Via: Carrypad

Need a 50-Inch Display? There’s an App That Allows You to Combine Multiple iPhones, iPads to Do So! is a post by Chuong Nguyen from Notebooks.com.

The interface is more widget or app like with four main areas. The menu along the left handles much used items and folders of links to useful sites based on type with recently used applications below that. The right hand toolbar is buttons for navigating around the interface. The top toolbar shows things like battery levels, Wi-Fi connection strength, and a volume icon as well as the title of the open window. And the main screen contains icons or buttons for all the applications on the computer.

The buttons and icons are larger making them easier to access with a finger. It will multitask and has a switcher so you can jump from one application to another using the large arrows in the upper right or show all open applications by touching/clicking on the down arrow. The main page is customizable so you can put your applications where you want them. It has a browser that makes controls all touch friendly. The utilities screens handle stuff like Wi-Fi connections and computer settings information. They too are touch friendly.

The FrontFance notification center brings all the information about things like social networks, email, and others into one location.

The program costs $29.95 for a limited time but will be $39.95 thereafter. Before you click the link and give them your credit card number, be sure to download the trial version. The interface is attractive and didn’t seem to slow down our system too much. However, in our very brief test it crashed within a minute of its first use and forced us to end the explorer.exe task using Task Manager and restart it manually in order to get access to the main Windows interface and taskbar.

If this happesn to you, press Control+Alt+Delete and choose Start Task Manager. From the Processes tab find explore.exe and right click it. Choose End task. Then click on File and then Run and type explore.exe in the dialog box and hit enter.

The program will run on nearly all versions of Windows back to XP. See the video demonstrating the interface below:

Frontface Released: Makes Windows More Touch Friendly is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Winter is fast approaching and for some the snow is already falling! Over the last year, millions of Americans have purchased new smartphones, many of which use capacitive touchscreens which are only sensitive to skin, and won’t work with a gloved finger. Naturally that means lots of people will end up frustrated when they come to realize that they have to choose between warm hands or being able to use their phone. Or do they? Fortunately, many companies are creating solutions for keeping your hands warm while still being able to use your capacitive device such as the iPhone. We’ve got five of those solutions and have put them to the test!

A brief intro before we get to the gloves. All of these gloves were sent to us for test purposes. I tested these gloves over the last month to get a good idea of how each one performs. In addition to doing typing tests using an iPhone, which result in word-per-minute and accuracy ratings, I’ve also anecdotally rated each glove between 1 and 5 in three categories that I identified as being important characteristics of capacitive touchscreen gloves. Those categories are as follows:

• Performance – How easy it is to operate the phone with the glove (including typing and using apps)
• Control – How easy it is to hold the phone and not drop it while using each pair of gloves and getting the phone in/out of a tight pocket
• Warmth

I based the ratings on a baseline of using the phone without any gloves which I rated 5 for performance and control, and 0 for warmth. For the typing tests, I used the ‘TapTyping’ app which had me type six randomly selected sentences that represent average typing difficulty. Random sentences ensured that I wasn’t getting used to typing the same sentence, thus favoring the gloves that were tested later. The app also doesn’t use predictive key padding or auto-correction which is present in most parts of iOS (and similar assistive-methods on other operating systems), so the results you see are without any sort of assistance and should generally improve somewhat during normal use.

I’ve also done the typing test using my gloveless hands as a baseline – you’ll see these results labeled as “Hands”.

Ok and now what you’ve been waiting for – the reviews! Here’s a quick graphical representation of how they stack up to each other, but you’ll find lots of additional detail below:

Freehands Power Stretch 5 ($24)

• WPM: 23

• Accuracy: 91%

The Freehands Power Stretch 5 gloves have a touchscreen friendly zone at the end of each finger. Some might call this redundant, as most gestures only require up to two fingers, but I found it useful as I do have an application that uses a three finger gesture and was happy to be able to utilize it while wearing these gloves. The responsiveness of the capacitive areas is great, and because they are somewhat “shaped” at the tips (as oppose to being floppy) it’s very easy to know exactly where the touchscreen sensitive parts will be making these gloves very good when it comes to performance.

