You may remember the Arc Mouse, an attractive and portable little thing (marred in my opinion by the sensor placement) I reviewed back in ‘08. It’s a nice design, perhaps one of Microsoft Hardware’s best, and now there are signs pointing to a touch-based update — perhaps using one of the technologies I saw on my visit to Microsoft Labs.
The FTIR mouse or Cap mouse would be the likeliest candidates for a transplant, the others requiring a much more significant change in form factor.
So far the only evidence is a listing on a couple European retail sites with the name, and perhaps more significantly, the “arctouchmouse.com” domain registered by Microsoft. Kind of a giveaway, that.
A Microsoft rep has said they have “nothing to announce at this time.” Very encouraging! We’ll keep an eye on this and let you know when anything more substantial lands on our virtual laps.