immediately noticeable advance is the option to lose the maddening click of the laptop’s trackpad. It still has that feature, as the switchgear is concealed in the rubber feet. However, you can replace the left/right click option with just a light tap of a finger for most actions, which is neat.

All the same, you can’t now adopt the finger and thumb twist gesture with the Rotate View tool in Photoshop CS5, you must use click and drag instead. Although that’s a pity, Adobe had to produce a plug-in to prevent inadvertent rotation with early Apple laptops. Also missing is support for pressure sensitivity for varying brush sizes, as you have with a tablet.

But there are some benefits to using the trackpad. The slight incline gives it good ergonomics and a smooth, drag-free surface for extended use, without much in the way of fatigue.

And for flicking through countless images, the trackpad is outstanding, as it is when combining actions. For instance, you can zoom and scroll around an image easily enough. It’s also pretty adept at applying brush selections, especially in Aperture where, with a two-finger scroll, you can increase brush size over the image.

But Softness and Strength options need selecting before scrolling, just as you would with the Magic Mouse. Indeed, the Magic Trackpad really only duplicates what can already be achieved with the Magic Mouse and, while it may end up replacing that, it’s still some way off from replacing the tablet.