Apple unveils new Mac gear: Magic Trackpad and LED Cinema Display

Apple finishes off its update day with a couple of new accessories: the 27-inch LED Cinema Display and a new input peripheral called the Magic Trackpad. Despite the mystical name, it’s simply an oversized touchpad that connects via Bluetooth. It acts and feels the same as a MacBook’s pad, but it’s 80% larger, giving your Mac desktop multitouch support. As an accessory for a MacBook, well, you get a larger area to do all your swiping with.

Built with a with a tilted frame that matches Apple’s wireless keyboard’s angle, the trackpad supports every multitouch gesture you can do on a MacBook’s pad, including two-finger pinches and three-finger swipes. The rubber feet also comes with a clicker that registers a mouse-like “click” when the surface is tapped down. It’s a bit limited though: the Magic Trackpad should connect to any Mac with a Bluetooth connection, as long as the system is running OS X 10.6.4. It won’t run on a Windows PC either, but it’ll work on a Mac running Windows via Boot Camp.

The 27-inch LED Cinema Display features the same 2560 x 1440 resolution and wide 16:9 aspect ratio you’d get on the 27-inch Mac, but features LED backlighting and is built using in-plane switching (IPS) display tech so you get more colors and a wider viewing angle.

It’s basically an extra display with built-in speakers that connects via a single Mini DisplayPort connector. It’s got enough features to effectively replace or add to whatever Apple display you’re running , including an iSight camera and microphone up front and a USB hub to give you easy access. A MagSafe connector also helps keep things neat and Apple-like, offering a single cable for hooking up a MacBook with power, USB, and a DisplayPort connection.

The Magic TrackPad is selling for $69, while the 27-inch LED Cinema Display is due out in September for $999.