These aren’t the warmest gloves, and they are expected to be used as a liner inside of another glove, but they still work well as a Fall glove in brisk (but not freezing) weather. These would work well on the ski slopes under a pair of thicker gloves, allowing you to answer calls or read texts on the ski lift by taking off the outer glove but not having to use a completely naked hand. The lines on the palm size of the glove could be forgiven if they actually provided some utility, but while it appears as though they might provide some additional grip, they hardly do.

Still, the thinness of the gloves makes them better on control than bulkier gloves. After a few weeks of use, I can see some slight fraying of the capacitive material – a process which will only be accelerated if these gloves are used as liners (due to the repeated abrasion during removal of the outer glove). Eventually, such fraying might reduce the performance of these gloves, but fortunately they don’t cost an arm or a leg.

Agloves ($18)

• WPM: 30

• Accuracy: 92%

The Agloves are a unique approach to capacitive touchscreen gloves. While most other gloves give you areas at the tips of your fingers that work with your capacitive touchscreen devices, the Agloves are sensitive to capacitive touchscreens throughout, thanks to silver coated nylon strands embedded into the gloves. This means that all 10 fingers as well as any other part of the glove will work with a capacitive touchscreen.

These gloves rated very well in control because they are quite thin, making it easy to hold your phone and get it out of your pocket. They also scored well in performance as they were the fastest and most accurate gloves I used during the typing test. Because the silver thread is woven throughout, these gloves don’t have unsightly silver patches at the end of the fingers, and are the most discrete in their style.

Performance comes at the cost of warmth though; these thin gloves aren’t too much warmer than no gloves at all, but they work well during the Fall . They might work well as a liner underneath a larger glove. Thinness also can result in low durability. If these gloves get pinched, they can tear somewhat easily.  They also won’t do well in wet weather.

Echo Boiled Wool Touch ($35)

• WPM: 1

• Accuracy: 76%

The Echo Boiled Wool gloves are probably the most stylish of the gloves I tested. They have a leather-like patch on the palm and a stylish lining that runs around the sides of the glove and fingers. These gloves are certainly the warmest of the ones that I’ve tested which is thanks in part to the polyester lining that is built right in. The Echo Boiled Wool gloves have a capacitive sensitive area on the thumb and index finger for touchscreen use. Warmth and style are the best points of these gloves, but it pays for it in other areas.

You’ll notice that the WPM is a measly 1. This result is a combination of a few things. First of which is the lining inside. The lining is only attached on the inside at the tips of the fingers and around the wrist. Everywhere else in between, the lining is separate from the outside of the glove. This allows the outside of the glove to rotate around the inside lining which means that the touch sensitive areas can rotate to random places around your finger instead of always being in a consistent place. This makes it hard to know with which part of the glove you need to tap your phone. Not helping this problem is the relatively small area of the touch sensitive points.

While the Freehands Power Touch gloves have touch sensitive areas that wrap all the way around the front and back of the finger, the Echo gloves only have a sensitive point on the fingerprint area of your finger. So instead of a poking motion, these gloves expected a motion which involves your fingerprint area flat down on your screen, which isn’t the most comfortable way to interact with your device. It’s also possible that the lining will pull out (think: flipping the glove inside out) because of the way it’s attached, but I didn’t seem to have an issue with this. It may be a problem if your hands get sweaty or moist.

These gloves will probably work fine for answering/ending the occasional call, but typing and games are mostly out of the question, unless you enjoy exercises in frustration. These are definitely my choice for warmth though.

Freehands Soft Shell ($28)

• WPM: 24

• Accuracy: 92%

In addition to their Power Stretch gloves, Freehands has another solution. This time, instead of using special material that allows one’s fingers to interact with a capacitive touchscreen, they simply have flaps that fold the material back at the thumb and index finger allowing you to use your good old natural pointers for use with your device. The flaps are held back with magnets. At first, these magnets would occasionally let the flaps go when I tried to bend my thumbs to type on the phone, but after a little breaking it they held just fine. These gloves are were warm for the most part, but are obviously going to be coldest at the flaps where they are least insulated, if you tried to use these on the slopes, you might end up with a numb thumb and index finger.

