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June 03, 2009

PC Makers Focus on Touch Screen Feature

Years ago, the advent of the mouse for computers seemed a novel idea. But thanks to the latest technological advances, PC users need only their fingers to manipulate their screen.
 
PC manufacturers and software makers are banking on the popularity of bringing “touch” applications—similar to those used at airport check-in kiosks and the Apple (News - Alert) iPhone—to larger devices. PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Microsoft (News - Alert) have high hopes that as the recession wanes and consumer increase spending, touch technology will be one lure to get people to spend more, the New York Times reports. Computers with the added feature will like cost about $100 more than standard machines, the report said.
 
Already, HP has been selling a PC with some form of touch technology, TMC (News - Alert) reported. The TouchSmart PC, which costs about $1,150, is one popular model. The new PCs feature HP software designed specifically for touch. By moving fingers over a high-resolution screen, users can access information, play music, create playlists, zoom in or out of photos, and watch TV, TMC said.
 
What’s more, HP has been targeting larger business with the technology, the New York Times said. The company sells a custom touch interface for both desktops and laptops. In addition, Microsoft’s next version of Windows, Windows 7, will use touch technology when it appears on PCs later this year, TMC reported.
 
Microsoft is working with Israel-based N-trig, a provider of DuoSense digitizer technology that combines pen and zero-pressure touch for mobile computers into a single device to create a special type of computer screen that can interact with pens and fingers, the Times said. N-trig hopes to build capture attention this year as three more PC makers are slated to join HP and Dell (News - Alert) as backers of the touch technology, the report said. The company, however, did not name the other companies involved in the effort.
 
The PC touch screen market has a long way to go. About 2 million of the 300 million PCs sold last year were touch computers, Amichai Ben-David, the chief executive officer of N-trig, which produces touch-screen technology for PC makers, told the New York Times. Yet, the industry remains hopeful the feature will boost lagging sales. PC makers such as HP and Dell have struggled during the recession as businesses eliminate computer upgrades from their to-do lists, the report said.
 
Beyond touch, other forms of technology are rolling out that are sure to appeal to die-hard tech fans. For example, Canesta, a provider of electronic perception technology for touch-free gesture recognition and advanced automotive safety, lets users device with a wave of the hand. As TMC reported, the new momentum could carry over to television and personal computers and lead to a lot of new innovations in the control of these electronic devices in the digital home.

Edited by Amy Tierney



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