Apple's Magic Trackpad one step closer to becoming a reality

Documents have officially emerged from the Federal Communications Commission that detail compliance testing on an Apple product, model number A1339, which is described as a “Bluetooth trackpad.” Testing was apparently finished in October of 2009, leading some to believe that the wireless trackpad that was rumored to make an appearance at this year’s WWDC is going to finally debut in the very near future.

A request of confidentiality, agent authorization, label format, and location documents were also made public Monday in addition to the certification. The label format and location documents give details on where the FCC ID label would go on the device, which is represented by a rather unimpressively rendered rectangle. Left out of the certification document are the setup photos, which were removed from the document at the request of Apple.

There isn’t much valuable information as to the device’s dimensions or methodology; instead, the document deals with frequency, power draw, interference, and radiation. The device was apparently tested with a MacBook, but it isn’t clear whether it’s meant to be used in coordination with the laptop’s built-in trackpad or instead of it. The device may actually be intended for Apple’s desktop line as well.

In my mind (and this is pure speculation), the device would be perfectly suited for an iOS-driven Apple TV. Bluetooth’s range should be ample for the distance between most TVs and couches, and a multitouch trackpad would make all iOS apps immediately usable on a large screen. The Apple TV would need a hardware update to include a Bluetooth transceiver, but the device is due for a hardware update anyway. There might need to be some sort of acknowledgement of where your fingers are on the trackpad relative to the screen, but this would be a fairly simple task—one that is already accomplished in the iOS simulator that comes with Xcode.

It is far more likely that the device will be a multitouch trackpad intended for Apple’s computer line, but one thing seems definite: with the filing of these papers, the “Magic Trackpad” is apparently coming to market, and it could arrive sooner than later.