Trying to fold the flaps back after use (with both gloves on) can be a little bit frustrating. My fingers also didn’t stick out as far as I’d like meaning that when I needed to bend them, I was squeezing the glove material which can result in fatigue during use. Having the best fitting gloves for your hand size is the best way to combat this, and the ones I’ve been testing were a bit larger than perhaps were optimal for me. As with the Freehands Power Stretch gloves, the lines across the palm side of the glove don’t really provide any grip, and the bulkiness of the glove makes it hard to feel the phone in your hand, giving you less confidence about your ability to hold it than you would have with thinner gloves.

Thumb Dogs ($13)

• WMP: 16

• Accuracy: 88%

The Thumb Dogs are definitely the most flexible and inexpensive solution that I’ve tested. One pack comes with four Thumb Dogs which are little sleeves that are designed to go over the thumb and index finger of existing gloves. This means you can turn any pair of gloves that you already own into gloves that work with your touchscreen device. I’ve tested them with several gloves and they seem to work well, but your results will vary depending upon the type of glove that you use them with. Because of this, don’ let the WPM and accuracy ratings weigh on you too much as they only represent how the Thumb Dogs performed with the particular gloves that I used them with.

The Thumb Dogs work fine and are a flexible solution, but they aren’t for everyone. First of all, they can be annoying to use and keep track of. You have to put them on the thumb and index finger of each glove you are using them with, which means putting one glove on one hand, putting the Thumb Dogs on, then removing that glove, putting the other glove on, and putting the Thumb Dogs onto that glove. Then you can pick up the first glove and wear both; you’d have a hard time trying to put them on your gloves while both of your hands are gloved.

They also have the tendency to come out of their optimal position when you remove your gloves, so you’ll likely have to adjust them frequently. They also aren’t guaranteed to stay on and really love to grab hold of the hook end of velcro (found on plenty of jackets) so don’t be surprised if one of them disappears. There’s also the realization that Thumb Dogs are almost like accessories for your gloves, which are already accessories themselves. This just ads to the number of things that you need to keep track of and it get’s complicated if you are frequently in and our of buildings and removing your gloves then putting them back on. I also wish they were a bit more discrete instead of having big white Thumb Dog logos on all four of them, and an inside tag with the same logo that tends to pop out and annoying when you are putting them on your gloves. They don’t look too bad on a black glove (pictured above), but they’ll stand out on other colors.

With that said, this is the only solution that will let you use gloves, that you already know you love, for use with your capacitive touchscreen devices.

My Choice

When it comes down to it, my personal choice would be the Freehands Power Stretch gloves. They are reasonably priced and work great for typing and app control. While they aren’t quite as quick or accurate as the Agloves, I’m happy to sacrifice a little bit of performance and control for additional warmth.

Capacitive Touchscreen Glove Review Showdown: 5 Gloves Put to the Test on the iPhone is a post by Ben from Notebooks.com.

While we were originally skeptical about how the use of a touchscreen would hold up to use in this type of device, after a month of use we have found that there are definitely a few places where a touchscreen on a notebook is useful.

Acer Aspire 5745PG Quick Specs: The Acer Aspire 5745PG-3882 is a 15.6” notebook with a multitouch screen, Intel Core i5 processor 4GB DDR3 RAM and switchable graphics with an NVIDIA GeForce GT330M GPU with 1GB of dedicated video RAM.

Build and Design

From a design standpoint the 5745PG looks good, it has an almost pinstriped lid that is visible but understated enough that you can appreciate it without feeling like you’re wearing an Ed Hardy shirt. The downside is that the cover is glossy and will attract fingerprints faster than your iPhone’s screen. The rest of the device also has a nice look to it with a few accents here and there, but nothing ostentatious.

As far as the build of the notebook goes it does feel very sturdy. The 5745PG has sturdy hinges, which are very nice considering that you will be putting more pressure on the touch screen than on a screen on a standard notebook. The overall build quality also felt good with little flex when pressure was applied to the sides of the chassis or with heavy pressure in the center of the device. We did notice that the notebook was a bit uncomfortable to hold on the palmrest area to carry around due to a bit of flex and the weight of the notebook.  More than likely you’ll want to carry this notebook with two hands — so don’t plan on carrying it around and using the touchscreen while standing for extended periods.

