Intel Testing Consumer Opinions on Touchscreen Interface

I don't know about you guys I would use a touch screen enabled laptop if it did not add a major premium to the cost of the laptop. I have also been thinking of added a touch screen of some kind to my desktop, personally I would prefer a touchscreen desk multi-monitor setup but money is the limiting factor for me.
 
I would think it would add about $150 to the cost of a laptop.

At work we order replacement touch panels for 15" POS terminals for almost $200.

Seems like a good idea. I would use a laptop with touch.
 
The price premium I think is less, coming from my experience with Tablet PC.

Touchscreen has been helpful, and when you're on the field, a combination of tablet stylus and the touch fingering proves much better than trying to find yourself a flat surface to use a mouse. In addition, media consumption using touch in tablet mode is much less of a footprint.

However, a touchscreen does require a more precise mean of control. I cannot realistically operate Windows without a stylus, and I go akimbo with left hand on the stylus and right on the screen.
 
Okay... so her Windows 8 looks a hell of a lot more complete than my Windows 8. And if that is the new office, I am in. Her touch email client looked way better than the one that comes in the consumer preview.
 
I would use a laptop with touchscreen, but like above... I wouldn't want to pay a premium to get it.

It's not neccesary by any means. It is, however, nice to have.
 
I have to say this though... once you've bucked up and gotten yourself a machine meant for corporate or outdoor use, it's hard to go back to consumer machines. The build quality, the level of finish, the driver support, the interior design and the components chosen...
 
Reimu said:
I have to say this though... once you've bucked up and gotten yourself a machine meant for corporate or outdoor use, it's hard to go back to consumer machines. The build quality, the level of finish, the driver support, the interior design and the components chosen...
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This++.

This is where most laptops haven't made ANY progress.

I haven't had a consumer laptop last me more than 2-3 years before some/multiple things BREAK.

Now my work Thinkpad T61 with rollcage & METAL screen hinges? Works like it's new.
 
What stood out immediately for me in this test was that although she mentioned a mouse there wasn't one visible on the table--and as most people hate trackpads...;)....I would think opting for touch over the keyboard would be obvious. OTOH, there is a sizable group of people who prefer the keyboard to the mouse, and whenever possible use keyboard shortcuts. I wonder if they were tested or consulted...You will also note that although she makes the selection of touch appear obvious, we don't see any footage at all with "plain folks" being ostensibly tested and so easily and naturally selecting the screen over the keyboard (again, no mouse is visible anywhere)...;)

Second, notice the angle and location of the screen in relation to the angle and location of the keyboard--they are very close to each other, and she has to look down at the screen just as she would look down at the keyboard when using it. With a desktop, for instance, you would not be looking down at the screen, but rather directly at the screen, with the keyboard at 90-degrees from the screen. This would mean that unlike the laptop, with a desktop you would actually have to raise your hands to at least shoulder-height to touch the screen--and indeed the location of a mouse in that situation would be far more likely to be used as it would simply be more natural and require less effort.

IMO, this lady is a very polished and professional sales person who knows how to make certain things look very easy in order to make her point...;) I rather doubt, even with the laptop, that "regular folks" would be so quick to abandon a mouse.

It would be really instructive to see the film of the people she tested as opposed to just watching her put across the point she wants to make. Not that I disagree with her conclusions--it's just that it bothered me that I couldn't see a mouse on the table--which infers, despite what she said, that one might not have been present during this test.
 
The other thing I noticed in watching it again was that she actually had to pull the laptop to the edge of the table in order to reach the screen to touch it, because her arms weren't long enough to comfortably touch the screen, otherwise...;) I didn't catch that first go around.
 
No. Never. It adds no functionality and makes it much much more annoying to use.

The only time something should use a touchscreen is when the alternatives aren't availible. It's an old technology which is one of those buzzwords like "the cloud" that people can use to sell you the same crap.
 
It would certainly come in handy in certain situations. Actual adoption hinges on price though. If it adds $150 to a $600-800 laptop, (the price range a great many laptops are sold at), then it will likely only advance at a snails pace. If the amount is sub $50, the adoption rate will likely be far better, and it will prolly become the check mark feature on new laptops for a while.

If the consumer preview is anything to go by, Win8's Metro interface is going to suck for many, if not most, users unless it is shipping on computers with touch screens. I know I pretty much hate the Metro interface when using just KB/M, but liked it quite a bit on my friend's slate.
 
