Chatting on a couple of email threads I have realized that UMPC will soon be all about the preferred input method. There seems to be a paradigm shift occurring, and I’ve defined this for some time now, towards Tablet PC being seen as a “small pc” rather than a pen based computer. Whether it carries a keyboard or pens it is still going to be a question of your preferred input method, or rather, what are you prepared to put up with? With manufacturers missing the mark on many of the UMPC it seems that these “small PCs” of the future will carry one feature in common, touch!
A friend of mine sent me this picture of the Canova Dual Touch Screen Laptop (source: Bornrich). The first thing that sprang to mind was “how cool!” It seems the dilemma of keyboard as your preferred input has been addressed and so has multi-touch on Tablet. Because these two screens are touch enabled it means a user could call up a software keyboard and type as usual or pull out a pen and use both screens at once.
What was most interesting is that my friend, who happens to be a C4 quadriplegic, might have a completely different view to you or I. In fact he might see this as a savior, where you or I might assume it is a gimmick. I still remember when I sent him his first look at a Tablet, boy that raised a lot of eyebrows. To read more about my friend Dave Wallace make sure you jump onto his blog.
I for one am totally enamored with the qualities of the Touch Screen. It makes computing at the speed of thought one step closer, and, as a result has increased my productivity (or at least perceived productivity).
Here are five reasons I like touch:
- The “Start” menu; I can always hit “start” with my fingers/or thumb faster than any mouse or joystick
- Closing windows is always faster (ALWAYS)
- Snipping tool and a fingernail are my new best friend. With this combination I have spread more mail clippings than I care to remember
- Sex Factor; touch is sexy and it turns heads. “Put your finger on it” is my new catch cry…try it! LOL
- Lastly, cost! Touch has brought down the cost of a traditional Tablet PC by more than half, and that has to be a good thing.
I’m interested, is the Pen mightier than the finger, or do we just like little computers? Also, what are your reasons for liking touch (if you do at all).