Analysts have predicted that the computer mouse will be passé by 2013 and will be replaced by touch screens and facial recognition systems. A Gartner analyst, Steve Prentice feels that the 36 year old device originally invented by Douglas Engelbart as a block of wood has had its day of glory. Steve Prentice feels that the mouse is alright for the desktop but useless when using a notebook or home entertainment purposes.

Newer devices in Prentice’s opinion are offering greater accuracy in motion detection and they point the way to the future. The apple iPhone introduced the tilting mechanism while the Nintendo Wii, the more proactive feedback mechanism Wiimote. "With the Wii you point and shake and it vibrates back at you so you have a two-way relationship," said the analyst."The new generations of smartphones like the iPhone all now have tilting mechanisms or you can shake the device to do one or more things."

Prentice felt Panasonic which employs hand and facial techniques to display information on its home entertainment systems rather than the conventional remote control was the way to go.   

Some analysts disagree and feel that the prices of competing pointing technologies will have to reduce before people switch from the mouse. Though the mouse’s life is over, Prentice feels the keyboard is here for good.

"For all its faults, the keyboard will remain the primary text input device. Nothing is easily going to replace it," he said. "But the idea of a keyboard with a mouse as a control interface is breaking down," said Prentice.