The thing about Touchscreens is that they are highly situational in their usage. For example, to a software developer a touchscreen is essentially useless. For more hardcore gaming it's useless. There are probably some fields and consumers who could benefit from it but I don't see a huge market for them in the corporate world outside of creative and medical fields.
 
The choice between a trackpad and touch. Touch is probably better. I hate pads, they're harder to use than a mouse. So of course people going to use touch. But at home on my desktop my screen is too far to touch anyway. Touch is good for on the go, but bad desktop systems.

Also a scroll wheel is less effort to scroll the screen than using touch. If there was a real mouse with that laptop I think most people would of went for the mouse instead.
 
I loathe a screen with fingerprints, they only feature that touch makes easier is zooming and rotating IMO.
 
WaltC said:
What stood out immediately for me in this test was that although she mentioned a mouse there wasn't one visible on the table--and as most people hate trackpads...;)....I would think opting for touch over the keyboard would be obvious. OTOH, there is a sizable group of people who prefer the keyboard to the mouse, and whenever possible use keyboard shortcuts. I wonder if they were tested or consulted...You will also note that although she makes the selection of touch appear obvious, we don't see any footage at all with "plain folks" being ostensibly tested and so easily and naturally selecting the screen over the keyboard (again, no mouse is visible anywhere)...;)

Second, notice the angle and location of the screen in relation to the angle and location of the keyboard--they are very close to each other, and she has to look down at the screen just as she would look down at the keyboard when using it. With a desktop, for instance, you would not be looking down at the screen, but rather directly at the screen, with the keyboard at 90-degrees from the screen. This would mean that unlike the laptop, with a desktop you would actually have to raise your hands to at least shoulder-height to touch the screen--and indeed the location of a mouse in that situation would be far more likely to be used as it would simply be more natural and require less effort.

IMO, this lady is a very polished and professional sales person who knows how to make certain things look very easy in order to make her point...;) I rather doubt, even with the laptop, that "regular folks" would be so quick to abandon a mouse.

It would be really instructive to see the film of the people she tested as opposed to just watching her put across the point she wants to make. Not that I disagree with her conclusions--it's just that it bothered me that I couldn't see a mouse on the table--which infers, despite what she said, that one might not have been present during this test.
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Galvin said:
The choice between a trackpad and touch. Touch is probably better. I hate pads, they're harder to use than a mouse. So of course people going to use touch. But at home on my desktop my screen is too far to touch anyway. Touch is good for on the go, but bad desktop systems.

Also a scroll wheel is less effort to scroll the screen than using touch. If there was a real mouse with that laptop I think most people would of went for the mouse instead.
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WWCephas said:
I loathe a screen with fingerprints, they only feature that touch makes easier is zooming and rotating IMO.
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these comments by fellow H'ers resonated the most for me.

touch is fantastic for some devices whereas on others, it has no business.
this 'study' for me was in the grey area. laptops have always suffered from shitful 'x-y interface controller/devices'. anyone who must use a laptop seated at desk (home or office) will undoubtedly byo their own USB mouse or be very familiar with KB shortcuts.
ergonomically a touch screen in this scenario (laptop @ a desk) makes no sense. waving your arms about would get real old real soon imho.

as WaltC alluded to, the study seems not to have been conducted in the proper controlled environment. thus the high percentage of users preferring to use touch is a result that sounds at best skewed and at worse manufactured.

the issue of fingerprints all over the screen would bother me as well. it's not like a phone where you can wipe the screen on your sleeve or shirt.

i'm sure having a touch screen on a laptop would have some bonuses, i just can't think of benefits for myself.

regarding the guy that thought the presenter was 'hot', different strokes for different folks...
 
Did anyone else count the number of times a user touched the screen and nothing happened?

At my client they recently turned in a spare laptop that happens to have a touchscreen. I tinkered with it, but overall I wasn't thrilled by the experience. Even taking the age of the hardware into consideration (tho it was a Core i7 laptop), it was just clumsy.
 
I used a tablet PC for school. It works great for taking notes and adding drawings. I only wish I had bought one sooner. You can buy an "old" one on eBay for around $200.