The only other item worth noting is that the front end of the notebook is rather light, which when combined with the sturdy hinges, means that you may tip the whole notebook back a bit if you use the touchscreen with too much pressure. It would have actually been nice to see an extended battery that stuck out the back for extra balance — and extra battery life.

Screen

The 15.6″ screen on the Acer Aspire AS5745PG stands out from those you’ll find on most because it is a large multi-touch surface, like that you’ll find on a tablet PC. In the past having a touchscreen often meant some sacrifices in quality namely in a visible grain and brightness. That was the case with my last tablet the HP Pavilion TX2000, but unlike that overheating beast the Acer 5745PG is sufficiently bright and doesn’t have a visible coarseness. The only visible notice of a touchscreen comes when you get far to the left or right where, in the right light, you may see some small indication of a digitizer.

Back to the screen, you have a 1366 x 768 resolution which is sufficient for many users and probably more optimized for touch than a higher resolution which power users may want on the large screen. Both viewing angles and brightness are good and while it is glossy you won’t have trouble using it in brightly light indoor settings. Outdoors, you should look elsewhere, but in a car you can make do in most sun conditions with a little bit of adjustment which is nice since we found the passenger seat to be a great place to use touch.

The biggest problem we found with the Acer Aspire 5745PG’s touch screen was that, like all touchscreens, you will get fingerprints on it. It’s not unique to the 5745PG, and easily solved by carrying a nice cleaning cloth, but worth noting.

How is the Touchscreen?

The touchscreen on the 5745PG is very responsive and pretty darn accurate for use with your finger. For most Windows related tasks you will still probably use the mouse, but you can select programs and pull up an on-screen keyboard if you wish to do so. Using the touchscreen in your normal apps works just as if it were a mouse, so you can click pull the side scroll bar in Chrome and scroll through along webpage or switch between tabs without the need to mouse across the screen.

In addition to working right out of the box in many programs, there is a touch optimized portal called Acer TouchPortal which comes with a touch optimized browser and a collection of tools and games. The browser works well allowing you to grab anywhere on the page to scroll instead of requiring you to use the side scroll bar. There is also a homescreen which allows you to leave notes, see a clock and various other tasks which may be useful if you plan to leave this notebook on all the time in a central family location.

When you get into the TouchPortal the touch apps all responded well, but the problem we ran into several times is that the TouchPortal wouldn’t launch or would launch to a black screen, citing an issue with a 3D driver.

When will you use the Touchscreen?

Until I had a chance to use a touchscreen that wasn’t able to fold down to a slate form factor I couldn’t think of where I would use it on a regular basis, but after a month of use it became apparent that there are some settings that make sense for using the touchscreen over the mouse and they are the same places that lend themselves to use with tablets. First off was on the couch while reclining and watching TV. The large screen and smooth control lent themselves to surfing using the screen instead of searching for a mousepad. The second location was in the passenger seat on a long trip when the mousepad was about an inch form my stomach and repeated use would have been annoying. Finally when working in two browser windows with multiple tabs the touch screen made it faster to pop between the multiple tabs than mousing with a mousepad would. If you think you might use it in these situations you will probably find other settings where a touchscreen beats a mouse.

Touchpad and Keyboard

The keyboard on the 5745PG is similar to an island style keyboard, but instead of sitting inside a case it is raised a bit. This is hard to describe, but you can see it in the image below. The design makes for a good typing experience. While the keys could use a bit more space between them, overall it is a good keyboard with enough feedback and little noticeable mushiness.

The mousepad on 5745PG may play second fiddle to the touchscreen, but it is a good mousepad. The mousepad is fairly large and supports gestures leading to a comfortable user experience. I had no issues with sensitivity or palm brushing to move the mouse in my month of use. The mousepad has only one long button which worked well, but I would still prefer two specific buttons as many other users do.

