Sony promises touch-screen Vaio

A Sony Vaio notebook with a touch-screen interface is on its way, a company executive said Thursday.

Might Sony add a touch screen to one of its notebooks, like the Vaio P?

(Credit: CNET)

In an interview with Laptop Mag, Sony executive Mike Abary confirmed that an upcoming notebook will have a touch screen that will take advantage of that feature in the upcoming Windows 7 release this fall.

Here's what Abary said when asked about the possibility of a touch-screen notebook before the end of 2009:

There are certain things that will be native on Windows 7 that we are certainly going to take advantage of. Without giving too much away, we think touch on Windows 7 is something we find compelling and we will certainly introduce touch into some of our products at the launch of Win 7. You will see touch capabilities introduced on Vaio products that take advantage of Windows 7.

Whether this will come on a Sony Vaio notebook like the Vaio P model or the Vaio W Netbook remains to be seen.

Sony will likely have competition in the touch-screen notebook category once Windows 7 is released in late October. Though there are some on the market already, they tend to be convertible notebooks, like the kind from Hewlett-Packard and Asus. And these tend to be favored by business customers.

Do you see yourself using a traditional notebook or Netbook with a touch screen? Would it add that much more to ease of use or productivity for you? Chime in below.

[Reaper0700]

I think a Netbook or a ultra-light Laptop I'd be likely to use a Touchscreen convertible, tablet, or not. The small size that I can hold in one hand and carry around I'm far more likely to feel the urge to press on the screen then use a mouse. Even something as simple as pressing play in a music player or dragging files and folders.

[Fil0403]

Agreed.

[shellcodes_coder]

That's cool

[Fil0403]

Indeed.

[Fil0403]

"Do you see yourself using a traditional notebook or Netbook with a touch screen?" Yes.

"Would it add that much more to ease of use or productivity for you?" Yes.

IMO it's yet another reason to go 7. IMO now its just a matter of waiting for HP to release a touch-screen-enabled notebook optimized for 7 and we will have the best PCs with the best OS taking advantage of the best technology. Sweet.

[lskilken]

I've been waiting and waiting for Sony to come out with a touchscreen convertible -- small and light with their unmatched screen -- it would be perfect! The P series with ahandwriting/voice recognition. I can't wait!