Tablet PCs will hit mainstream consumers when Apple "invents" them, just like everything else they invent. "Good artists copy, great artists steal." Then again, I am not so sure they would want to introduce competition to their iPads.
 
I used to work with a Panasonic Toughbook that had a touchscreen. It was nice and quicker to navigate than used the touchpad.
 
Anyone else notice how her laptop screen looks like crap because it's smeared up and covered in fingerprints? I also find it interesting that they were asking people how they'd prefer to do a simple task or two, yeah have fun waving your arms around for 5-6 hours at a time to get actual work done.
 
I am in the market for a new notebook this year. I would certainly keep an eye out for this tech. I think it would make Win 8 actually usable on a PC rather than mouse/keyboard only.
 
Merc1138 said:
Anyone else notice how her laptop screen looks like crap because it's smeared up and covered in fingerprints? I also find it interesting that they were asking people how they'd prefer to do a simple task or two, yeah have fun waving your arms around for 5-6 hours at a time to get actual work done.
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I don't think many, (outside the tablets are a replacement for all things laptop crown), are advocating this as a replacement to the mouse or even the glide pad/pointer nub. But it is a cool, and in many cases useful, additional input method. It probably goes without saying that consumers will find more use in touch screens than creators will.

But yeah, should this take off, I suspect eyeglass cleaning stations will be rebadged as laptop cleaning stations, and silicon cloths will become a top accessory.
 
crowd not crown. How my finger slipped that far I have no clue. crows or crowf or crowx I would understand, but crown?
 
Touch is ok, but I think I would get a lot more done if I had a really responsive stylus. I have always wanted a tablet with an incredibly fine digitizer so I could write notes and draw on it. That would be super useful.
 
If I was forced between the choice between trackpad and touch screen, I would go touch screen. Given the choice of a mouse among the three choices I would have to go with a mouse 100%. Touch screens are just so damn clumsy to use on a normal basis unless it's just my cell phone that don't even use much except regular calls and texts.
 
I've had a eee T91 for a few years now and I barely ever use the touchscreen for that, unless to pauze a YT video.

For actual laptops, I'm thinking its the same thing, you'll use touch maybe 2-3 times a week (if you use the laptop daily), but outside that, moving from keyboard to stretching out to touch the screen has little use.

And about using trackpad. Bwah, some "vocal" people bitch about it, I never had a problem with it, actually find it quicker and more useful then a mouse. Travel distance between keyboard/trackpad is the smallest you can have, mouse and touchscreen a way longer distances.
 
Microsoft researchers, finding ways to reduce workplace productivity!

At 3:10 she talks about people not touching too hard to move the screen, then the frame changes to her touching the screen and it moving. What's gonna happen on a laptop that has a hinge with some mileage on it ?
 
My opinion... I can understand the illogical concept of more arm movement, young people enjoying additional muscle stimulation. Some never leave home without their laptops. I prefer a clean screen as opposed to a smeared screen from sweaty oily fingers and less arm movement would create for a more relaxing experience with mind control. Although, sales in screen cleaner will boom over her opinion in favor of more touch screen usage. :rolleyes:
 
One of my biggest pet peeves is fingerprints on my monitor. I will not be happy in a touch-centric world.
 
Having used Windows on touch screen convertible tablet PCs since Vista I think this video makes of the point well. People have often looked at touch and pens on tablet PCs are replacements for keyboards and mice and that's simply not the case. Touch and pens offer more choice and flexibility in using a computer. I touch my screens on my tablet PCs in laptop mode constantly, I even find myself poking the screen of conventional laptops by mistake all of the time.

Touch is a simple, natural and often fun and engaging way to interact with a computer. Computers are more than just about how fast one can move a pointer or input data. They can also be fun and casual.
 
I think the better question is; "Is touch better than a trackpad?" That is an obvious yes. If I had absolutely no option to use a mouse, then yes touch would be a better option. Those times when I am flying come to mind. However in the comparison of is touch better than a mouse? That is overwhelmingly a no.

Beyond that however, Touch is crap compared to a mouse and most users are almost never in a situation where they can't use a mouse.
 
I have a 22" inch touchscreen desktop monitor I use right now with windows 8. Cost me $254.99 from newegg. Not that pricey as they use to be and works great right out of the box. Not a replacement for a keyboard and mouse. It enhances the usability and provides a lot of options and flexibility when working with some programs and the OS as a whole.
 
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