Mobee Magic Charger (http://macte.ch/J7xg8) is a new US$49 wireless charger for the Apple Magic Mouse. If you’re tired of replacing rechargeable batteries (and you do use rechargeables, don’t you?) and don’t mind an extra USB cord on your desktop, you’ll find this an elegant solution.
The Magic Charger comes with a battery pack, base station, and USB cable. Plug the base station to any USB port in order to allow the recharge; no external power supply is needed — or provided. Charging your Magic Mouse is as easy placing your mouse on top of the base station. The battery pack comes charged and will power the Apple mouse for about six days.
However, you do have to install the battery pack. To do so, open the Magic Mouse and remove the two AA Batteries. Install the specific Mobee Battery Pack and clip it. Place the base station on your desktop and plug it through any USB port. Put the Magic Mouse on top of the base station when you’re not using the mouse.
The entire product perfectly matches the aesthetics of the Magic Mouse. What’s more, the 1.30-ounce battery pack — developed in-house by the Switzerland-based Mobee — is actually lighter than a pair of AA batteries, so it actually makes your Apple mouse weigh less.
I have one complaint with the Magic Charger. Installing the battery pack isn’t as easy as it could be — and the Mobee product doesn’t come with any instructions beyond one graphic. Recessed tabs on the battery pack must be inserted into the Magic Mouse chassis in a specific order; you insert the top first. Do it wrong and you could damage the metal edges of the battery pack (and a replacement costs $29.90). One page of proper instructions would have alleviated this concern.
Also, as I said, if you’re tired of replacing rechargeable batteries and don’t mind an extra USB cord on your desktop, you’ll love the Magic Charger. As for me, I have two $29 Apple Battery Chargers and I’d rather use them (and the four rechargeable batteries) than have to occupy another USB port on my Mac. But that’s my preference, not necessarily yours.
Rating: 8 out of 10
— Dennis Sellers