Processor and Performance

When it comes to power, the 5745PG is well equipped with an Intel Core i5 processor that when combined with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics could handle anything we threw at it from HD video editing to a bit of gaming and entertainment. What’s nice is that the user can switch between the powerful NVIDIA graphics and the integrated Intel graphics by pushing a button on the upper right of the device to switch between power and longer battery life.

The biggest thing missing from this notebook is intelligent switching from Optimus which would swap between the graphics processors as needed rather than requiring the user to do it manually.

Audio

Despite having stereo speakers that are powered by Dolby Home Theater audio enhancement the sound on the 5745PG is lacking. Lacking is the best word, because while the quality of the sound is pretty good, even with the volume pumped all the way up you can barely hear any sound from the computer. We actually had to check the settings a few times because it was so low.

Heat and Noise

This notebook ran pretty quiet. Even when the fan kicked on you had to move your ear close to really hear it. As far as heat goes the back left corner near the vent got a little warm on occasion, but it did not get to an uncomfortable level.

Battery

The Battery on the 5745PG is rated up to 3 hours and 30 minutes by Acer which is a bit generous. While running in power saving mode we were lucky to achieve 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours, and to get to 3 hours we had to be pretty miserly with our power use. This was using the power saving graphics, if you plan to play games or tax the GeForce GPU you should make sure you’re near a power outlet.

Connectivity

Software

When the TouchPortal worked it gave access to a touch optimized photo browser, music player, movie app, homescreen, earth app, some games and a browser. The apps were neat for showing off touch, and work well with touch, but most users will still need to stay in the traditional Windows environment to do what they want.

Crapware. This was the most annoying part of reviewing this machine. There were popups for Norton and McAfee which got in the way every time you wanted to hop online and get something done. These are easy enough to uninstall, but that doesn’t mean they need to be set to bug the user until they figure out how to do that.

Value

Even with the issues we found, the Acer Aspire 5745PG-3882 is still a good value offering plenty of computing power for around $900 at Amazon. Keep in mind there is a price premium for having a touchscreen, so if you don’t need or want one you can find similar power for a smaller price.

Conclusion

In all we were surprised by how useful the touchscreen was in this package and while there is no intelligent switching for graphics we still remain impressed with the overall package. Given the overall build quality and decent keyboard it is worth checking out for users who want a touch screen on their notebook, so long as you don’t mind connecting to external speakers.

Pros:

• Sturdy
• Good TouchScreen
• Plenty of Power

Cons:

• Attracts fingerprints on lid and screen easily
• TouchPortal software is touchy
• User must switch between graphics
• Really quiet speakers

Acer Aspire AS 5745PG-8332 Detailed Specs

Acer Aspire AS5745PG-3882 Review: Touch Me, Touch Me, Touch Me is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

…the Monster allows users to de-clutter their crowded, primary desktop monitor and offload applications such as web browsers, Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and Word, plus social networking platforms like Tweetdeck, media players, chat windows, and more. (company press release)

While you could easily plug it into a desktop system, the real benefit of something this size is mobility. And it adds both a touchscreen interface as well as a stylus for the pen and inking aficionados. The fold out stand will hold it up next your computer or you can hold it for better inking/touch functionality.

Images shown with optional stand

The price is a little steep at $259.99 direct from the company, but if you see it not only as an external monitor but a tablet and a 2-port USB hub all in one tight little package, the price is a little more reasonable. Yes that’s right; it also has 2 USB ports as well for plugging in other devices, but to use them you will have to plug-in an included AC adapter. That makes it less useful on the road unless you just don’t use the USB ports.

The resolution of the iMo Monster is 1024×600 which the company says will offer sharp graphics and clear images for video, graphics, and a full range of business applications.”

The device is 9.7-inches by 6.3-inches and only an inch think. It weighs just 1.77 lbs.

iMo Monster 10-Inch USB Powered Touchscreen Monitor is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

LifeBook AH Series

First off, Fujitsu has created a new way to control their LifeBook AH700/5A in a similar manner to that of Microsoft’s Project Natal for the Xbox 360. You can see the new method of controlling your notebook in the video below. Notice the individual in the upper left corner of the screen performing actions with his hands.

