Meet the first multitouch consumer laptop: HP's TouchSmart tx2

Update: I updated the title of this post to include the word "consumer" because the Dell Latitude XT was released last year with N-trig's multitouch functionality. The Latitude XT is an enterprise tablet, which basically means it costs more and provides inferior specs. The baseline Latitude XT costs $1,829 (and that's after a large discount) for a Core Solo processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 40GB hard drive. So, one might say the HP TouchSmart tx2 is the first multitouch tablet you would actually buy with your own money.

HP on Wednesday released the TouchSmart tx2, the first consumer laptop to feature multitouch functionality.

This 12.1-inch convertible tablet provides the iPhone-like ability to scroll, zoom, flick, and drag and drop by using your fingers on the screen. For example, you can scroll up and down by using two fingers on the screen or zoom in and out by using a pinching motion.

How did HP accomplish this feat, when Microsoft won't add multitouch functionality until it releases Windows 7? By partnering with an Israeli company called N-trig. See N-trig's multitouch technology (on a tablet that is not the TouchSmart tx2) in this video:

Aside from its multitouchness, the tx2 looks like a standard convertible tablet with a center hinge that lets you twist the display to switch between notebook mode and slate tablet mode. Pricing starts at a reasonable $1,149. For that price, the TouchSmart tx2 features a 2.1GHz AMD Turion X2 CPU, 3GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive, integrated ATI HD3200 graphics, and 32-bit Vista Home Premium. Unfortunately, Core 2 Duo processors and discrete graphics are not offered.

Perhaps multitouch functionality will give tablets a bit more consumer appeal. Personally, I've never understood the draw of a tablet outside, perhaps, a few specific occupations that require the use of specific software and where one lacks of a desk--say, insurance agents in the field or a medical professionals moving from one patient to the next. For me, nothing is a more efficient input device than a QWERTY keyboard, along with a mouse or touch pad.

What do you think? Would multitouch capability make you consider purchasing a tablet upon your next notebook purchase? And do you think Steve Jobs wishes Apple and not HP was making this announcement today?

[ducttape36]

i have a convertible tablet pc and they are really handy for taking notes and working in graphic design. however, im not sure if multitouch is going to be that much more useful than a regular tablet. outside of being a neat party trick i cant think of many uses multitouch would have over using plain gestures in vista. although, i bet if apple announced this first everyone would be calling it innovative and sales would be through the roof. many people were predicting just that during the unveiling of the new macbooks.
that being said, im sure there will be some john king enthusiasts out there that will buy it. :p

[alegr]

I have an HP all-in-one TouchSmart desktop.

Unfortunately, touchscreen feature for a desktop is ultimately awkward. Your monitor is usually at longer distance than you can reach. A funny thing also is that it's sensitive when a fly flies by or bump into it.

And HP puts quite a lot of crapware into their system. That includes touchscreen support crapware, update crapware, etc.

[oassaf]

That 'Crapware' is usually put into a computer because it brings down the cost of a computer, which is why every consumer laptop on the shelves of major retailers are all filled with it and why the retailers who complain so much about it beg for it from manufacturers so that they can charge you their 'tech' services to remove it.

[tcr071]

The Dell Latitude XT features multi-touch technology using N-Trig and has been out for over a year. This is not the first consumer multi-touch laptop. I am typing this comment on the XT.

[nichts925]

The Latitude XT was a commercial laptop. Also, multi-touch capability was not available until July, when Dell released drivers to enable this technology. The Latitude XT does not appear to be available today.

[RickBullotta]

Interesting technology, but I don't know that applications not specifically designed for the device would gain any significant productivity, capability, or functionality. The gestures all seem to have a mouse or keyboard analog, unlike something like the iPhone where there are fundamentally new gestures, and applications need to be designed to exploit them. The situation is somewhat similar to the Nintendo Wii platform - the breakthrough in value occurs when games are designed specifically to exploit the platform and the controller.

