Microsoft officially unveiled its Arc Touch Mouse Sept.1, surprising exactly nobody. Rumors and leaked photos have been drifting around these Internets for the past couple of weeks, detailing a wireless mouse that curves to the palm while in use, and then flattens for transport.

And lo and behold, Microsoft launched its official Website, complete with a nifty little animation of the Arc Touch in action. In addition to that flexing form-factor (2.28" wide by 5.14" long), the device (which will ship in early December) includes a touch-to-scroll strip, 30-foot wireless range, snap-on nano transceiver, and six months' worth of (advertised) battery life. Retail price: $70.

Early reviews seem pretty positive, and devote a lot of digital ink to that super-sensitive touch strip. Personally, I can see its advantages over a traditional wheel: fewer parts to grime, ability to "flick" rapidly through long menus, etc. There are also three tap "buttons," one of which is programmable.

Apple's music event yesterday, which saw a revamped iPod Nano with a touch-screen, and Samsung's unveiling of its Galaxy Tab slate PC, suggest that multi-touch control is rapidly assuming its full adulthood. Yet despite all that buzz surrounding the category, desktops--and the mice that allow you to procrastinate before one with ever-greater efficiency--remain a dominant form-factor.

"This is not the first time that the mouse has been threatened--look at 10 years ago when people started buying laptops that had integrated pointers and touch pads," Brett Ostrum, general manager of Microsoft's hardware group, wrote in a Sept. 1 statement. "The reasons people need external mice will not change: comfort and precision."

This is an image of the mouse's box, which leaked from a German Website a couple weeks ago: