A technique operates a local application running on a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant, etc.). The technique involves receiving, by processing circuitry of the mobile device, native mouse input from a hardware mouse communicating with the mobile device. The native mouse input is received in response to user operation of the hardware mouse. The technique further involves translating, by the processing circuitry, the native mouse input into translated touchscreen input. The technique further involves providing, by the processing circuitry, the translated touchscreen input to the local application running on the mobile device to control operation of the local application. With the availability of such a hardware mouse, the mobile device is better suited for running local applications that may require precise user input such as spreadsheets, computer-aided design (CAD) tools, games, and so on.