[ducttape36]

that is true, but when you are in tablet mode you cant always access the keyboard or mouse. i imagine the gestures would be build into the os or some other program that runs in the background. for instance, i can flick my pen up in any window and it will perform a page down key entry. that is build into vista and works for every program. i believe once this technology is out more people will develop for it. its a which came first the chicken or the egg scenario. i think you have to have to multitouch device first before people will start developing for it.

[Ed-duh-win]

Interesting stuff. I'd like to have one, it would greatly help any university student take notes.

[mbenedict]

We looked at the desktop version of this sometime ago but didn't find it compelling... we did talk that a tablet version would be perfect (however we've all standardized on ThinkPads).

One of the groups I work with is considering writing apps for the Surface... aimed at businesses, seems there are some interesting opportunities. But in this economy the first thing to go is the R&D budget...

[atomicbomb156]

I would consider getting a tablet when the touch technology can mimic my handwriting perfectly. I personally love taking notes in a normal college ruled spiral notebook. And since touch technology is still imperfect I'm not willing to make the jump. But when the touch screen can feel as though I'm writing in a spiral notebook then count me in. Plus a hard drive can hold all the academic notes I've written in my lifetime. And I can write about as fast as I can type. And writing on a normal piece of paper is easier for me to structure as I am more spacial minded than technical.

[ducttape36]

have you tried the vista handwriting recognition? its incredible and even learns your personal quarks. i have terrible handwriting but after about a week it could recognize my scribbling. sometimes i convert my handwriting in onenote to text jsut so i can understand what i wrote!

[donsms]

Jobs take note,you blew this one didn`t you?Ha Ha!!

[canberra_photographer]

I second that... and I bet this HP will have a Blu-Ray option too.

[ihateithere]

Wait a second, don't Apple touchpads allow for this (or most of it) already? I know I use two finger scrolling all the time on my Macbook, and it doesn't muck up my screen with fingerprints, etc.
Awesome technology, but ultimately not very practical for everyday use, I believe.

[Dalmatian28]

Do you really want to do all this work???? (like the guy in the video) This is not practical for most applications! I can see this being used for programs like Google Earth but for most other programs....good old fashion mouse is still most practical! I have done many kiosk setups for the tech-shows like Oracle, Microsoft and those kiosks use touchscreens that allow you completely eliminate mouse, but question always comes up...Why????? It is harder and slower to use...why bother???? I love the fact that it is new technology and has some positive implications but...I just can't share the enthusiasm for something that will make me work even harder than before!

[mobius32us]

I must agree. The gestures seem to be a nice option, but if you're going to spend any real time (more than 15 minutes, perhaps) at your computer doing even the most basic of taks (e.g. web surfing) this seems to me to add to effort and time required. Also, as has been noted, most desktop monitors/displays are farther away ... and even a non-tablet laptop requires more arm motion than just using a mouse. Perhaps iphones and the like make it seem that this feature will be a success on larger devices; but i'm not so sure.

[lil-yankee]

I think this is a clear rip-off of you know who and also a clear sign of why pc's are going to go the way of cassettes against dvd's. PC are fallowing the trend of cellphone i.g to do whatever apple does a year later and still dont match the quality. I personally think that it is useless when you think of it from any more than a gimmick perspective. If you carry it around and you are only left with one hand to type (gay)
if you are browsing your pictures find but still gay.
honestly i think at least from what i saw, a 299 iphone would get me a way better efficiency iq than this dell, thats just sad. PC died ever since tiguer and were wiped out of the map with leopard. Good that gates retired, before it was too late like it is now..

[clamburgler]

Are you implying that this is a rip-off of the iPhone? If so please pardon me while I laugh at your ignorance.

[cbaisa]

I wouldn't underestimate PCs or windows so much. They have a much longer and brighter future ahead of them than you might think.

