Multi-Touch coming to a device near you

June 3, 2008

Microsoft recently announced the new user interface for Windows 7 and it will support multi-touch. HP TouchSmart desktop and their somewhat similar touch-screen laptop is already making Multi-Touch (and touch in general) a Windows reality.

Where touch works best is when you are manipulating objects or navigating through items. If we weren’t already used to using a mouse and the fact that touch-screens have traditionally been too expensive and suffered in terms of brightness and resolution, historically we’d likely all have touch-screens today.

Computer, laptop and tablet Touch based interface can be addictive much like it has been on the iPhone. For example, playing a casual game like solitaire can actually be a bit more fun than it’s mouse driven version. Strategy games might also be particularly suited to a touch screen.

Anything having to do with picture creation or editing might also works vastly better with touch for common tasks like crop, red-eye, tone adjustments, etc. Touch-screens lend themselves to devices that come with screens like the TouchSmart, iMac, iPhone, and other integrated display products and that this technology could drive much greater interest in future All-In-One products.

We’ll see but having played with the iPhone and seeing the Microsoft Surface product I can honestly say I like multi-touch and can’t wait to get it on a PC. Until then check out this video of a possible multi-touch Mac one more time and tell me honestly, wouldn’t you just love to have it?