Are the new PC Touch Screen Monitors Really Worth Getting?

[Dead-i]

Yeah I mean even the Windows 7 Tablet PCs have a fold out keyboard hidden under them it basically turns from a tablet to a laptop lol

Haha, okay So it's basically half laptop, half tablet (that they've pretty much copied from apple's iPad).

[Darkmere]

yeah it is wierd ... the big windows 7 tablets look like a laptop but the screen breaks and folds up to look like a tablet ... the one we got looks like the iPad and the Android tablets with no keyboard attached but when we bought it in the box was a full size key board that connected to the tablet via IR which was pretty cool

[Dead-i]

Here is a comparison

[essellar]

Actually, Windows has been a tablet (keyboardless) OS longer than the iPad or any other iOS device has been around. Mostly for stylus input rather than touchscreen (that's the hardware makers' decision), yes, but it's been around for quite a while -- used mostly in field service and inventory applications.

Not all Windows tablets are convertibles, but the applications that have been created for keyboardless use have mostly been specialised technical/industrial apps, so the tablet suppliers have been mostly aiming at corporate IT purchasing. Frankly, it took the iPhone and the Kindle, along with reasonably high wireless network speeds and ubiquitous streaming video, to show people that a tablet could be useful. When you're thinking in terms of "mostly Office and occasional web surfing", something without a physical keyboard sounds kind of crazy. Now that the majority of people's computer use outside of the office is media consumption, it makes a lot more sense.

[remy87x18]

Touch screen to me is only good for small device like Iphone/Ipod/Ipad or something similar that is on the go. When it comes to computer or laptop, I prefer the old fashion keyboard and mouse. If you're working with Photoshop or drafting e.g. AutoCad, don't expect finger touching the screen will replace the mouse and keyboard.

[essellar]

If you're using Photoshop or AutoCad with a mouse, you're doing yourself a serious injustice. Get a tablet -- not in the touchscreen sense, but in the Wacom Intuos (or Bamboo, or even an older Graphire if you're on a budget -- or Cintiq if you're loaded) sense. Yes, you need the keyboard as well, but drawing using absolute screen coordinates with a precision stylus that has pressure sensitivity (which can be hooked to opacity and brush size) is a thousand times better than pushing a relative-coordinates bar of soap around the desktop.

[Darkmere]

If you're using Photoshop or AutoCad with a mouse, you're doing yourself a serious injustice. Get a tablet -- not in the touchscreen sense, but in the Wacom Intuos (or Bamboo, or even an older Graphire if you're on a budget -- or Cintiq if you're loaded) sense. Yes, you need the keyboard as well, but drawing using absolute screen coordinates with a precision stylus that has pressure sensitivity (which can be hooked to opacity and brush size) is a thousand times better than pushing a relative-coordinates bar of soap around the desktop.

I would have to agree ... I have Photo shop on my tablet and I love it. I find not only with drawing but for instance like when you are working on a project and you need to make a mask selection it is way easier to use your finger or stylus to trace a route than is a mouse cursor.