Asus unveils VivoMouse, ‘world’s first’ mouse and touchpad combination for Windows 8

Asus is launching its latest PC peripheral today: VivoMouse. The name makes it sound like an ordinary wireless mouse, but this particular device features a desktop touchpad with multi-touch support. It closely resembles the look of Motorola’s Aura handset, with a metallic body and curved shapes. Asus describes it as the ‘world’s first’ combination of a mouse and touchpad, with the option to be used with a desktop PC or projector scenarios and living room TVs thanks to its thumb control with the circular touchpad.

It comes complete with support for Windows 7 and Windows 8, with swipe gestures to control the Charms and multitasking of Microsoft’s new OS. There’s also an option to scroll with two fingers and pinch-to-zoom. The top section of the mouse is basically a Windows 8 touchpad, and at the rear of the device there’s a laser sensor that lets you use it as a mouse. The touchpad will act like the buttons on a traditional mouse, even when it’s not being used in the mouse mode. Asus demonstrated the mouse on stage alongside a new VivoPC designed for the living room, but there’s no pricing for either just yet. Asus says the VivoMouse and VivoPC will both be made available in Q3 2013.

Dante D’Orazio contributed to this report