While I wouldn’t call it a particularly riveting cinematic effort (although it is mercifully brief), there is something about Kevin Lim’s homemade video review of the new Apple Mighty Mouse that I found really appealing. I wasn’t alone, apparently, as Kevin’s blog received an unprecedented flood of traffic largely as a result of his video being picked up by several highly trafficked blogs. So, what was it about the video that people found so interesting? Other than Kevin’s matter-of-fact, spare-no-detail narrative style, I think it is the opportunity to see a brand new product in action — especially one that highlights design and usability as part of its value. In some respects, it’s not unlike viewing a usability test — oddly thrilling when design and user finally meet. Ok, maybe only usability geeks would find this thrilling. But there seem to be a lot of us out there!

It should be noted that Kevin’s review, while generally positive, really only deals with the first 2 minutes of using the mouse (i.e. from opening the box through to configuring the buttons). More in-depth reviews are now surfacing and the early returns are not great for the little Mighty. See: Mossberg.

My favorite moment in the video is when Kevin struggles to open the mouse’s box with one hand because he is holding the video camera in his other hand. With his new-found popularity, maybe Kevin can afford to hire a cameraman (or buy a tripod) for his future reviews.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 4th, 2005 at 4:33 pm and is filed under General, Usability, Finds.