touch

The laptop was reinvented at CES.

Or maybe I should say there was a vigorous attempt to reinvent the laptop. Because we won't know how successful touch has been until next year this time.

Intel's CES booth -- still a large presence in the CES Central Hall -- had one basic unmistakable message: touch has arrived.

Windows 8 convertibles, detachables, touch-screen laptops, and just plain tablets from Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, and others blanketed Intel's booth.

And just to make sure the touch message was crystal clear, Intel issued an edict to PC … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Imagine going into a restaurant and browsing the menu, placing your order, and paying for the meal with a credit card, all from the comfort of your table without having to call the waiter. That seems to be the vision of the folks behind Moneual's MTT300 Touch Table PC.

In fact, a company representative at its CES booth mentioned that depending on customer requirements, the Touch Table PC can be configured to do almost anything a PC can, and is not restricted to use in restaurants only. For example, audio jacks and speakers can be added to enable music playback. Other applications can range from reading magazines/newspapers and watching video to surfing/shopping on the Web and even going on social media. … Read more

Do we really think the Lenovo Horizon Table PC will launch a nation-sweeping trend of computer-based family game nights? No.

What the Horizon does do, though, is demonstrate that the PC industry still has plenty of interesting ideas.

You can read our full hands-on with the Horizon here. The gist of it though is that it's a 27-inch Windows 8 all-in-one touch-screen computer that you can lay down flat. It also has a battery. You would not use this giant computer as a walk-around-the-house device, but its portability does mean that you can set it up in a den, … Read more

LAS VEGAS--At CES this week, Hewlett-Packard hardware got my attention.

Though the company has been savaged in the media because of dubious acquisition decisions and a falling stock price, its brief exhibition of new Windows 8 laptops and hybrids at CES was impressive.

I'll focus on two, the EliteBook Revolve and Spectre XT TouchSmart ultrabook-- both touch-capable Windows 8 laptops. The systems were fleetingly exhibited at CES by HP during an event at the MGM Grand event on Monday night.

I'll start with the Spectre XT TouchSmart because it was also at Intel's CES booth all week … Read more

The vanilla camera app on the iPhone and iPad does a decent job at capturing those special moments but sometime the occasion may calls for more. With Camera+ you can turn that little camera into something that will give most dedicated point-and-shoot a run for their money.

Packed with a ton of features, Camera+ will bring that dinky phone/tablet camera to the next level. With burst mode those fast-paced sports shots are now within your reach. Timer function will set free you from another self-portrait with the lower quality front-facing cam. Finally, the featured Stabilizer mode is available for … Read more

LAS VEGAS--How would you feel if you were hospitalized and your doctor were talking to you through a 5-foot robot?

RP-VITA (Remote Presence Virtual + Independent Telemedicine Assistant) is a remote-, iPad-operated telepresence bot. It's become the first self-navigating communications robot to receive FDA certification, developers InTouch and iRobot said at CES 2013.

The machine is approved "for telemedicine consults inclusive of active patient monitoring in high-acuity environments where immediate clinical action may be required," InTouch said in a release. Specifically, it's cleared for "active patient monitoring in pre-operative, peri-operative and post-surgical settings, including cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological, and critical care assessments and examinations." … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Apen's Touch8 Smart Pen is a soft-tip stylus that gives non-touch-screen Windows 8 computers the power of touch. It's a great idea, but it can't quite leave its mark.

The idea is clever. Instead of missing out on touch functionality on an otherwise high-end system that lacks a touch screen, pick up an $80 USB dongle and its connected pen to bring that touchless monitor into the future. There's no word yet on when it will be available.

The Touch8 Smart Pen works on desktop monitors and laptops of up to 17 inches and … Read more

LAS VEGAS--LG showed off a trio of monitors at CES 2013, and one of the more impressive models is the Windows 8 optimized 23-inch ET83 Touch 10 monitor. The monitor is optimized to run Windows 8 with its touch capabilities and 1,920x1,080-pixel IPS display.

The monitor has 10-point touch capability and allows the user to use all 10 fingers on the touch screen simultaneously, providing an easier and faster experience when interacting with the Windows 8 onscreen keyboard.

The other LG monitors announced at CES 2013 were the 27-inch EA83 ColorPrime, which is geared toward graphic designers and … Read more