Its taken years for PC to start to become attractive. Sony makes a better looking laptop every quarter. My recent personal favorite is the Voodoo Envy. I want it so badly with its carbon fiber body...sleek ultra-thin all black design...5 second boot up... Anyway, the point is that Apple is no longer the only company that makes attractive computing devices. Besides who wants to go back to the Model T Ford era where everyone's cars looked and were exactly the same? I need to be able to choose from more than three laptop options that look the same anyway.

Second Windows knows that it has made some mistakes and is working to fix them. They will. And they won't underestimate the progress Apple has made either. That was the mistake IBM made about Bill Gates and his buddies.

Third I would love to be able to use OSX without having to shell out a grand and a half for a bare minimum set of specs on my laptop. It's both nice and smart of Apple to make Macs compatible with Windows, but the price tag for their units is way too high, when compared with PCs, to be competitive across the board.

Good night

[amccl]

I have an HP tablet, the tx2000. I've used the tablet functionality a lot in some of my classes, and have thought that multitouch would be a fun element, but certainly not necessary.

Does anyone know if the new HP tablet will use hardware different from the regular tablets or just different firmware?

[Dalmatian28]

Please cut that "garbage" already how I am spouse to switch to Mac OSX just because touch screen may not be best option to go. What is one has to do with the other! Mac OSX doesn't offer it either! I don't know what is wrong with people here....it feels like if the car brakes down there will be some idiot telling you to switch to the Mac, if the roof on your house is leaking ...switch to OSX and you will be fine. If your washing machine stops working ....you guess it, use OSX and it will get fixed! You get my point!!! (I hope!)
If is not related to article, please do NOT post! Thank you!

[lil-yankee]

To be honest with you, as stupid as it might sound, is true. If your bathroom doesnt work, go ahead and get a mac.
If your car gets a flat tire because you were cheap when you went to the shop, you guess it, get a mac. And the culminating point; if your girlfriend left you for being so danm boring and arrogant, hell, get a mac already.
You know why you should get a mac, because there is nothing you can do about all the others but if you dont want viruses and want to boot in less than 30 secconds, wake up in less than a seccond, have a beautiful computer that just works, rated #1 by j&d the best of the breed by the new york times and wall street journal, ran vista faster than a pc when vista first came out and gives you the option to run the other operating system side by side wth do you want? eliminate want problem of your life, go and get a mac!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! multitouch not offered by osx? let me ask you this smarto, what operating system is the iphone using? and who introduced multitouch first? and who said they are not doing something like that? pleaseeeeeeeeeeee, dont be so lame man, get a mac already. I feel so bad for pc users, you guys tend to have the patch of the horse to just look where they want you to. And yeah, we pay more, but we get more.

[tipoo_]

Regardless of the above Apple will still amazingly be able to pass their iMultiTouch Macbook or whatever as being a world first and people will still go on about how it "just works" and so on. I do hope HP market this agressively so that people are made aware that Apple isn't "first" this time.

[roozbehn]

I can hardy imagine this replacing the mouse. no way.

[dctech08]

useful or not i would like to have the option. i have had the pleasure of playing around with this kind of technology and it was very delightful.

[jimj100]

If you've ever tried using a standard laptop on an airplane when the jerk in front of you pushes the seat back you know it's impossible (Unless the seat next to you is empty -- fat chance these days). I will be seriously consider tablets in June when I buy my next PC/Mac and the multitouch will be a must!

[ginger_is]

I just got this computer yesterday, and I LOVE it! I use the touch/tablet element mostly for photoshop and photo editing, and it works really well. You can customize the sensitivity of the pen or the touch element, and I love the fingerprint scanner. I changed out all of my passwords to fingerprints, and it's easy and I feel really secure. I also like that you can use it as a notebook and have thier program translate your handwriting into type. The computer even rotates it's screen, so you can flip it vertically to write too. I'd recomend this to anyone!

[JAMPROSOUND]

As others have mentioned, most will not have a practical use for a MT screen. I work as an audio systems designer and engineer. The MT screen will make my job of remotely tuning systems much easier. Beyond that, I can't see the value in risking the display hinge breaking.