For those of you worried that hell might have been heading for an early thaw so soon after the WWDC Intel announcement, have no fear. This morning, Apple announced the Mighty Mouse; the first-ever multi-button Apple mouse. Apparently, the “Year of HD” has become the year of improbable firsts for the company. Between the Mac mini, the Intel switch, and now the Mighty Mouse Steve Jobs is making a habit of contradicting himself. Fortunately, these decisions seem to be working in Apple’s favor thus far.

Among the many surprising innovations found in the Mighty Mouse, the 360* scroll ball immediately stands out. It allows you to scroll in any direction you choose and serves as a programmable button for those running Tiger. The touch-sensitive left and right “buttons” are seamlessly integrated into the body of the mouse. “Squeezable” buttons on the right and left side of the body are programmable as well. The Mighty Mouse even features audio feedback based on certain actions to compensate for the lack of moving parts.

Though not available at the time of this writing, one can safely assume that a Bluetooth version of the Mighty Mouse is set to debut in the near future.

Submitted by James Prescott