David Flynn10 September 2009, 4:40 PM
Beginning its roll-out of Windows 7 systems, Acer is betting on the ‘multi-touch’ UI as a key selling point for desktops and laptops alike.
The top PC brands are all lining up behind the fluttering Windows 7 flag, but Acer is first off the block in unveilling its new line-up six weeks ahead of the OS’s official debut.
And if yesterday’s launch is anything to go by, touchscreen technology is set to become a major part of the PC landscape – or at least a show-stopping demo for the retailers.
Of the five systems unveilled yesterday, three sport a multi-touch screen, while Acer also launched a 23 inch touchscreen monitor to deliver multi-touch to anyone upgrading their existing desktop to Windows 7.
Acer Computer Australia’s Nigel Gore told APCmag.com that this was just the start of Aecr’s Windows 7 wave with more PCs, including touchscreen models, to follow later this year and in 2010.
Microsoft is of course working with its PC partners to spruiking Windows 7’s multi-touch features.
“Toucha toucha toucha touch me, I wanna feel dirty!” sang Microsoft Australia’s Jeff Putt, belting out a hit from
The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Well, actually no, Putt didn’t do
anything of the sort.
He offered the more predictable boilerplate comment that Microsoft is “excited that Acer is leveraging Windows 7 to drive innovation in PC design to help our joint customers discover new ways to engage with their PC and fun ways to get things done.” (But it would have been more fun if he’d done the Rocky Horror thing in fishnet stockings and a corset, doncha think?)
What Putt
did do was showcase some of the ways that Acer has tapped into the now-native touch capabilities of the OS.
This includes touch-sensitive TouchPortal application launcher which overlays the desktop, with an upturned corner of the screen that peels away to reveal the standard Windows 7 desktop. Several of Acer’s bundled music, media and photo apps are also touch-enabled.
Each of the touch systems will be on sale from October 22nd and come reloaded with a 64-bit edition of Windows 7 Home Premium.
First up is a stylish all-in-one, the Aspire Z5610, with a 23 inch HD (16:9) optical touchscreen – meaning that two miniature image sensors (infrared cameras) are placed at the upper left and right corners of the screen to track and triangulate the movement of your fingers and direct the software’s response accordingly.
Starting at $1,999, the Aspire Z5610 is a stylish all-in-one system with a massive 23 inch HD touchscreen panel
The Z5610 will start at $1,999, with processors ranging from Intel’s current Core 2 Duo line through to the fresh-baked
Core i5 quad-core processor.
There are also two finger-friendly notebooks. The Aspire 5738PG, shown above, is a 15.6 inch (16:9) laptop set to start at $1,399; while from $1,599 the 11.6 inch Aspire Timeline 1820PT brings multi-touch and a twist-and-turn tablet design to the
Timeline ULV series and its exceptional eight hour battery life.