The new technology enables the user to use hand motions to control functions on the laptop, via the laptop’s webcam. Hand movement can be used to play/resume, stop, and turn the volume up for music, movies, and more. Whether or not this is a practical use for such technology remains to be seen, due to the fact that you must be standing a significant distance away, and have your laptop open at all times. If connected to presentation software like PowerPoint it could at the least make meetings a bit more interesting.

Though this seems to be the first laptop to have this technology integrated right from the factory, there are other such software applications that have been around for a year or so. I have been using a free application called FluidTunes, for my MacBook Pro. It works in a similar manner to Fujitsu’s new technology. However, seeing the demonstration video below and comparing it to my own experiences with FluidTunes, it seems as though Fujitsu’s version is more accurate and easy to use. Also, FluidTunes is limited strictly for use with iTunes.

FluidTunes Demo:

Fujitsu’s LifeBook AH Series Specs:

• 15.6-inch LCD (1366×768 resolution)
• Choose either an Intel Core i5-450M or Core i3-350M processor
• 4GB RAM
• 500 GB HDD
• DVD Super Multi Drive

You may also opt for an AMD Athlon II M340 powered LifeBook AH with 2GB RAM and a 320GB HDD.

Lifebook NH Series

Fujitsu designed this new laptop with desktop replacement in mind. The most notable feature on this series is the 4-Inch secondary touch-panel display above the keyboard. This secondary screen has a resolution of 480×272 and can be used in a variety of ways, such as a calculator.

Fujitsu LifeBook NH Series Specs:

• 18.4-inch Full HD display (4-inch secondary touch-panel display)
• Intel Core i5-450M processor
• 4GB RAM
• 500GB HDD
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M with 1GB Video RAM
• Blu-ray disc burner
• Digital TV Tuner
• USB 3.0
• HDMI Out

LifeBook LH Series

With the NH being their most powerful and the AH being the most intuitive, Fujitsu also refreshed the LH series, keeping female geeks in mind. The smaller, 14-inch laptop comes in either a Pink or Urban White color scheme.

LifeBook LH Series Specs:

• 14-inch LCD (1366×768)
• Intel Core i3-350M processor
• 4GB RAM
• 500GB HDD
• DVD Super Multi Drive

No word on price or availability of these new Fujitsu laptops, at this moment, but we expect prices to be similar to the existing Fujitsu models:

• AH Series – $749 Core i3, $949 Core i5
• NH Series – $1,199
• There is no existing LH Series in the United Sates.

Via Akihabara News, Fujitsu

Fujitsu LifeBook Line Sees a Refresh With Natal-Like Features and a Touchscreen is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

Touch Apps:

These Satellite notebooks will both ship with two touch apps that are exclusive to Toshiba LifeSpace and are designed to, “increase personal productivity in a unique and fun way.”

Bulletin Board Gives users fast access to day-to-day activities, tasks and projects in a simple, visual and fun way. Get creative when organizing projects with the ability to drag and drop photos, videos, links, documents and applications into one place. Personalize and organize the board by moving, rotating and resizing using gestures to fit personalized style. Bulletin Board also includes several built in gadgets such as labels, calendars, a clock and a to-do list.

ReelTimeâ„¢ Helps users easily find files based on when they were opened with a simple, fun visual history. With the flick of a finger, quickly scroll through automatically generated previews of documents, photos, videos and more, filter by file type or use the calendar to go back weeks or months.

Toshiba Satellite Notebooks:

The Satellite M505 Touch laptop will be available for $949.99 on October 22nd and the Satellite U505 Touch laptop will release a week later on November 1st for $1,049.99.

Sample configurations and features of the Toshiba Satellite M505 Touch and the Toshiba Satellite U505 Touch notebooks below.

