Touchscreen Laptops

Three Laptops With Touchscreen Input

With a touchscreen, you can sketch with a stylus or take notes in your own handwriting. Handwriting recognition software can translate both cursive and printed writing into digitized form, for use in a word processor or other applications. And instead of using a mouse or touchpad, you can use your finger or a stylus directly on the screen to open files, move and/or resize windows, or drag & drop objects.

Here are three touchscreen models that you should check out if you're in the market for a new laptop or tablet PC:

Gateway’s C-120 wireless Convertible is a very user friendly notebook and tablet PC with a two-way 180 degree hinge that has an auto-sensing rotation. Loaded with Windows Vista, it is a mere 11.9 x 9.9 x 1.17" at only 4.8 lbs. It too, features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and a UPEK Biometric Fingerprint Reader.

The C-120 comes with a cordless, battery-free Wacom digital pen with eraser and touch capability. Its scratch-resistant display is a 12.1" WXGA TFT with a maximum resolution of 1280 x 800 and over 262,00 colors. One of the best features is that you will receive a visual and auditory alarm in case you turn off the notebook/tablet without properly storing the pen.

The Convertible has an integrated optical drive with DVD/CD or optional dual-layer burner and a soft-touch palm rest. Its I/O includes 2 USB 2.0 ports, a VGA port, a Type II PC card slot, a 6-in-1 Digital Card Reader (MMC/SD/MS/MSP/Mini Secure Digital/RS-MMC,) port replicator connection, and mic and headphone jacks. Retailing at a price of $1449.00, Gateway is offering a $250.00 coupon code on its site (C120250) as an incentive.

Toshiba has recently released their Portege M700 with touchscreen LCD backlit display. The M700 S7002X has a 12.1" diagonal widescreen with anti-glare for use both indoors and out at a resolution of 1280x800. Included is an Intel Centrino processor with a speed of 2.20GHz, Bluetooth V2.0 and Ethernet support. Toshiba’s third generation EasyGuard technology provides reliability, toughness, and security.

The Portege comes with the mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 that can hold 8MB - 251MB of memory and a hard drive of 160GB at a speed of 5400rpm. The optical DVD-SuperMulti drive supports up to 11 formats. Also included: a built-in webcam, microphone, and 32-bit Windows Vista Business software. Additional features include hot keys, an application launch button, stereo speakers, mono mic and headphone jack, a 1-Type II PC Card slot, a 2 month trial of Microsoft Office Pro, and McAfee security software. The Portege comes with 3-year warranty for parts and labor, a 1 year Battery, and AC adapter. Prices begin at $1700.00, but if that's a bit too pricey, Toshiba also offers the M700 Tablet PC at a price of $1400.

Panasonic has been a frontrunner in laptop sales for many years with their lightweight, yet durable Toughbooks. The latest Toughbook, released this month, is the T7, with a street price of about $2000.

Its Intel Core 2 Duo Processor ULV U7500 has a speed of 1.06GHz, an 80GB hard drive which is shock-mounted and removable, and a standard 1024MB SDRAM, expandable to 2048MB with a PC2-4200 memory. The 12.1 inch display has a 1024 x 768 XGA, anti-glare TFT with active matrix color LCD and external support for up to 2048 x 1536 display at 16.7 million colors. It sports a pressure-sensitive touchpad and an "active digitizer" touchscreen that you can use with a stylus or your finger. Windows Vista is pre-loaded on this machine, which means you should be able to take advantage of Vista's handwriting recognition feature when scribbling your notes on the screen.

At a size of 2.3 x 10.7 x 8.5 inches, the Toughbook weighs merely 3.3 lbs. Other features include mini-jacks input for stereo headphones or speakers and line-in mic as well as 3 USB 2.0 inputs. Powerwise, it can go for 5 to 9 hours on a charge, and needs a 6.5 hour recharge. For enhanced physical security, you can opt for the fingerprint scanner, which verifies your identity before booting up.

I'm not sure why touchscreens aren't more common on desktop computers. Perhaps it's because the tiny keyboard and lack of a mouse makes input more difficult on a laptop. As technology advances, touchscreens will become commonplace, but for now, it will cost you. My guess is that it won’t be long before all computers as well as hand-held devices offer touch screen. You can blame the iPhone for that, because they really did it right when it comes to using the touch interface in an intuitive way.

Do you have a laptop with a touchscreen? Do you really use the touch input? Tell us about it by posting a comment below...