Features available on the Toshiba Satellite M505 Touch (M505-S4990-T) laptop include:

• · 14.0-inch diagonal widescreen HD TruBrite^® LED Backlit TFT LCD Touch-screen display
• · Windows^® 7 Home Premium
• · Intel^® Coreâ„¢ 2 Duo processor T6600 (2.2GHz)^[vii]
• · Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• · 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM, upgradable to 8GB^[viii]
• · 500GB HDD^[ix]
• · Slot-loading DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash^® supporting 11 formats
• · Webcam and microphone
• · Fusion Finish in Sonic Black
• · 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN^[x] and 10/100 Ethernet
• · 5-in-1 Memory Card Reader
• · HDMI-CEC
• · S/P DIF output port
• · 6-cell Lithium Ion battery
• · 1 eSATA/USB combo port with USB Sleep-and-Charge^[xi] and 2 USB 2.0 ports
• · Toshiba PC Health Monitor
• · Toshiba eco utilityâ„¢
• · One-year international limited warranty and award-winning Toshiba service and support

Features available on the new Toshiba Satellite U505 Touch (U505-S2980-T) laptop include:

• · 13.3-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite TFT LCD Touch-screen display
• · Windows 7 Home Premium
• · Intel Core 2 Duo processor T6600 (2.2GHz)¹
• · Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• · 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM, upgradable to 8GB²
• · 500GB HDD³
• · Slot-loading DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash supporting 11 formats
• · Webcam and microphone
• · Textured Finish in Luxe Brown
• · 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN⁴ and 10/100 Ethernet
• · 5-in-1 Memory Card Reader
• · HDMI-CEC
• · S/P DIF output port
• · 6-cell Lithium Ion battery
• · 1 eSATA/USB combo port with USB Sleep-and-Charge⁵ and 2 USB 2.0 ports
• · Toshiba PC Health Monitor
• · Toshiba eco utility
• · One-year international limited warranty and award-winning Toshiba service and support

Touch Toshiba’s New Satellite M505 and U505 Touch Enabled Notebooks is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

According to Acer, the multi-touch experience on the Aspire AS5738PGwill focus on making, “entertainment and multimedia experiences more intuitive and interactive.”

With this focus on entertainment, the new Aspire will let users;

• touch anywhere on the screen using one or two fingertips to play movies
• Zoom in and out on websites
• Edit photos and video
• Handwrite notes
• Resize windows
• Launch entertainment applications
• Use gestures like pinch, flip and swirl to zoom, navigate and browse.

For more details on what you can do with touch in Windows 7 on the Aspire AS5738PG check out this collection of touch apps.

Laptop Magazine had early access to this notebook and posted their full review of the Aspire AS5738PG including impressions of the touchscreen and the Acer Touch Portal.

While reading new messages posted to Twitter, we very much liked how we could zoom in on text to make it bigger by spreading two fingers apart, zoom out by bringing two fingers together in a pinching gesture, or scroll up/down by flicking in those directions with our index finger. When viewing images in the Photos folder, we could page through all of the pictures in the folder by swiping left or right with a single finger, which felt completely natural. In fact, after a few minutes of interacting with the 5738PG in this fashion (and after some initial trepidation), we found it superior to the mouse for navigating photos.

….

Overall, touch worked like a charm, but with our fingers constantly pressing the screen, it reclined from a 90-degree angle to approximately 45 degrees over the course of a few minutes. You’ll clearly need to keep one hand behind the screen during longer touch computing sessions to keep the LCD front and center. We also found that the display picked up fingerprints quickly.

Overall the laptop earns good marks from Laptop Magazine for including touch at an affordable price but they wish the touch experience was a little bit more “robust”.

Another interesting part of the Aspire AS5738PG, that number crunchers are sure to love, is the dedicated numeric keypad for easy number entry.

The Aspire AS5738PG will be sold at select retailers later this month and according to the press release will be available at and MSRP of $799.

Acer Aspire AS5738PG Specifications

Acer Aspire AS5738PG is Acer’s Multitouch Notebook is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Joanna said:

While MSI can’t really tout innovation here, we were still fairly impressed with the responsiveness of the screen. Light taps on the screen were responsive and using a finger to move through Windows XP’s folders and menus was smooth, without having to tap repeatedly. Other than that, there isn’t much else to say about the tablet performance. Check out the video below for a full walk-through of the touch experience.

Check out her article for more and a video of the U120H w/Touchscreen

MSI Wind U120H Touchscreen Gets Examined (CES 2009) is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.